The Seattle Mariners laid a massive egg on Thursday, dropping the series finale to the Detroit Tigers with a brutal 11-0 loss at T-Mobile Park. This wasn’t just any loss; it was a total meltdown in a series they absolutely should have taken, leaving a sour taste for every single fan bleeding green and blue.
Everything Was Lined Up For The M’s, So What Happened?!
On paper, this series was ripe for the taking. We were home, and the Tigers had just gutted their rotation, trading away both Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize at the deadline. Even notorious Mariners killer Kerry Carpenter was sidelined on the injured list. Plus, our guys had made a couple of modest deadline additions of their own. It felt like a prime chance to get back on track, right?
Wrong. Turns out, the Tigers were red-hot, especially with the bats. And to make matters worse, we weren’t even running our ideal lineup for the rubber game. Cal Raleigh, Josh Naylor, and Brendan Donovan were all out, either resting or on scheduled days off. Even manager Dan Wilson was serving a suspension after last night’s bench-clearing incident, leaving bench coach Manny Acta to manage. Oh, and guess who we were facing? Lefty Framber Valdez, a pitcher we’ve struggled against all year. It was a perfect storm of bad circumstances, even with Bryce Miller on the bump, despite him cooling off from his productive start to the season. There was still a sliver of hope.
Bryce Miller’s First Inning Nightmare Set The Tone
That hope? It evaporated faster than a Seattle summer shower. From the very first pitch, Miller just didn’t have his command. He walked rookie sensation Kevin McGonigle to lead off, then worked behind against Gleyber Torres, who flew out. But then Dillon Dingler, who had already homered in *every game* of the series, absolutely demolished a 2-1 cutter to the opposite field for a two-run homer. Ugh.
The hits just kept coming. Riley Greene smacked a ground-rule double, and Colt Keith followed up with a double of his own to drive Greene in. Jhonny Pereda’s ABS challenge helped Miller secure a strikeout of Max Clark and finally get the last two outs, but the damage was done. Miller had thrown a staggering 40 pitches in the first inning, the most by any Mariners starter all year, and we were immediately down 3-0. He summed it up himself: “Just a really, really frustrating way to start the game. Just immediately put us in a hole, and we’re on defense for , it felt like 30 minutes. But I know I can’t start the game like that. We have to be more competitive.” He’s not wrong. It felt like 30 minutes, and the hole just kept getting deeper. Victor Robles even had to come in to pitch relief in the ninth inning. An 11-0 shutout. Brutal.
This wasn’t the way we wanted to end the series. The M’s have to shake this off and figure things out fast. We’re looking forward to the next series, and our guys better come out with some fire, because this kind of performance just won’t cut it.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Lookout Landing.
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