Grading the shaky Seattle Mariners’ sloppy 2-1 series win over Minnesota Twins

The Seattle Mariners escaped their series against the Minnesota Twins with a win — but make no mistake, it was far from convincing.

A team clinging to first place in the AL West should be finding its rhythm by June. Instead, Seattle is feeling stuck in neutral. The offense is now top-heavy, the bullpen is leaking in high-leverage spots, and the lineup construction is beginning to raise more questions than it’s answering. 

Yes, there were heroics — Cal Raleigh went nuclear, and Cole Young gave fans a debut to remember — but those flashes of brilliance only highlight how fragile this team’s foundation currently is. With expectations high and the division tightening, it's time to take a hard look at each section of this roster and ask if this is sustainable.

Let’s get into what went right and wrong as we grade the team’s performance this series.

Mariners vs. Twins Breakdown and Grades: Series Results

• Friday, May 30: SEA 6, MIN 12
• Saturday, May 31: SEA 5, MIN 4
• Sunday, June 1: SEA 2, MIN 1

Grading the Mariners’ Offense: D

That grade might seem severe for a team that put up 12 runs in a three-game series, but let’s not get fooled by the box score.

Right now, Cal Raleigh is the Mariners’ offense. Of those 12 runs, Raleigh was responsible for eight of them through four home runs and eight RBIs. He’s in a ridiculous zone, playing completely out of his mind. Watching him right now is thrilling, but it’s also a bit terrifying. Because eventually — whether next week or next month — there’s going to be a cool-down. And when that happens, if the rest of the lineup continues to sputter as it has, this offense will collapse under its own weight.

Still, there are bright spots worth recognizing. Randy Arozarena keeps delivering in clutch spots, and Cole Young made a storybook debut with a walk-off RBI — exactly the kind of spark this team needs more of. However, one or two sparks can’t carry a lineup through a 162-game grind.

Grading the Mariners’ Defense: C

The Mariners did the bare minimum defensively this series — no major meltdowns, but enough miscues to raise eyebrows. For the most part, they handled routine plays and caught what needed catching. But the finer details — the moments that separate clean baseball from winning baseball — were lacking.

A couple of throws stood out for the wrong reasons: Carlos Vargas' wild toss allowed Byron Buxton to take third in the top of the ninth in Game 2, and Julio Rodríguez’s off-target throw on Harrison Bader’s sac fly in Game 3 let Kody Clemens score what turned out to be a crucial run. Maybe Rodríguez doesn’t get Clemens at the plate, but a sharper throw would’ve made it a razor-close play.

These weren’t egregious mistakes, but they were missed opportunities in high-leverage moments. And when you give up a lead in the top of the ninth in every single game of a series — as the Mariners just did — you’re flirting with disaster. This defense isn’t broken, but it’s not tightening the screws when it matters most.

Grading the Mariners’ Pitching: D

If this grade was based solely on the starting rotation, we’d be having a very different conversation. Bryan Woo continued to be Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller looked solid in his return to the rotation, and Luis Castillo turned in a vintage performance in Sunday’s matinee.

The problem? Everything unraveled once the ball left a starter’s hand. The bullpen, occasionally a strength, completely collapsed under pressure. Two blown saves from Andrés Muñoz, typically one of the most reliable closers in baseball, and another from Carlos Vargas nearly cost the Mariners the series outright.

Look, nobody’s calling for pitchforks. Both Muñoz and Vargas have been phenomenal for most of the season and every reliever, no matter how dominant, will hit a rough patch. But empathy doesn’t change the scoreboard. The Mariners were two walk-off hits away from not being on top of the AL West anymore, and the bullpen would’ve been directly responsible. In high-leverage moments this series, the pitching faltered. It’s really that simple.

Grading the Mariners’ Strategy: C

Manager Dan Wilson continues to make the most of what he's got, and for the most part, he’s pulling the right strings. But Saturday’s lineup card turned heads for all the wrong reasons.

It’s not that Wilson mismanaged the game — it’s who he trotted out to the heart of the order that was puzzling. When your 5-6 hitters are batting barely above the Mendoza Line, you're not exactly creating a line outside of T-Mobile Park. Rowdy Tellez and Mitch Garver are theoretically capable of providing some thump, but let’s talk reality. Tellez is hitting .203, Garver .204, and together they went 1-for-10 that day, with Garver punching out three times. That’s your middle of the order. Who cares about theoretical power at this point?

Yes, you can make a case for Tellez, as eight home runs will buy you some slack. But Garver? He has as many home runs as rookie Ben Williamson. One. Sure, somebody’s gotta catch when Cal Raleigh sits, and it’s going to be Garver. But if that’s the case, Wilson needs to be smarter about where he places him in the lineup. Hiding him in the 8-hole instead of the 6-spot would limit his chances of killing rallies and keep more productive bats stacked where they belong.

Strategy isn’t just about bullpen moves and pinch-hitters — it’s about setting the tone from the first pitch, and this lineup card created zero fear for the opposition.

The Mariners may have taken the series, but the margin between confidence and concern is razor-thin. They’re riding the talent of a few exceptional performances while the rest of the machine sputters. Winning ugly might work right now, but it won’t hold in August and definitely not in October. This team is talented enough to compete, but they’re not playing like a contender. 

The Mariners have a day off on Monday and will host a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles at T-Mobile Park starting Tuesday — a winnable series, as the O’s have undoubtedly been the most disappointing team of 2025. If the Mariners want to stay atop the AL West and make noise beyond the regular season, they’ll need more than solo efforts and late-game miracles to beat teams that are in the cellar of their division. They’ll need cohesion, consistency, and a manager willing to make some tough lineup calls.