Takeaways From Seattle Mariners Series Win Against Cincinnati Reds

The Mariners are in the midst of their best stretch of baseball this season.

Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford throws to first during a game against the Cincinnati Reds on April 16 at Great American Ballpark. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Seattle Marinersbegan the second leg of a nine-game road trip Friday on its best stretch of the season.

The Mariners took the first series of the road trip against the Cincinnati Reds two games to one, bringing their overall record to 10-9 on the season and 7-2 in their last nine games. And the offense continued to show out in the interleague set.

Here's some takeaways from the series between Seattle and Cincinnati:

Ben Williamson could be here to stay

The Mariners made their first big rookie call-up when they promoted third baseman Ben Williamson from the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on Sunday. Williamson made his major league debut in the first game of the series against the Reds on Tuesday. The assumption was that Seattle would platoon Williamson with Miles Mastrobuoni at third base with the rookie take on left-handed pitching.

Williamson ended up getting starts at third against a lefty and righty and subbed in for Mastrobuoni in Game 3 of the set. He finished his first major league series having hit .273 (3-for-11) with two runs. Even when he didn't reach base, he showed patient at-bats and a solid approach at the plate. His defense at third was steady.

Ben Williamson, first career hit ... a 105.8 mph pull-side single after falling behind 0-2.

He’s got over a dozen friends and family here tonight for his MLB debut, many of whom made a drive of more than eight hours. Cool moment for the Mariners’ No. 13 prospect by @MLBPipeline. pic.twitter.com/rNMOFIFXeh

— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) April 15, 2025

It's only a three-game sample size, but Williamson showed capability of being a big league contributor. And if he continues to be just that, he might remain in the big leagues for the rest of the year.

Mariners offense capable of carrying team to wins

For the better part of two seasons, the starting rotation has been the undisputed strength of Seattle.

But the offense has shown in the last nine games that it's capable of carrying the team to wins. The Mariners averaged 6.6 runs a game against Cincinnati and has averaged 5.4 runs a game over their last nine games. Seattle hit seven home runs during the series. Dylan Moore and Cal Raleigh both had respective two-homer games.

Dylan wasn't wasting any Moore time to get the party started. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/gTTp1Wj1z2

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 15, 2025

The offense's success has come with the caveat that the starting rotation hasn't been as dominant as it typically is. But the offense has been the engine for the best stretch of the season for the Mariners.

Seattle will continue to scrap out wins

Seattle has done a good job over its nine-game stretch at scoring early. But there's been several games where it's had to work from behind, including the rubber match against the Reds.

Cincinnati began the game with a 2-0 lead in the first inning and hit a grand slam to lead 7-5 through eight innings. The Mariners ended up winning the game 11-7 in 10 innings.

10th inning chaos! #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/2CYd6Y1PTp

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 17, 2025

Ideally, the starting rotation will get back to its usual dominance and Seattle's lineup will be able to hit without a deficit.

But the Mariners have won games in several different ways. And it's encouraging for the the team that they've been able to win games in a variety of ways just 19 games into 2025.

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