The Mariners didn’t have a lot to play for today, in an atypical-for-Seattle Game 162 where the Mariners were locked into the number two seed for the upcoming playoffs. Thank goodness. Granted that they weren’t exactly playing to win, but they flailed and failed in just about every aspect of the game today. Which is fine!
The game’s big story turned out to be their opponent, as Clayton Kershaw took the mound for the final time in the regular season and what might turn out to be the final time in his
career. He had a little extra life on the fastball, a little extra bite on the curveball, and a little extra zip on the slider, which was actually his best pitch even as it never made the splash that the curve did.
Seattle’s lefties, of all things, were the ones who got to him a little, all going the opposite way: hits by J.P. Crawford, Cole Young, and Master Bunny with a hustle double. But nothing came of any of that, nor of Mitch Garver’s single or Cal Raleigh’s walk, and Kershaw finished the fifth inning without having given up a run.
Kershaw came back to face a batter in the sixth, and Eugenio Suárez did him the courtesy of giving him a strikeout for his final batter. Freddie Freeman came out of the dugout to get him and call to the pen. The entire stadium rose to its feet to honor one of the legends of the game, who saluted the Mariners dugout on his way back to the clubhouse. That strikeout of Geno was number 3,052 for Kershaw’s career, the 20th most in MLB history. Clayton Kershaw may be a lifelong Dodger, but he is also a giant.
On the other side, Bryce Miller didn’t inspire much confidence, with a leaky splitter and poor command of his heater. Through three innings, he’d given up two two-run dingers, one to Hyesong Kim and one to Freddie Freeman, and had only gotten one whiff on 54 pitches. One still hopes he can be useful in short spurts out of the bullpen in the playoffs if he really lets it eat. But honestly I’d prefer if it never even came to that, with the Mariners relying on their sturdier arms to get through October. I just want to see Miller get the needed surgery and be ready for a comeback year in 2026. To his credit, Miller ended his regular season with a 1-2-3 third inning, picking up eight whiffs, and culminating in a strikeout of Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani would get his revenge later in the game. Gabe Speier was looking like a lock for the Sun Hat Award on a day where nobody was particularly great, striking out his first two batters and getting Ohtani into an 0-2 count. But Ohtani did what he does and hit a new Dodger-high 55th home run to make the score 5-0. So Cole Young will get the final Sun Hat Award of the regular season, for adding a base hit against Kershaw to his young resume and for being the only Mariner not to strike out today.
With the Mariners playing so flat, the only real drama for them was Cal Raleigh’s final chance to add to his 60 home runs. With one chance left he got the barrel to the ball in the eighth, but settled for a single into the gap. That hit drove Randy Arozarena to third, who’d eventually score the Mariners’ last run of the regular season. But Cal wouldn’t move up a base when that happened because Dan Wilson pinch ran for him after he singled. That allowed him to get one final regular-season curtain call from the fans, which he more than deserved. Cal finishes the year with the most home runs in a season by a catcher, as a catcher, as a switch-hitter, and as a Mariner. He is one of just seven players, and one of just four not connected to PEDs, to ever cross the 60-dinger threshold. The gaudy home run total sucks up a good amount of oxygen, correctly. But his 161 wRC+ on the year, accounting for his whole offensive profile and adjusting for the league environment and his home park, has only been bettered by Ken Griffey, Jr. and Edgar Martinez in the Mariners’ nearly half-century history. Oh, and also he caught 121 games.
Speaking of legacy, this game may not mark the end of the Mariners’ 2025, but it does mark the end of the ROOT Sports era. So I want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the ROOT Sports crew, particularly the off-air talent that never gets enough praise. If you don’t watch a lot of other teams’ broadcasts, you might not know just how special the Mariners broadcasts are. But they are among the very best in the business. Thank you to everyone involved.
If that recap all strikes you as a bit unsatisfying for the last game of the year, well me too. Fortunately, it’s not the last game of the year this year. See you in the playoffs!
