Takeaways From Series Split Between Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals
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SEATTLE — Missed opportunities plagued the Seattle Mariners in their series split against the Kansas City Royals from June 30-July 3.
The Mariners, with an opportunity to win the four-game series, lost 3-2 to the Royals on Thursday and left two in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Beyond the final frame of the series, the M's received inconsistent showings from the roster.
Here's the takeaways from the series between Seattle and Kansas City:
Bullpen shows first cracks in weeks
The Mariners bullpen has been one of the most dependable collective units on the team over the last month. The series against the Royals marked Games 11-14 of a 17-game stretch for Seattle without a day off, and the relievers have been steady throughout, often times resembling Atlas holding up the sky.
Matt Brash, Ridiculous 85mph Back Foot Slider. 😳
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 28, 2025
20 inches of horizontal break. pic.twitter.com/J1j9pvySTJ
The bullpen cracked for the first time against Kansas City. The relievers allowed a collective six earned runs on nine hits in 14 innings pitched across the four-game series.
The relievers have had to put in extra work several times over the club's current stretch due to short outings from the starting rotation. Logan Gilbert pitched 4.2 innings in Game 3 of the series Thursday and Logan Evans threw 5.2 innings in Game 4.
The hierarchy of Seattle's high-leverage arms have settled in nicely, but even with three All-Star-caliber relievers (Andres Munoz, Matt Brash, Gabe Speier), the last four games proved that it's not bulletproof. Casey Legumina had two walks which came around to score on Thursday.
Mariners need more from top half of the lineup
The top half of the Mariners lineup was a whiplash of positives and negatives across the four-game series.
The No. 1-4 spots in the order went a combined 11-for-29 with four home runs and nine RBIs in Games 1 and 3 — the two games Seattle won. Randy Arozarena accounted for three of those homers. In the two losses, players in those spots went 3-for-30 with an RBI.
3 GAMES IN A ROW FOR RANDY‼️ pic.twitter.com/6Bk7IC6bLL
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 3, 2025
In the bottom of the ninth of the series finale Thursday, Julio Rodriguez (batting No. 2) struck out looking and Cal Raleigh (No. 3) grounded out to end the game.
Bad games are going to happen, there's no avoiding that. But if it remains all or nothing with the top half of the order, it could be a long second half of the season.
Up next
Seattle will finish of the stretch of 17 consecutive games with a three-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates, beginning at 1:10 p.m. PT on Friday. Bryan Woo will start for the Mariners and Bailey Falter will start for the Pirates.
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