5 worst Seattle Mariners moments from the 2020 Season

The 5 worst moments from the 2020 season for the Seattle Mariners

Yesterday Ryota Nishino of Sodo Mojo discussed the 5 best moments from last season for the Mariners, but today we go the opposite route and rank the 5 worst moments from last season. While last year was very exciting and very encouraging for the future, in true Seattle Mariners fashion there were still a few moments that had fans shaking their heads.

5th worst moment: Nestor Cortes 1st inning blowup

On August 14, 2020, the Seattle Mariners went into the day thinking that Yusei Kikuchi would be their starting pitcher. However, shortly before the first pitch he was pulled from the start due to back spasms and insert reliever Nestor Cortes into the starting spot.

The game itself lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes, but if you remember watching this game it was over with just one out in the bottom of the first. The Mariners scored first in the top of the 1st, but Nestor Cortes went on to allow 5 hits, 2 home runs, and 7 earned runs.

Cortes would only last 0.1 innings before being pulled, and the 1st inning ended with a score of 9-1 Astros. I, like many fans I would assume, turned the TV off after the 1st inning, but after a whole day of anticipation to see Kikuchi take the mound and then Cortes putting up that absolute dud of a performance (a performance that would be his last of 2020), this certainly had to make the top 5.

3rd worst moment: Mike Trout’s first at-bat as a dad ends in a home run

This was not the worst moment of the season for the Seattle Mariners but it might have been the most annoying moment. Mike Trout has a track record of hitting against the Mariners, as he has hit more home runs against Seattle than any other team. This success was prior to being a dad, however, so maybe after going on paternity leave Trout would be out of rhythm coming back after almost a week off right?

Wrong.

After five days off to be with his wife for the birth of their first child, Mike Trout came to Seattle and was the usual Mike Trout hitting 3 home runs in his first two games back. The first of the three was also in his first at-bat back from paternity leave.

Like I just said, I thought he might be a little off after such a long rest but facing a rookie pitcher Justin Dunn, against the team he has hit the most home runs off of, I should’ve known that the possible greatest player of all time would not take a step back after missing a few days.

2nd worst moment: Smacked by the Athletics on Sep 14

After the first game of a doubleheader on September 14th the Mariners were 22-25 and just a game back of the 23-24 Houston Astros who would be the eventual final team in the playoffs at 29-31. Seattle was on a 14-6 run over their last 20 games and despite trading Austin Nola and multiple bullpen pitchers, they had a chance.

However, it all seemed to fall apart in a 9-0 defeat at home against the Oakland Athletics. Seattle was held to two hits in the shoutout and it really did feel like after all the momentum that the Mariners had it was clear facing a playoff team that they were not on that playoff level.

Since the game was only 7 innings long due to the 2020 doubleheader rule, the Mariners only threw out three pitchers and all three were members of the Mariners’ poor bullpen. Seth Frankoff took the biggest blow allowing 5 runs in just 1.2 innings.

It could’ve been worse however if it weren’t for Kyle Lewis making the catch of the year robbing a grand slam with two outs in the first inning. The Mariners would go on to lose their next three games and would finish the season on a 5-8 run over their last 13 after that great 20 game stretch.

Seattle Mariners’ worst moment of 2020: Walk-off 7 run 7th inning for the Padres

Writing this and remembering this game brings back the memories of the inarguable worst inning of Seattle Mariners baseball in 2020. After allowing the Padres to tie the game scoring two runs in the 6th inning of a 7 inning game, the Mariners scored 4 runs in the 7th taking a 7-3 lead into the final half-inning of the game.

Then this happened.

Manny Machado hit a 2 RBI single, then a run scored on a wild pitch, then Eric Hosmer tied the game on an RBI single, and then Wil Myers hit a 3 run walk-off home run to end the game. The Mariners fell to 12-20 on the season at that point but did win the second game of the doubleheader.

My favorite factoid from this game was that Taylor Williams allowed the four runs that would tie the game in the 7th inning, and then Dan Altavilla would allow the 3 run homer to Wil Myers. Both Williams and Altavilla would later be traded to the Padres.

Somehow the Padres watched that inning and wanted both Williams and Altavilla which really is funny to think about, but those two gave the Mariners what I said earlier to be the far and away worst moment of the Seattle Mariners 2020 season.