There have been worse losses this year, a season that’s been nothing but pear-shaped for the M’s practically right out of the gate. Off the top of my head, there were the heartbreakers in San Diego and in Houston, the historic blowout in Milwaukee – and in the friendly confines at T-Mobile Park – and who could forget the spoiling of dear Emerson Hancock’s 14-strikeout gem when Randy Johnson’s number was retired in early May? The debate of “wait, what was the ACTUAL worst game of the year?” should
fuel the discourse fire through at least the first few weeks of the offseason, but I have a hard time arguing tonight’s 6-2 loss to the Athletics, which sealed a losing series against the husk of a West Sacramento squad on a night where both Texas teams dropped their games, wasn’t the most moribund.
George Kirby got the ball, and he was largely fine as he pitched into the seventh inning – the first outing from a Mariners starting pitcher that deep since he himself went 7.2 against the Phillies on August 25th. Some suspect non-calls and non-challenges caused him to throw a couple of extra pitches to leadoff hitter Henry Bolte to kick off the game, but he won the battle by freezing Bolte on a perfect down and away sinker for strike three. Despite a pitch clock violation thanks to PitchCom woes against Jeff McNeil, Kirby needed just ten pitches to toss a perfect first, and led off the second by winning a nine-pitch tussle with Lawrence Butler on an up-and-away four-seamer before getting Jonah Heim on an easy grounder to first. The other Max Muncy climbed in, and despite Kirby getting ahead quickly, he left a 1-2 four-seamer just a touch too much in the upper edge of the zone, and Muncy didn’t miss it, shidding on a solo shot into the back end of the Mariners’ bullpen to open the scoring.
While old friend Donovan Walton was quickly dispatched on strikes, the Athletics were back to their tricks in the third, with Alika Williams reaching on a swinging bunt to third, moving to second on a forceout from the speedy Denzel Clarke, and coming around to score on a Bolte double that scooted down the right field line. Bolte would be nabbed at second by a deft pickoff from George to end any further scoring, but the fourth saw the A’s lead double once again. Zack Gelof led off the frame with a knock to center, and swiped second base in between Butler and Heim flyouts before coming home on a base hit up the middle from Muncy off a first-pitch hanging sweeper. Muncy would move to second on a rough passed ball on a wayward splitter from Cal Raleigh right before coming home on a Walton double into the right field corner as the boos cascaded from the T-Mobile faithful. They always get better, am I right?
To his credit, Kirby was able to stop the bleeding, and allowed just two further baserunners, a two-out walk to Heim in the sixth and another infield hit to Weston Wilson at third base from Williams in the seventh, before departing after 6.2 innings. He needed an even 100 pitches, fading the sweeper a bit in favor of more cutters and splitters (don’t let Savant lie to you, half of those splitters were classified as changeups), and while ten whiffs is a bit below what you’d like to see, he mostly managed to avoid hard contact. While George postgame mentioned that he mostly executed his game plan, he lamented some of his sequencing. “Still, just left some in the middle with runners in scoring position. That’s not really what we needed tonight.” Michael Rucker was able to get the last out of the seventh before coughing up the final two runs in the eighth on a Lawrence Butler dinger, and Carlos Vargas spun a quick and tidy ninth. Hooray for low leverage!
You’ve probably noticed I haven’t mentioned the Mariners offense at all yet. That was by design. Jeffrey Springs has mightily struggled throughout 2026, but he has quite the history of silencing Seattle’s bats, and he was up to the task once again. Free passes to J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena were the only damage done in his first three innings, although Cal Raleigh thankfully banished any nightmares of a no-hitter with a sharp two-out single to left in the fourth. That would be the only baserunner the M’s would get until the seventh, when Cal stroked a leadoff base-hit into left center only to be immediately erased on a double play from Josh Naylor that was initially bobbled by Walton at second base. Asked about a perceived lack of energy postgame, Dan Wilson was about as icy as he gets, stating, “I was watching the ball. I didn’t see what happened. But obviously these guys know what it means to play hard, and that’s what needs to happen.”
Despite the vibes at the park hitting a nadir, the M’s did not get shut out tonight, briefly coming to life in the last two innings. Cole Young led off the eighth by getting plunked, and consecutive two-out knocks from Randy and Dominic Canzone brought him home. A first-pitch Julio Rodríguez groundout ended any hopes of more, but hey, it was at least hit at 104.5 MPH and had an expecting batting average of .540.
In the ninth, Cal capped off another excellent game with a leadoff double into the right-field corner, raising his season wRC+ all the way up to 97 – just a hair under league average – and giving a thin salve to yet another crushing defeat. Dan gave his fellow catcher his flowers as well, saying postgame, “From what he’s gone through this year and the work he’s put in, you feel good about what you’re seeing from Cal and hopefully it continues all the way through to the end.” Despite everything, it’s still you, Cal. J.P. snuck a ball through the left side of the infield, and a wild pitch brought Calboy home before Young worked a walk to put runners on the corners and the potential tying run on deck. Alas, Weston Wilson hit a harmless groundout to end the game, secure a series loss, and hammer one of the final nails in the 2026 Mariners season. Bryan Woo will get the ball tomorrow afternoon as the M’s look to avoid being on the wrong end of a four-game sweep at home since the ill-fated Deadgar Weekend in August 2017. Please, for the sake of the discourse, pull it out, fellas.
