Sloppy Mariners drop series finale vs. Angels in extra innings

Ryan Divish, The Seattle Times on Apr 5, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — The weather wasn’t an issue like the season-opening homestand. There was no bitter cold to make things difficult. Instead, weather in Orange County couldn’t have been much better over the weekend, specifically a Sunday afternoon in the mid-80s with a thin layer of clouds making the sunshine less intense.

There wasn’t a superhero performance from the Los Angeles Angels like Jo Adell provided on Saturday night where he did the seemingly impossible to change the outcome by himself.

The Seattle Mariners simply didn’t play well in the series finale. Yes, they “battled” and “fought” as manager Dan Wilson perpetually said in defeat. But their superior talent couldn’t overcome their ineffective execution.

They played a sloppy and careless brand of baseball in the field, giving away outs and extra bases on multiple occasions. On the bases, they made two costly and unnecessary outs at inopportune times. At the plate, they were overly aggressive against a rookie making his MLB debut, and failing to capitalize on his nerves and erratic command in the early going. Throw in their first outing from a starting pitcher that was less than five innings, and you have an assortment of reasons for their 8-7 defeat in 11 innings.

That the Mariners still managed to push the game into extra innings with multiple opportunities to win the game and the three-game series, speaks to their superior talent and just how much better they are than the Angels, who appear to have correctly been picked to finish last in the American League West. They just didn’t play like the better team.

After a failing to score a run in the top of the 11th despite having the automatic runner at second base to start, including Cal Raleigh striking out with the bases loaded, the Mariners couldn’t do the same to the Angels.

Needing only one run, the Angels played small ball after Seattle intentionally walked Zach Neto to start the inning and face Oswald Peraza, who was forced into the lineup after Mike Trout was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning and forced to leave the game. Peraza put down a perfect sac bunt to move automatic runner Adam Frazier to third base.

Nolan Schanuel followed with a fly ball to left field that was just deep enough for Frazier to tag up and test the arm of Randy Arozarena. His throw home was off target, allowing Frazier to slide into home for a walk-off victory.

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