Good, Bad, and Ugly: Best/Worst Moments From Mariners 5-3 Comeback Victory vs. Astros
What a difference a day makes.
One day after getting destroyed against the Houston Astros, the Seattle Mariners were able to orchestrate a thrilling come-from-behind 5-3 win over their bitter AL West rivals on Friday to even the series at a game apiece, giving Seattle a 6-2 record on this 10-game road trip.
Here’s a look at the good, bad, and ugly from Friday’s victory:
Good: Emerson Hancock (For the Most Part)
Hancock’s line is not overtly impressive. He went six innings, allowed three runs, only struck out three, and gave up nine hits.
But the eye test suggests Hancock was better than this. Much, much better than this. He had command of all of his offerings, and two of the runs were scored on a homer by Isaac Paredes. That long ball by Paredes would have been a homer in exactly two parks — Houston and Boston, the two parks where left field is kind of silly — and had an expected batting average of .060.
No, Hancock is nothing more than a backend starter, and yes, the Mariners will get a massive upgrade when Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller are back to take his spot in the rotation. But Hancock has done the job more often than not, and he deserves credit for the work he’s done over the first two months of the season, even with a demotion to Triple-A at one point.
Bad: Jorge Polanco
We need to start talking about Polanco. Obviously, there was going to be regression after his unbelievable start to the season, and no one should be in full-on panic mode just yet, but we definitely have to have a conversation. With the 0-for-3 mark against the Astros on Friday, he’s now just 9-for-54 in the month of May, and he’s struck out 10 times with just three extra-base hits. Polanco had a slugging percentage of .862 in the month of April. That mark for this month is a paltry .259.
Again, you can’t take away what Polanco has done - he’s a massive reason the Mariners are in first place - but the team needs to think about moving Polanco down in the lineup. He’s been more hurter than helper as of late.
Good: Leodys Taveras and Myles Mastrobuoni
Taveras was awful during Thursday’s loss, but had maybe his best game as a Mariner a day later. He gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead with a solo shot off Ryan Gusto in the second inning, and he picked up two more hits for a three-hit night. The numbers haven’t been great, but Taveras has passed the eye test — for the most part — over his two weeks with the Mariners. The fact they got him for absolutely nothing doesn’t hurt, either.
Mastrobuoni also connected on a homer, and he drew a couple of walks for good measure while playing a solid second base. He’s hit just .219 with a .578 OPS, and according to Baseball Reference, he’s been worth -0.3 wins thus far in 2025. I get it, but I think he’s provided considerably more value to the Mariners than that number indicates. He’s looked fine at multiple positions defensively, and he hasn’t been “worked” in any of his at-bats. A regular he is not, but Mastrobuoni has a role on a roster.
Bad: The Decision to Send Big Dumper
Had the Mariners lost this game, this would have been a Russian novel complaining about this. For those who missed it, the Mariners had runners on 1st and 2nd with one out, and the runner at second was Cal Raleigh. Taveras spanked a single into shallow left field, and Kristopher Negron decided to send Raleigh even though the throw from Altuve came right about the same time Raleigh touched second base. The throw beat Raleigh by 10 feet, and the Mariners ended the sixth inning still trailing 3-2.
I try not to be too hyperbolic in these things, so believe me when I tell you: That’s one of the worst sends I’ve seen in my (redacted) years of watching baseball. Yes, Jose Altuve has an atrocious arm; they’re essentially trying to hide the former MVP in left field because of how poorly he throws now. But it could have been Jose Cuervo in left field and Big Dumper was not beating that throw out. And it’s also worth noting that that there was only one out. Had there been two and you were talking about the bottom of the order hitting, sure, take the chance. It was a horrible decision in process to have Raleigh attempt to score, and obviously a horrible result. Thank goodness it didn’t cost them.
Ugly: Orange Astros
Those uniforms stink.
Great. Grand. Wonderful: Julio and Cal Come Up Huge
It would be impossible to overstate how clutch Rodriguez and Raleigh were in a game the Mariners may not have “had” to win, but boy do you feel better with a W after this one than you would an L.
With the Mariners trailing 3-2 in the seventh and J.P. Crawford on first base, the Astros turned to Bryan Abreu; one of the best relievers in the sport, to face Rodriguez. He put himself into an 0-2 hole, and then lashed an RBI double to score Crawford and tie the game (note: credit to Negron for sending Crawford on that play; which was absolutely the right call with two outs). It was almost identical to the double J-Rod hit off Abreu earlier in the season, and seeing a massive moment from the 24-year-old just a day after being scratched due to tightness in his back was awesome to see.
And then, Cal did what Cal does. He shellacked an offering from Abreu for his 17th homer to give the Mariners the 5-3 lead, and ultimately the victory.
We are running out of superlatives for Raleigh, but I’ll just say this: If not for that really tall dude for the Yankees? That’s your 2025 MVP so far, folks.
Good: The Bullpen Shoved
After Hancock delivered his six quality innings, the Mariners turned to their best relievers, and they were up to the task. Matt Brash, Carlos Vargas, and Andres Munoz combined for three innings of shutout baseball to preserve the victory, and while none of them picked up a strikeout — weird especially for Brash and Munoz — all three looked the part, with Vargas the only one who had to escape a jam. The bullpen was a little shaky to begin the season, but with Brash back and Vargas developing into a trusted arm, you can feel a little more confidence in that relief group.
This was a really good win, and the fact the Mariners have Bryan Woo and Luis Castillo for the next two games is a nice little added bonus. It’s always very fun to beat the Astros. I suggest doing it a couple more times. For fun.
