Takeaways From Seattle Mariners Series Loss Against Baltimore Orioles
In this story:
The Seattle Mariners were one of the hottest teams in baseball going into their most recent series against the Baltimore Orioles from Aug. 12-14.
The Mariners' hot streak came to an end against the Orioles. They dropped the final two games of the series, which ended their season-best eight-game win streak and three-series win streak.
Seattle will begin another three-game set against the New York Mets on Friday. They'll start that contest 1.5 games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West and one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox for the top wild card spot.
Here's more takeaways from the series between the Mariners and Baltimore:
Seattle's revamped offense finds its floor
Seattle struggled to string together consistent offense against the Orioles. They averaged 2.3 runs a game in the series. The Mariners averaged 5.5 runs a game in the 10 home games before heading to Baltimore. The M's scored all three of their runs in Game 3 after a more than two-hour rain delay and O's starter Tomoyuki Sugano was pulled.
Julio delivers an oppo-taco 🌮 pic.twitter.com/xfRS9NKS4B
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 14, 2025
Seattle didn't have its full-strength lineup for the entire series. Cal Raleigh received the day off in the series finale Thursday and Mitch Garver was slotted at designated hitter and Dylan Moore was in right field Wednesday.
Even without the Mariners having a consistent lineup across the series, the stretch against the Orioles was a sobering, and perhaps necessary, reality-check for Seattle's lineup. Even with the depth the team gained with the trade acquisitions of first baseman Josh Naylor and third baseman Eugenio Suarez, dropping two-of-three against Baltimore is a reminder that there's still a floor to the offense. The Mariners won't be able to coast through the final month-and-a-half of the season.
Seattle's frontline starters are back to form
It took almost an entire season, but George Kirby and Logan Gilbert are back to their respective All-Star forms.
After respective stints on the injured list this season, both pitchers have strung together starts resembling the expectations many analysts had for them going into the season.
Kirby had arguably his best start of the year against Baltimore on Aug. 12. He went seven innings, struck out seven and allowed three hits. It was his fourth consecutive quality start and second scoreless outing over that stretch.
George Kirby, Filthy 86mph Knuckle Curve. 😷 pic.twitter.com/AWlc3ryDmN
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 12, 2025
Gilbert threw 6.1 innings, fanned six, walked two and allowed two earned runs on four hits (one home run). It was his third quality start in his last five outings and sixth consecutive start where he's struck out at least six batters.
Logan Gilbert, 95mph Fastball and 82mph Splitter, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/Y1LiMePALk
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 14, 2025
With those two back to their usual form, and Bryce Miller's return imminent, the rotation might finally be back at top form, and it couldn't happen at a better point in the season.
Up next
The Mariners will begin their three-game series against the Mets at 4:10 p.m. PT on Friday. Luis Castillo will start for Seattle and Sean Manaea will start for New York.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
MARINERS WIN STREAK COMES TO AN END IN 5-3 LOSS TO ORIOLES: The Mariners were unable to overcome a pre-rain delay deficit to the Orioles. CLICK HERE
ESPN INSIDER SPECULATES MARINERS' RIVAL'S CLOSER COULD NOT RETURN THIS SEASON: In a recent episode of the "Refuse to Lose" podcast, Buster Olney discussed the odds of Houston Astros closer Josh Hader returning from a shoulder strain this season. CLICK HERE
JULIO RODRIGUEZ DISPLAYS INCREDIBLE ACT OF KINDNESS: The Seattle Mariners franchise superstar helped rebuild the home for a person affected by a natural disaster in the Dominican Republic. CLICK HERE
Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.
