Mariners Searching for Answers After 6-1 Loss to Rays Extends Florida Losing Streak to Five Games

Enduring a horrifying road trip to the Sunshine State, the Seattle Mariners continue to frustrate their fan base as they fell flat again in their 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Poor luck, situational hitting, and an abnormal dud from ace Logan Gilbert made for a lackluster performance at Tropicana Field.

Gilbert allowed nine hits and two walks, but in his defense, he exited the game having only given up two runs to that point. He did leave runners on first and second as reliever Gabe Spier proceeded to give up a three-run blast on the first pitch he threw. That promptly put the game well out of reach for a Mariners team that has been struggling offensively as of late.

Continuing a season-long trend, Seattle had no issues with reaching base. They put 10 batters on, but their issues arose getting them home once again. The Mariners went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position (RISP) Saturday, bringing their five-game road trip total to a shocking 2-for-38 (.053).

Once a division favorite, the Mariners now sit two games back in the AL West at 47-49. No matter the outcome of the series finale on Sunday, they will enter the All-Star break below .500, an astonishing outcome considering their expectations heading into the year. 

With the MLB draft arriving this weekend, Seattle fans will briefly turn their attention toward the future while the organization searches for answers in the present. Let’s dive into what went wrong in Saturday’s game:

The Bad Luck Continues

While Seattle only scored two runs in this game, the road team could have scored significantly more if luck was on their side. Their lineup had 10 hard-hit balls, yet only three of them found the grass for hits. A hard-hit ball is a baseball hit at 95 mph or harder, which has an expected batting average of .524 with an even bigger expected slugging percentage of 1.047.

Manager Dan Wilson was asked about his team's poor luck on the day and agreed, stating that, “We hit some balls hard, but nothing to show for it. Another frustrating day there.” 

To have so many hard-hit balls put in play is infuriating for any team, but this issue is compounded in a clubhouse when players can’t seem to hit with RISP. 

Wilson acknowledged the team's RISP struggles, saying, “There’s no question that the guys are frustrated by it.”

The Mariners’ RISP woes seem to be getting worse every week now. The All-Star break should come as a much-needed reset for the team. The Skipper was adamant that better days were ahead, adding, “We’re continuing to grind and I know the hitting coaches are putting a ton of work in with the guys.”

Performance-based bad luck wasn’t the only bad hand dealt Seattle’s way as the notorious injury bug struck again. Victor Robles came up limping as he rounded first on his way to a double in the top of the seventh inning. He ended up staying in the game though, which is an encouraging sign.

When asked about his defensive-minded center fielder, Wilson didn’t have any concrete information as it was “Something in his knee, we’ll get it checked out and see how it’s doing.” 

With Julio Rodriguez on the IL for concussion protocol, Seattle likely will have to call up a minor leaguer to play center field as Robles is their last playable defender there on the roster currently.

M’s Make Rays’ Bullpen Appear Elite

The Mariners’ lineup managed to appear competent against starter Griffin Jax, scattering four hits and three walks before chasing him after five innings. The aforementioned bad luck, however, only allowed one run to come from those seven baserunners.

The Rays bullpen ranks as the 24th best in the majors by ERA at 4.62 and has been vulnerable for much of the season. The Mariners hitters have made them look unhittable through two games, however, as they have been held scoreless so far in the series.

Their bullpen has shut down the Mariners for 7 2/3 innings, with 11 of these outs being strikeouts. That stretch showed that Seattle has not only been unable to score, but has also struggled to put the ball in play, recording just three hits in that span.

This SoDo Squad cannot expect to win if they attempt to combine poor luck and situational hitting with a habit of making suspect opposing bullpens appear invincible without putting the ball in play.

Gilbert Played with Fire, Got Burned

Gilbert, the Mariners’ resident ace, has been pitching like one as of late, shooting up Cy Young odds charts and ranking fifth in the American League in the FanGraphs’ Cy Young Award projection tool. His outing against the Rays did not help his case though.

Allowing nine hits and two walks, Gilbert managed to survive into the seventh inning by only allowing two runners to cross the plate before Spier allowed two inherited runners to come home as well, giving him a far less ideal final box score line.

While a lockdown relief performance might have bailed Gilbert out, he was lucky to be in the spot he was to begin with. Allowing 11 baserunners usually leads to more runs, especially when a pitcher can only muster five strikeouts. He was able to earn 15 total swings-and-misses, however, showing the ability to get ahead in counts, but unable to finish off batters.

Is Cal Raleigh Righting the Ship?

Star players all across MLB have struggled. Fernando Tatis Jr., Vlad Guerrero Jr., and Mookie Betts, to name a few, have all performed well below their career norms. Regrettably for the M’s, so has the 2025 MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh.

For the season, Raleigh is slashing .168/.269/.311 for an OPS of .580. Much of his struggles can be attributed to an early-season oblique injury that he tried to play through. But he has still not looked like himself at really any point this year, including since coming back from the injured list.

While most knew that Raleigh would not repeat last year's herculean 60-home run performance this season, most expected he would settle somewhere between that and his 3-4 WAR seasons of old. Instead, he’s sitting at -0.2 bWAR on the year.

But while his team has trended down over the last week, Raleigh’s performance has been looking up. He added a single and two walks on Saturday to bring his weeklong slashline up to .240/.310/.440 for an OPS of .770, a much more tolerable number eerily similar to his .776 career OPS. The Mariners will hope that rebound continues for the rest of the season.

On Deck

Seattle wraps up the first half of the season in Tampa Bay by sending Emerson Hancock to the mound to face lefty Ian Seymour for his sixth start of the season, looking to avoid the broom. The Mariners will hope to end their losing streak and prevent a second straight sweep as they drag their feet into the midseason break.