Mariners’ Offense Cools Off as Dodgers Take Game 1 of Final Regular Season Series

Opening the final regular season series for both teams, with seeding up for grabs for the two playoff-bound squads, the Mariners and Dodgers dueled it out in all nine innings in a tightly contested battle.

With the Dodgers winning this game by a score of 3-2, the Mariners suffered their first home loss in a month. Before this contest, the last time the Mariners had lost a game at their own ballpark was to the Padres on August 26.

Here are three takeaways from Friday’s defeat at T-Mobile Park:

Josh Naylor Leaves the Game Early

While the Mariners lost this game, they also lost a notable contributor to their push for a playoff spot with Josh Naylor coming out in the third inning. After recording his 30th stolen base of the season, trainers came out as he dealt with a leg injury, eventually calling for a pinch runner to replace him.

Reportedly dealing with groin tightness, the Mariners are going to absolutely need Naylor to be available to win games in the playoffs, as he has been one of their most important players since coming over from the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline. Most likely, with Seattle already having won the AL West, at minimum, he won’t be back in action for the final two regular season games, and the team will be hoping that he can return for the AL Divisional Series.

Mariners Bats Go Cold

Throughout the month of September, the Mariners’ offense has been red-hot, scoring six runs per game entering the final series. Against the Dodgers, however, Seattle cooled off significantly and struggled to score with runners in scoring position on Friday night. Even with Los Angeles implementing a bullpen day with seven different relievers pitching, they could only muster two runs on eight hits.

As one of the few bright spots, left Fielder Randy Arozarena produced two hits and scored a run, while catcher Cal Raleigh went 2-5 on the evening. However, the team couldn’t string together hits and slugging third baseman Eugenio Suarez went 0-5, contributing to the issues driving in runners in scoring position as the Mariners came up short.

Mariners Pitchers Have a Solid Day

In a game that had little significance on the playoff race, pitcher George Kirby gave the Mariners a rock solid start. Throwing five innings before exiting, Kirby threw 85 pitches total, allowing three hits and two runs while recording 10 strikeouts and walking only one batter. The only error he really made during a quality outing was when Dodgers third baseman Enrique Hernandez hit a two-run homer on a 96.2 mile per hour sinker. Besides that one pitch, it was all around a great night for Kirby, who will have positive momentum going into the postseason.

After Kirby exited, Eduard Bazardo came in for 2/3 of an inning and threw 34 pitches, allowing two hits and one run with two strikes and one walk. Luke Jackson pitched for 1 1/3 innings and recorded two strikeouts. Gabe Speier and Casey Legumina both came into the game for an inning apiece and only giving up one hit combined.