The Seattle Mariners opened a critical road trip with a 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, falling a season-worst eight games under .500 after a decisive four-run seventh inning by the hosts.
Seattle dropped its fifth straight game and its 14th in 19 contests, sliding to a 56-64 record on the season. The defeat came despite another strong outing from starting pitcher Bryan Woo, who carried a scoreless performance through five innings before the bullpen unraveled in the late frames.
Bryan Woo’s Scoreless Start Wasted by Bullpen Collapse
Woo navigated a difficult 33-pitch opening frame and ultimately surrendered just three hits across five scoreless innings, striking out five batters and walking one while throwing first-pitch strikes to 15 of 19 hitters. The right-hander’s effort went unrewarded as the Mariners’ offense continued its prolonged slump, managing only three hits on the night.
Randy Arozarena provided Seattle’s lone run in the sixth inning by launching an opposite-field home run to right field off Yankees starting pitcher Ryan Weathers. The blast broke a scoreless tie and handed Weathers a tough-luck deficit after the left-hander had extended his career-best shutout streak to 23 innings.
Seventh-Inning Rally Lifts Yankees Past Relief Corps
The game turned decisively in the bottom of the seventh when manager Dan Wilson called upon reliever Michael Rucker to protect the 1-0 lead. Rucker struggled to find the strike zone, allowing a leadoff double to Luis García Jr. and an immediate single to Jazz Chisholm Jr. that put the go-ahead runs on base.
After walking rookie Spencer Jones to load the bases, Rucker faced Ryan McMahon. The reliever stayed with a 2-1 curveball below the zone that McMahon poked through the left side of the infield to drive home two runs.
Eduard Bazardo replaced Rucker but immediately surrendered a bloop single to Austin Wells that dropped in front of right fielder Taylor Ward, advancing the runners. Trent Grisham followed with a two-run single through the shortstop hole, capitalizing on defensive positioning to push New York’s lead to 4-1 during an inning that sent nine batters to the plate.
Offensive Struggles and Roster Context in the Bronx
Seattle’s attack was restricted to just three hits—infield singles from Brendan Donovan and Dominic Canzone alongside Arozarena’s solo home run. The team has mustered only five runs during its five-game losing streak and nine runs over its past seven games.
The loss dropped the Mariners into third place in the American League West at 56-63 prior to the game’s official record update, while the Yankees solidified their standing atop the AL wild-card race, moving three games ahead of the Boston Red Sox.
The three-game series continues Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. Seattle is scheduled to send right-hander Bryce Miller (4-6, 3.08 ERA) to the mound against New York right-hander Will Warren (8-6, 4.18 ERA).
