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.

4th worst moment: Dylan Moore’s season ends after getting hit in the head for the 2nd time

Dylan Moore was on a roll with 7 home runs and an .866 OPS before he was hit in the head with a near 100 mph fastball against the San Francisco Giants, then less than a week later he was hit in the head again and it ended his season.

After getting hit in the head by a pitch from Houston Astros reliever Brandon Bielak, Dylan Moore had to leave the game on September 21st, and then he was later placed on the 7-day concussion IL and would not appear in a game the rest of the season.

Moore would finish his shortened 2020 season with 8 home runs and an .855 OPS in just 38 games played, leading to renewed hope for what he can contribute to the Mariners after a disappointing rookie season in 2019.

While I am excited to see Moore as the starting second baseman in 2021 and hopefully see his great stats from 2020 carryover, seeing him hit twice in the head in the space of one week and having to be placed on the injury list due to a concussion is obviously concerning. Hopefully, Moore won’t have any more problems with concussions but man, both moments were incredibly scary.

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.