Mariners end road trip on high note after drubbing Braves to win series

Ryan Divish, The Seattle Times on Sep 7, 2025

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

ATLANTA — When the Braves curiously announced that right-hander Spencer Strider had been scratched from Sunday’s start, roughly three hours before the scheduled noon first pitch at Truist Park, the initial response from Mariners fans wasn’t relief.

Nope, it was a fatalistic reaction, because the Braves opted to go with left-hander Joey Wentz instead.

Mariners’ social media was apoplectic at the possibility of facing a middling left-handed pitcher instead of a former All-Star, who was working his way back from injury.

Why?

Left-handed starting pitchers, regardless of their past or present success, have made plenty of success against the Mariners this season. They were 3-8 in their last 11 games against left-handed starters, including a pair of games on the current road trip.

But with a full complement of players available on the roster and manager Dan Wilson able to send out a lineup with only two left-handed hitters, the Mariners showed they can produce against left-handed starters.

In the early afternoon sun and heat, the Mariners turned the game into a rout early, scoring eight runs in the third inning off Wentz, cruising to an easy 18-2 drubbing of the Braves.

After a 1-6 start to the road trip and looking like a team that would slog its way out of a wild-card spot, the Mariners closed it out with back-to-back wins over the Braves. It was their first series win on the road since sweeping the Tigers before the All-Star break.

But it wasn’t just that the Mariners got a pair of wins, which they desperately needed, but how they did it — getting hits with runners in scoring position, mashing homers, racking up runs and producing at a level commensurate with their lineup talent.

The Mariners’ run-scoring party started innocently and in an unexpected way.

With two outs in the second inning, Josh Naylor singled to left field off Wentz for the Mariners’ first base runner of the game. Mitch Garver followed with a deep fly-ball to center. It was hit well enough that Michael Harris II retreated immediately, knowing it had a chance to go out. Harris neared the wall and jumped to catch it. But the ball just got over his glove and hit off the wall. Naylor scored easily and Garver, who runs, well, like a 34-year-old catcher, kept on chugging around the bases, eventually sliding into third.

Garver’s seventh triple of his career and his first since May 11, 2019 gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead.

But the Mariners will only getting warmed up. Here’s how the third inning unfurled:

— Victor Robles: Singles on an 0-2 curveball to right field.

— Randy Arozarena: Six-pitch walk.

— Cal Raleigh: Screaming line drive — 105 mph off the bat — to left field to load the bases.

— Julio Rodriguez: Bouncing ball to third that takes a bad hop to get through the legs of Nacho Alvarez. All three runners were able to score on what was ruled a double. Mariners lead 4-0.

— Eugenio Suarez: Strikeout.

— Jorge Polanco: Pulls a low changeup just over the wall in left field on an awkward swing with almost no follow through for his 24th homer of the season. Mariners lead 6-0.

— Josh Naylor: Ambushes a first-pitch fastball, sending a towering fly-ball into the Chop House seats in right field for his 18th homer. Mariners lead 7-0.

— Mitch Garver: Single to center, ending Wentz’ outing.

— J.P. Crawford: Single to center off new pitcher lefty Dylan Dodd.

— Robles: Flyout to deep right field.

— Arozarena: Single through the left side of the infield to score Garver and Crawford. Mariners lead 9-0.

— Raleigh: Strikeout looking.

In all 12 batters came to the plate, eight of them got hits to score eight runs. Braves pitchers threw 50 pitches in the inning. The last time the Mariners had an inning scoring eight or more runs with eight or more hits was on June 2, 2016 against the Padres at Petco Park. In that memorable game, the Mariners rallied from a 10-run deficit.

There was no rallying from the big deficit for the Braves. Mariners starter Luis Castillo didn’t let an almost half-hour top of the third bother him. The veteran right-hander delivered a quality start, pitching six innings and allowing one run four hits with no walks and six strikeouts.

The Mariners continued to add on against a beleaguered Braves bullpen via the long ball, including Cal Raleigh’s 53rd homer of the season — a three-run blast to deep center in a seven run top of the ninth inning.

____