Mariners Observations: What stood out from series loss vs Angels

Jun 8, 2025, 5:15 PM

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Mariners certainly needed that one.

Staring down the potential of being swept twice in a row, the M’s snapped their season-worst five-game losing streak and salvaged the final game of their series against the Los Angels Angels with a 3-2 win Sunday.

Ultimately, the M’s still dropped a series that they had their chances to win, and they’ve lost six of their past nine series and 16 of their past 27 games. In the process, their lead in the AL West has turned into a 2 1/2-game deficit to the Houston Astros.

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There were was some good and bad for the Mariners during the series. Here are three observations from the weekend.

Two sides of the spectrum for Miller and Kirby

The Mariners starting rotation hasn’t been anything close to what it was last season. Injuries have obviously been a huge part of the problem. Logan Gilbert is still out, and Bryce Miller and George Kirby have missed time and struggled when they’ve been available. Miller and Kirby trended in opposite directions this weekend.

Miller recently told Wyman and Bob if he could go back, he probably would have spoken up about the elbow issue he started the season with sooner, and that he felt fresh after his recent brief IL stint. But he had another rough outing in his second start back Friday, allowing five runs and striking out just two over five innings on just 70 pitches. With Gilbert getting closer to returning and Emerson Hancock pitching well of late, it’s worth wondering if Miller could be best served by a couple starts in Tacoma to help figure things out.

Kirby, on the other hand, was the biggest positive development to come out the weekend. The right-hander was brilliant in what was one of the best starts of his big league career. He struck out a career-high 14 while allowing just two runs and two hits over seven innings.

There was a lot to like about Kirby’s start. His four-seam fastball was up a tick at 96.6 mph average and generated a 50% whiff rate on 16 swings, and his slider also drew a 45% whiff rate on 11 swings. And Kirby was very efficient while fanning 14 batters, needing just 96 pitches to get through seven innings. It’s only one start, but it’s hard not to feel like the George Kirby we’re used seeing is back – or at least close to it.

Raleigh gets a real day off

The run MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh has been on is incredible and especially impressive considering the grueling demands of catching as often as he does. Add in the fact that Raleigh is almost always in the lineup at DH when he isn’t behind the plate, and there is some reason for concern about how long he can sustain what he’s doing.

On Sunday, Raleigh finally got his first true day off of the season. And the Mariners proved they could win without him, which seemed like tall task after how much he’s had to carry the lineup of late.

It seems as if Raleigh won’t be getting a break during All-Star week, so any time the M’s can afford to give their switch-hitting slugger a day off and get a win in the process is notable.

More: Seattle Mariners star Cal Raleigh: ‘100 percent’ would do HR Derby

Good signs from two struggling M’s bats

There was quite a bit to like from the Mariners’ offense over the weekend, even with the caveat that it was facing a poor Angels pitching staff. But what stood out most was the series Randy Arozarena had and what Jorge Polanco did Sunday.

Arozarena was coming off a brutal homestand in which he went 4 for 38 with 15 strikeouts and only one walk. But the left fielder found his stroke in Anaheim with back-to-back three-hit games Saturday and Sunday. Arozarena did have a gaffe on the basepaths Sunday when he admired a long drive to right field that ended up hitting off the fence and had to settle for a single, but he did make up for that with a stolen base immediately after.

Polanco did something we haven’t seen him do all season – get two base hits from the right side of the plate in the same game. That included his game-tying RBI single as the M’s rallied for a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning. This was just the third time the switch-hitter has started against a left-hander since a side issue limited to hitting from the right side of the plate only from early April until May 6, and he was just 1 for 12 against left-handers since that May 6 start.

Getting Arozarena and Polanco going would be huge boons for this lineup. Polanco’s full switch-hitting abilities would also give Dan Wilson more options late in games.