The Mariners lost 7-2 to the Rays on Friday. Usually, I take notes when I recap games. Not today. I didn’t think the Mariners were going to win. I hate when people say that, too. But I really didn’t think the Mariners were going to win this baseball game today. They didn’t.
For one, the Rays are very good. They’re the best team in the American League. They’re also the luckiest, and it’s not always clear how they win. I think we got a hint in the first three innings. The Rays made tons of weak contact
against Luis Castillo, dribbling grounders the other way, challenging the range of the Mariners infield. They got runners on, forced Castillo to work around them, shifted where the Mariners infield could align — and where they could get to. They only scratched across one run early, but they got Castillo deep into his pitch count and twice through the order by the fourth. Then came a barrage of solo homers that stretched into the fifth. When it was over, the Rays led 4-1.
I also didn’t think the Mariners would win on Friday because their lineup has been bad. A big reason is Cal Raleigh has been bad. This was another game where the Mariners found themselves with a runner on base and their cleanup hitter at the dish, and he couldn’t get the ball in play. His wRC+ is down to 68. He’s been hovering above replacement level.
Another big reason is Julio is on the injured list. He started the season cold. Then he got hot. Then he slumped to begin June. Then he had a 12-hit week before the Angels decided to take him out. Without Cal and Julio, the Mariners lineup isn’t good. There’s a reason the Mariners are 14th in wRC+ (101) after finishing second last year (113).
Cal and Julio were the best batter tandem in the majors last year. They were projected to be the best batter tandem in the majors this year. They are the reason the Mariners are relevant in the American League at all. Losing your best players is a bad thing, especially when those players are also two of the best players in the game. For all the hypothesizing about what has gone wrong in 2026, the answer is kind of obvious.
And so the Mariners are pretty boring right now. There doesn’t seem like much to be done. They could fire Dan Wilson and hire somebody else — whoever was their second choice behind Wilson, I suppose. That person could “rah rah rah” at the back of Julio’s skull until he’s healthy. He could do little dances in the postgame show, to cheer up both Cal and the fans after another multi-strikeout game. We’ll certainly start by demanding polygraphs from front office personnel until they divulge the size-shape-consistency of Brendan Donovan’s morning BM — the REGIME doesn’t want you to know, and it’s crucial that you do.
Personally, I’m mostly just bored, maybe a bit sad, slowly turning my attention to the other obligations of summer.
