Grading the ascendant Seattle Mariners' resilient 2-0 series sweep vs. Los Angeles Angels

The 2025 season just keeps throwing adversity at the Seattle Mariners, mainly in the form of devastating injuries. Yet none of it is sticking, much less slowing them down.

In fact, you can mark it seven straight series victories for the Mariners after they completed a two-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. You can also mark it 15 wins out of their last 20 games to push their record to 18-12, which has them challenging for the top spot in the American League.

None of this makes any sense in context of how many pieces the Mariners have lost to the injured list. Just in the last week, ace right-hander Logan Gilbert and right fielder Luke Raley have been sidelined for the foreseeable future. And to use an appropriately sea-themed metaphor, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

As for how the they just keep racking up Ws anyway, let's get into that by grading a series that basically served as a two-game symposium for what the 2025 Mariners are all about.

Mariners vs. Angels Breakdown and Grades: Series Results

• Tuesday, April 29: SEA 5, LAA 3
• Wednesday, April 30: SEA 9, LAA 3

Grading the Mariners’ Offense: B

If Seattle's offense is known for anything right now, it's for having the hottest hitter in baseball and for doing anything and everything to score runs.

The former is Jorge Polanco, and Tuesday's contest was the most explicit case of him playing the hero since he had that game-winning homer on Opening Day. He homered twice and drove in all five of the Mariners' runs, adding to a hot streak that ranks as one of the best in franchise history.

The rest of the offense was relatively cool in Game 1, and more of the same unfolded as Tyler Anderson bamboozled Mariners hitters (mostly with his changeup) through the first six innings of Game 2. Randy Arozarena crushed a homer in the second, but Seattle hitters otherwise struggled to put good wood on the ball.

Yet the Mariners played a bit of Chaos Ball when Cal Raleigh created a run in the third inning with his legs, and that was largely the story of a six-run seventh inning that put the game to bed.

The long ball remains a huge part of the Mariners' offensive attack — they rank among the league leaders with 45 — but Wednesday's win is emblematic of how it's not the beginning and end of said attack like it used to be. The 2025 Mariners can work good at-bats and put the ball in play, and they'll use their legs as much as they need to.

It isn't just nice to see. With Raley, Victor Robles, and Ryan Bliss sidelined for the long haul, it is essential that the Mariners keep thirsting after every possible run they can score.

Grading the Mariners’ Defense: B

Advanced metrics still aren't sold on Seattle's defense, with Defensive Runs Saved putting them at -8 and Outs Above Average putting them at -6. Yet what their defenders get to, they tend to field.

The Mariners entered Wednesday's game with only 12 errors for the season after a clean sheet on Tuesday. A steady flow of soft contact off Bryce Miller and the bullpen helped with that, but the M's also turned a couple of nice double plays and Ben Williamson just keeps building an early reputation for handling hot smashes at third base.

Indeed, it was a shocking development when the defensively gifted Williamson was charged with an error on a hard grounder by Logan O'Hoppe on Wednesday. That resulted in a runner in scoring position with two outs. Fortunately, Arozarena was there to pick up his third baseman with a bullet to home after Luis Rengifo singled:

Range is an issue for this defense, but it generally functions as a sort of mirror to the offense. Whereas Seattle's offense takes all it can get, the defense gives as little as it can.

More frustrating is how the Mariners are controlling the running game. Or aren't, more accurately. After the Angels got one off Mitch Garver on Wednesday, Seattle catchers are only 7-for-34 throwing out runners. That's a 21 percent success rate, compared to the 26 percent succss rate they had in 2024.

Grading the Mariners' Pitching: C

You have to give Miller this much: He's grinding out there.

He has yet to look anything like his 2024 self — i.e., the one with a 2.94 ERA and a team-best 3.4 rWAR — on a consistent basis in 2025. His velocity and command have wavered, and so it went as he sat at 93.9 mph (0.5 mph below his seasonal average) and walked a career-high five batters over five scoreless innings.

It's a related story that Miller hasn't been 100 percent physically. He had some arm soreness earlier in April, and Adam Jude of The Seattle Times was among those who reported after Tuesday's game that the righty was dealing with a bad back:

For his part, Emerson Hancock's successful return from a stint in the minors is ongoing. He's now had two quality starts in a row, with those following a solid five-inning, two-run performance in Cincinnati on April 17. He scattered nine hits on Wednesday, but only four of 22 batted balls off him were hit hard.

The incredible Andrés Muñoz aside, it's the bullpen that still elicits deep breaths from Mariners fans on a regular basis. It got charged with all three of the runs the club gave up on Tuesday, even if some tough luck was at play there.

A lack of strikeouts remains a frustratingly persistent theme for the bullpen. As of this writing, their relievers still rank last in the American League with a rate of 7. strikeouts per nine innings.

Grading the Mariners’ Strategy: A

Shocked by the "A" grade here? Don't be. The Mariners' Chaos Ball is a strategy, after all, and manager Dan Wilson had arguably his best series of the year.

We're especially appreciative that Wilson took the advice we issued and moved J.P. Crawford into the leadoff spot on Wednesday. It's certainly a spot befitting of a guy who entered the day ranked 10th among all hitters with a .415 OBP. And besides, it was wasted on Julio Rodríguez. He should see his job as cashing in baserunners, not getting on so he can get that treatment from others.

Despite the issues the Mariners have had throwing out runners, someone in the dugout must have seen something when Zach Neto reached first base as the go-ahead run with two down in the sixth. You almost never see pitchouts anymore, but Hancock and Garver pulled off the play perfectly and nailed Neto going for second to end the inning.

As for Wilson's bullpen management, it was nice to see him navigate high-leverage spots without using Trent Thornton. The righty did fine work for the Mariners in 2024, but five home runs in 11.2 innings is as clear a warning sign as can be.

Gabe Speier is a much better choice for leverage spots, and it seems that Casey Legumina has climbed Wilson's trust tree. This should be the case, particularly with the last two games presenting plenty of right-on-right matchups for Legumina. Those have been his jam, as he entered Wednesday with a .414 OPS against righties for the season.

With so many core pieces of the roster out of commission, it will continue to be on Wilson and the entire coaching staff to keep squeezing everything they can out of what players they have. As much as any the Mariners have played, this series is a sign that they're up for it.