‘Things will change’: Frustrated Mariners squander opportunities, drop series to Twins

Ryne Stanek entered Sunday’s series finale at T-Mobile Park on the ultimate heater: a 10-game streak of scoreless outings as Seattle’s high-leverage, eighth-inning setup man.

The right-hander’s high-90s fastball and three-pitch off-speed mix worked wonders this month for the 32-year-old who hadn’t allowed an earned run since June 7 – until one fateful splitter left over the middle to Minnesota’s Trevor Larnach immediately halted Stanek’s sparkling stretch.

Tied in the eighth inning with a man aboard, Minnesota’s left fielder found Stanek’s 1-1 splitter on the lower half, golfing a go-ahead, two-run home run just beyond the right-center wall. An earlier three-run Seattle rally would go for naught, surprisingly at the hands of its best reliever this month.

“Ryne Stanek has been really good for us,” manager Scott Servais said. “He left a couple of splitters up today, and that happens once in a while.

“Not for a lack of effort or anything like that. Today, they got a big hit at the end, and we didn’t.”

It was a rubber match the Twins seemingly tried to give away via a flurry of infield bobbles, mishandled ground balls, plus a routine fifth-inning fly ball to center field that Minnesota’s Byron Buxton lost in the afternoon sun. Seattle’s famed “chaos ball” returned with small-ball antics, including a two-run rally in the fifth despite nothing hit hard beyond the infield.

And yet with nine hits and 18 total at-bats with runners in scoring position, the Mariners dropped Sunday’s finale, 5-3, when Larnach smacked his eighth home run of the season and Twins closer Jhoan Duran worked a clean ninth inning for his 12th save. Snapped with Stanek’s scoreless streak was Seattle’s nine-series win streak at T-Mobile Park, where they are now 28-14.

Luke Raley posted a three-hit game and Jorge Polanco rifled a loud, game-tying RBI double off the right field wall in the seventh inning, but the Mariners struck out 11 times and stranded a dozen base runners aboard.

“Our timely hitting has been atrocious, to be honest. I’m at the forefront of it,” Raley said, despite his big day. “First inning, I had a great opportunity (with two runners on). You just can’t strike out on three pitches. It’s embarrassing. It’s frustrating. It’s kind of how baseball goes sometimes.

“This group of guys… they work their butts off. Guys are doing everything they can to get right.”

An additional foil in the madness: Mitch Garver, Sunday’s catcher, was drilled in the right wrist by a second-inning fastball and exited Sunday’s finale with a right wrist contusion. That forced designated hitter Cal Raleigh to assume catching duties and, subsequently, forced Mariners starter Luis Castillo to bat sixth in the order.

With long-term health considered, Castillo did not swing the bat. His lone plate appearance was a three-pitch strikeout, all fastballs opposite Minnesota’s Joe Ryan. ‘La Piedra’ trotted back to the dugout, chuckling, as Julio Rodriguez jokingly mocked his starting pitcher.

“Luis hasn’t had a bat in his hand for a couple of years,” Servais laughed. “There’s so much baseball (left). … We’ve got to be really careful there.”

The lineup wrinkle also required Servais to pull Castillo after just five innings and 77 pitches.

The silver lining? Garver’s X-rays returned negative, per Servais.

“An unfortunate event that happened to Garver. Hopefully, he’s alright,” Castillo said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. “I think it’s the first time I’ve ever come out (of the game) with 77 pitches, but you (have) to understand the situation.”

Castillo managed five innings, tagged for three earned runs – he fanned three and did not walk a batter – but it was a contest more defined by offensive ineptitude and the inability to capitalize on opportunities presented on the fanciest of platters.

“We figured out a way to scratch and claw and get back in the game,” Servais said. “And we did. Just weren’t able to hold them down at the end. … They get a couple of big home runs late in games, and that was the deciding factor in this series.

“We needed a few breaks. And we got them. You get the feeling we’re going to get this done, and unfortunately (Larnach) had the big swing at the end.”

The numbers aren’t pretty. Entering Sunday, the Mariners ranked last among MLB clubs in batting average (.218) and had struck out a major-league-high 871 times. Oakland ranked second-worst, with 834 strikeouts.

Seattle’s on-base percentage (.298) ranks 25th in MLB. Their season total of 619 hits ranks last.

And within an hour of Seattle’s 5-3 loss, Houston returned from a rain delay at Citi Field and erupted for five runs in the 11th inning, handing the Mets a 10-5 loss. The Mariners’ (47-39) once-10-game lead in the American League West has dwindled to three and a half.

“Keeping that positive mentality,” Castillo said, his key to a turnaround. “I’ve always said it. You’re going to have (more) good times than bad, but when it’s happening, you’ve just got to accept it. Come in with a positive mentality. Come in to compete, same routine, and things will change around.”

HAMSTRING STRAIN LANDS WOO ON 15-DAY IL

Upon delivery of his 96-mph fastball at Tropicana Field on Monday night, Bryan Woo immediately and awkwardly reached for his right hamstring – an instant indication that the dreaded injury bug had again stung the budding 24-year-old.

At 60 pitches, a frustrated Woo motioned for manager Scott Servais and head athletic trainer Kyle Torgerson, joined by the entirety of Seattle’s infield. And they could only spectate as Woo stretched, attempted to deliver a warm up pitch, and ultimately stumbled off the mound in considerable pain when his hamstring grabbed him again.

Woo’s stellar season is, again, put on hold. The Mariners placed him on the 15-day injured list Tuesday afternoon, the fifth starter in Seattle’s rotation with sharp stuff and impressive numbers through eight starts in 2024 (3-1, 1.77 ERA). He missed the month of April with right elbow inflammation, but never in Woo’s life has he dealt with a leg injury, only compounding the confusion.

“I just didn’t feel like I could push off (the mound) like I wanted to,” Woo told reporters the following morning. “Frustrated. Disappointing. Obviously been a tough season, I guess, so far, just dealing with injuries.

“I finally feel like I (had) a night I’m feeling good, the ball is coming out well, the stuff is getting back to where I (thought) it could be, and then… yeah. It just sucks.”

The absence of hamstring injury history for Woo explains Seattle’s caution with their young starter, who was scheduled to throw on a mound Sunday, his first attempt in doing so since Monday night in Tampa Bay. In a corresponding move, Collin Snider was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma for additional bullpen depth without Woo.

“We’ll try to get (Bryan) back as soon as possible,” Servais said.

SHORT HOPS

– Seattle dealt LHP Dallas Keuchel to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night for cash considerations. Keuchel is a 13-year MLB veteran who won the 2015 AL Cy Young Award with the Houston Astros.

Keuchel, 36, did not appear for the Mariners after signing a minor league contract on April 5, but went 7-4 with a 3.93 ERA (71 IP) with Triple-A Tacoma before Tuesday’s deal.

– Logan Windish’s early, third-inning grand slam for Double-A Arkansas cemented a big Tuesday night – until the 25-year-old infielder turned his performance from memorable to historic.

Windish went on to lift four home runs and plate all nine Travelers runs, both career highs in a 9-4 win at Double-A Springfield. He reached base five times, adding a first-inning walk.

And he more than doubled his season home-run total in a single night. In 60 games for Double-A Arkansas this season, Windish is slashing .227/.347/.396 with seven home runs, 28 RBI, and 78 strikeouts (248 PA).

ON DECK

Seattle completes a nine-game homestand with the Baltimore Orioles (July 2-4) and Toronto Blue Jays (July 5-7) before a six-game road trip completes the season’s first half.

Following Monday’s off day, George Kirby takes the mound for the Mariners in Tuesday’s opener with the Orioles. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m.