Mariners Game Recap: Tigers win series, M’s drop to .500

Things went south for the Mariners with a quickness on Wednesday night. The Tigers jumped on the M’s early, and there was no turning back.

For a couple weeks now, the Seattle Mariners have been desperately searching for a spark in order to get to back their winning ways. Several transactions, a few lineup changes, and practically anything within reason has been attempted to bring the recent struggles to a halt.

Prior to Wednesday night’s game, the Mariners made a couple more moves to try to do just this. They picked up Wade LeBlanc and brought back Tom Wilhelmsen to combat the injuries in their pitching staff.

Going into the game, it was reasonable to believe that some more changes could mean a fresh start and a chance to get past the brutal first half of this month.

More from Mariners News

• 2023 Steamer Projections: Teoscar Hernandez could see a drop in Seattle
• Steamer Projections: Julio Rodriguez to enter rarified air in 2023
• What if the Mariners traded FOR Tyler O’Neill this time?
• Mariners starting pitching is being overlooked by MLB
• Baking the Cake: An Adjusted Mariners Offseason Plan

The Mariners sent out Hisashi Iwakuma (6-5, 4.18 ERA) against Michael Fulmer (7-2, 2.43 ERA). Iwakuma, despite a rough patch to start the season, has actually begun to look better on the hill for the M’s.

Right off the bat though, Miguel Cabrera hit a solo shot to give Detroit a 1-0 lead. It was his 16th of the year and his second of this series.

Things didn’t get any better for Iwakuma in the second inning. Even though he was able to induce a double play after giving up a lead-off base hit, the Tigers did not let down with two outs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Steven Moya both singled, and Jose Iglesias was able to drive both of them in with a double to left field. This extended their lead to 3-0.

The Tigers tacked on another run in the fourth when Moya hit a solo home run.

More from SoDo Mojo

• 2023 Steamer Projections: Teoscar Hernandez could see a drop in Seattle
• Could the Mariners Acquire AL Batting Champion, Luis Arraez?
• Steamer Projections: Julio Rodriguez to enter rarified air in 2023
• What if the Mariners traded FOR Tyler O’Neill this time?
• Mariners starting pitching is being overlooked by MLB

The Mariners were finally able to get on the board in the top of the fifth inning. Adam Lind was able to earn a lead-off walk, but was out at second when Ketel Marte grounded into a fielder’s choice. Steve Clevenger jumped on the first pitch he saw and drove it back up the middle, and Nori Aoki was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Leonys Martin came up with a big one-out opportunity, and he was able to drive in a run when he was also hit by a pitch. This was all the Mariners could muster though, and the deficit was only cut to 4-1.

The Mariners’ efforts in the top half of the inning were completely offset when Moya was able to put out his second homer of the night. When Iwakuma was unable to retire the next two hitters, Scott Servais turned to Mike Montgomery to get the final out of the inning. He was able to hold the score at 5-1.

In fact, Montgomery was able to hold the score this way for the rest of the night, but the ailing Mariners offense was still unable to make anything happen.

Next: M’s Sign Wilhelmsen, Acquire LeBlanc

With the loss, the Mariners drop back down to .500 and fall to third place in the AL West at 36-36. They will have a chance to preserve at least one game from the series tomorrow morning.