Takeaways From Seattle Mariners First Road Series Against San Francisco Giants
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The Seattle Mariners are coming off a dreadful series by the Bay.
The San Francisco Giants beat the Mariners 5-4 on Sunday and swept the three-game series. Seattle had a chance to win all three games. But missed opportunities plagued the team. They are now 3-7 and in last place in the American League West.
Here's the takeaways from the Mariners first road series of the season:
Mariners need Troy Taylor, Matt Brash back in the fold
There are few bullpens in the American League that have been tested and taxed like Seattle's has the first 10 games of the season.
The Mariners had to use all eight relievers in a 10-9, 11-inning loss to the Giants on Friday. Seattle was able to protect the bullpen for the rest of the series. Jesse Hahn, who was called up from Triple-A for Game 2 of the series, was able to pitch two solid innings Saturday.
The Mariners have used a high volume of relievers in the early going, and have had to ask some of those relievers to go beyond their usual norms (Collin Snider threw 43 pitches on Friday). Troy Taylor has two rehab appearances under his belt in Tacoma and would seem to be close-ish to returning, with Matt Brash expected to depart on a rehab assignment soon.
Troy Taylor throws a scoreless rehab inning. 1 hit allowed, 1 strikeout. pic.twitter.com/Aidlkv3Iis
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) April 5, 2025
Every reliever has been utilized in the first 10 games of the season. And Seattle will need Taylor and Brash to avoid overusing the bullpen.
Reason for concern with Jorge Polanco?
After being out on Paternity Leave, Polanco was back in the lineup for the Mariners in Game 1 on Friday. He went 3-for-5 with a run, a home run, a walk and four RBIs.
POLO DOES IT AGAIN 💥 pic.twitter.com/rUtDfOjgw9
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 4, 2025
Polanco was kept out of the starting lineup for the final two games of the series with a sore knee. He entered at the end of the Game 3 because Victor Robles exited the game with a shoulder injury. Polanco was the last man on the bench and stood at first base for the Giants' walk-off hit.
The Mariners have made it a priority to keep Polanco healthy. That was one of the main reasons the team made the decision to move him from second base to third after they re-signed him. And based on the way he's hitting, that decision is the right one.
If Polanco's knee continues to flare up, even while getting reps at third, then Seattle might have to consider moving Polanco to a full-time designated hitter role. That would create several issues when it comes to the team's lineup construction.
Seattle needs to be better with runners on base
The Mariners had opportunities to win all three games but failed to bring home the necessary runs to pull out the victories.
In the three-game series, Seattle hit .156 (5-for-32) with runners in scoring position. The Mariners left 35 runners stranded total. They lost the trio of contests by a combined five runs. After Seattle outfielder Randy Arozarena tied Sunday's game 4-4 in the top of the ninth inning, the Mariners left the bases loaded.
Raaaaandy ties it up in the 9th! #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/zhgLETTBiX
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 6, 2025
Seattle's only three wins this season have been when its starting pitcher has had a quality start and Andres Munoz has had the save.
The Mariners inability to bring runners over has been the biggest weakness of the team so far. And it's created a very slim margin of error that requires Seattle's pitching staff to be near-perfect.
Up next
The Mariners will look to get back on track in Game 1 of a three-game series against the Houston Astros at 6:40 p.m. PT on Monday at T-Mobile Park. Logan Gilbert will start for Seattle and Hayden Wesneski will start for Houston.
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