Mariners fall below .500 as losing streak continues with loss to Rays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – When a team is playing as poorly as they have been on this current road trip and underperforming as a whole like the Mariners have for much of the season, a lack of effort – perceived or real, regardless of reason – is the one intolerable baseball sin.
Their failures to hit with runners in scoring position, while frustrating, can still be stomached, albeit begrudgingly when hard hits are somehow caught, which happened again multiple times.
Some of the misplays made in the field can be understood because even great defensive teams commit errors, and the Mariners weren’t expected to be a good defensive team.
Even a mental mistake may happen on a rare occasion – a brain cramp, a bad read or a poor assumption.
But not playing with full commitment or effort? That’s something that is expected, controllable and demanded.
Yet, Friday night’s 7-2 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field offered a lasting and frustrating sequence that will make the current four-game losing streak and provide a glaring red flag on how this team has performed in an uneven first “half” of the MLB season that now finds them a game below .500 at 47-48.
With one out in the fifth inning, Luis Castillo was battling with Cedric Mullins after getting up 1-2 in the count. His teammates had cut the lead to 2-1 in the top half of the inning on Cole Young’s solo homer and Castillo wanted to follow with a shutdown bottom half of the fifth.
After missing with a fastball up to get a swing and miss, Castillo came back with a fastball in the zone that Mullins fouled off. Catcher Cal Raleigh went to the slider after the two heaters. The sequence worked as Mullins made an awkward swing at a perfect slider on the outside corner, lifting a fly ball toward the left field line.
The ball started drifting into foul territory, but still seemed like it would be the second out of the inning.
It wasn’t.
Randy Arozarena jogged after the ball, seemingly reading it off the bat. But as he got into foul territory Arozarena watched as the ball dropped a few feet in front of him. He didn’t dive or slide. He just watched it land near his feet.
It was a stunning result to the point where an audible gasp from the unusually large crowd of 15,568 – including a sizable group of Mariners fans – gasped in disbelief.
Castillo went from stunned to irritated, staring out at Arozarena, who jogged back to his position at a similar pace, never looking at his pitcher. Castillo maintained his stare.
This isn’t the first time Arozarena has made a play like that in foul territory. It happened once in Pittsburgh and another time in Cleveland. Similar to those occurrences, manager Dan Wilson brought up the hamstring injury that put Arozarena on the injured list.
“Randy’s in a situation right now where he’s not 100%,” Wilson said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are out there right now that aren’t at 100% and they’re giving us what they can give us. It was a tough placement on that.
Asked about the health of his hamstring, Arozrarena said through interpreter Freddy Llanos: “My hamstring is fine. I think I’ve got to play with a little precaution. I’m trying to you know play as long as I can in terms of the season, trying to stay as healthy as I can.”
So he was being cautious on that foul ball?
“No, I just didn’t get to it,” he said. “It wasn’t because of the hamstring. I just didn’t get to it.”
An angry Castillo got back on the mound and fired another slider, hoping for a similar result that ended with an out. The ball stayed in the middle and Mullins ripped it over the wall in right-center for a solo homer.
As soon as the ball carried over the wall, Castillo started directly at Arozarena, who was having a staring contest with his feet.
“I wasn’t frustrated with the fact that it was a foul ball,” Castillo said through Llanos. “I was frustrated more in the fact that we had two strikes and the pitch that I threw was not where I wanted it to be and give up a home run.”
When he retired Chandler Simpson with the help of Cal Raleigh’s nice play on a bunt attempt, Castillo should’ve been out of the inning.
Instead, the next batter, Victor Mesa Jr., slammed a homer to right field for a 4-1 lead.
When Castillo finished the inning, he went straight up the tunnel and into the clubhouse. His night was over earlier than expected.
The M’s never recovered. Junior Caminero hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning off Jose A. Ferrer to put the game out of reach.
Anderson named Futures starter
Mariners top pitching prospect Kade Anderson was named the starting pitcher for the American League in the 2026 Futures Game.
Anderson, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s MLB draft, is considered the top pitching prospect in baseball after a dominant start to his first professional season.
The lefty has made 14 starts this season for Double-A Arkansas, posting an 8-1 record with a 1.36 ERA. In 72⅔ innings pitched, he’s struck out 108 batters with only 10 walks. He’s averaging 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 10.80. Opposing hitters have posted a .160/.240/.435 slash line against him this season.
Anderson’s rotation-mate, Ryan Sloan, who is considered one of the best right-handed pitching prospects in baseball, was also selected for the Futures Game and will pitch in relief.