3/27/25

(Seattle, WA) There is no day of the year quite like Opening Day for the MLB season. Every team and fanbase has hopes and dreams of a memorable season and all the memories that will come over the course of the six-month season. While the players and coaches prefer game #2 when they can get in the everyday routine, fans soak up the return of baseball with all eyes on the sport for the day.

For the Seattle Mariners, a frustrating couple of years where they missed the playoffs by one game in both 2023 and 2024 had fans expecting some big offseason moves. None of those came which left fans frustrated and disappointed with the front office as the team once again entered 2025 with one of the best rotations in baseball. With a majority of the same roster as last year but with a new manager in Mariners Hall of Famer Dan Wilson, it had the feeling of a prove it year where the front office truly believed in the roster that they put together and just needed guys to play to their capability.

While very frustrated, not a single Mariner fan would swap places with a fan of the [redacted] Athletics. After spending 57 seasons in Oakland, the franchise moved to Sacramento for at least a two-year stint and likely more as they will play all home games at a Minor League ballpark. However, the players on the Athletics gave what is left of the fan base plenty to cheer for as the youth movement began to pay off in the second half of the season. That gave the A’s hope to be this year’s Detroit Tigers and maybe sneak their way into the playoff hunt.

Mariners 4, Athletics 2 (Game 1, March 27th)

For the first time in his young career, Logan Gilbert took the ball on Opening Day. After Luis Castillo got the honors in each of the last two seasons, Gilbert got his opportunity after leading the best rotation in baseball last year while also making his first All-Star team. Walter would look to set the tone for what this rotation can do but he would have some tough opposition. Luis Severino made his Athletics debut after signing the largest contract in franchise history in the offseason. After being a multi-time All-Star with the Yankees, Severino dealt with some injury issues before moving across town to join the Mets last season. It was a great move for Severino as he had a strong season (11-7, 3.91 ERA) that he looked to build upon with his new club.

In a stunning surprise to absolutely nobody at all, pitching dominated the story in the early portions of the ballgame. Logan Gilbert looked like he was in midseason form right out of the gate, striking out five batters in his first four innings while only allowing one single hit against the A’s. Luis Severino was not quite as dominant as he had to work around some traffic as Seattle had a baserunner in each of the first four innings but could not muster a run as Jorge Polanco has the only two hits in the first four innings for the M’s.

Once again the Mariner offense made Logan Gilbert have to be as close to perfect as possible to give the team a shot at the win. While Gilbert was doing just that, one hanging slider changed the feel of the game. With one out in the 5th, Gilbert hung one and Tyler Soderstrom squared it up as he managed to hurt the Mariners on both offense and defense. Soderstrom’s first home run of the year went off the batter’s eye in center field and the A’s had grabbed the games first run and a 1-0 lead.

Seattle couldn’t capitalize on getting a runner to third with two outs in the 5th and 6th innings as Luis Severino once again danced out of danger. A questionable sacrifice bunt by Jorge Polanco took the bat out of the hands of the Mariners hottest hitter and instead brought Rowdy Tellez to the plate with runners on second and third with two outs. Tellez took a nasty sweeper on the outside corner for strike three to end the threat and put a bow on Severino’s Athletics debut. The ace went six innings and allowed just three hits and four walks but did not allow a run while striking out six.

Logan Gilbert would roll through the top of the 7th with some help from his infield to complete his 2025 debut and his first Opening Day start. Gilbert only needed 80 pitches to complete seven innings and allowed just the one lone run on two hits without walking a batter while striking out eight. A trendy pick to win the AL Cy Young, Logan Gilbert seemed poised in a big moment and gave his offense a chance to win the game late.

Unfortunately, Gilbert was in line for the loss until the bottom of the 7th. Tyler Ferguson was the first reliever used by the A’s and he struggled immediately, walking both Ryan Bliss and J.P. Crawford to put two runners on with no outs. Then chaos ball made its season debut. As Victor Robles tried to get down a bunt, the ball kicked away from catcher Shea Langeliers on what looked like a foul ball. However, Ryan Bliss had a better view from second base and moved up to third…but didn’t stop their. Bliss came around to score to tie the game up momentarily. Upon review, Bliss was actually out at the plate as his foot came up on the slide for the first out of the inning. Crawford was still at third, and Robles did a great job despite being behind 0-2, as he sent a fly ball to center field. Crawford tagged up and scored the tying run after all. Despite all the ups and downs, the game moved to the 8th, all tied up at 1-1.

Trent Thornton would be the first man out of Dan Wilson’s bullpen but he had the tough task of facing Tyler Soderstrom to start the 8th. Yet again, Soderstrom dealt a heavy blow to Mariners fans hearts. The first baseman ripped a cutter at the top of the zone and sent a screaming line drive over the wall in right field for another solo home run. It was Soderstrom’s second of the game and just like that, the wind was taken out of T-Mobile Park as the A’s retook the lead, 2-1.

With one of the best closers in baseball starting to get loose for the Athletics, the Mariners had to make the most of their opportunity against a familiar face in former Texas Ranger, José Leclerc. The set-up man would battle with Cal Raleigh before striking out the Mariner catcher to begin the bottom of the 8th. That brought Randy Arozarena to the plate and his electric personality and one vicious swing brought the PNW to life. Arozarena smashed the first Mariner home run of the season out to left and slammed his bat down to celebrate as he circled the bases to tie the game at 2-2.

Luke Raley would keep the energy growing as he worked a walk to put the go-ahead run on base. In stepped Jorge Polanco who many didn’t expect to see back in a Mariner uniform. After the worst season of his career in 2024, Polanco seemed to want to make things right with Mariner fans and did just that on Opening Day. The switch hitter got a fastball in the middle of the plate and drove it deep to center field. It had enough carry to get out of the park for Polanco’s first home run of the season and his third hit of the game. Just like that, Seattle was in the driver’s seat with a 4-2 lead.

With their own fearsome closer ready to go, the Mariners welcomed Andrés Muñoz to the game to try to close out the win in the 9th. Facing the top of the A’s order, Muñoz couldn’t get Lawrence Butler to chase and instead walked the leadoff man to bring the tying run to the plate. He was able to get the dangerous Brent Rooker to chase as the A’s best hitter struck out for the fourth time in the game for out number one. That brought JJ Bleday to the plate and he got in a good count at 2-0. A challenge fastball would be sent up the middle where J.P. Crawford would scoop it up. Crawford would tag Butler and then make a quick throw to first to get Bleday for a game-ending 6-3 double play. While it wasn’t clean or relaxing, it would go down as the first win of the year as the Mariners pulled out the 4-2 Opening Day win over the Athletics.

Notable Performances

Athletics

Mariners

• Jorge Polanco- 3-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Logan Gilbert (ND)- 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO
• Randy Arozarena- 1-3, HR, RBI, R, BB

What’s Next

A wild Opening Day win gets the Mariners off to a 1-0 start and moves the team to 30-19 all time on Opening Day, the second-best winning percentage in MLB history behind only the New York Mets who lost game one this year. Seattle and the Athletics will continue their four-game series on Friday night at 6:40pm when Luis Castillo takes the mound for the Mariners against Jeffrey Springs. Below, you can see the pitching matchups for the entire series with each pitchers stats from last season.

As we did last year, we will have a mix of game recaps and series recaps based on writer’s availability and schedule. For this series, we will have game recaps for each individual game. We will let you know what to expect for the upcoming series before they start so you can know to check back every day or after the series is complete.

• Game 2, Friday 6:40pm- Jeffrey Springs (2-2, 3.27 ERA) vs. Luis Castillo (11-12, 3.64 ERA)
• Game 3, Saturday 6:40pm- Osvaldo Bido (5-3, 3.41 ERA) vs. Bryce Miller (12-8, 2.94 ERA)
• Game 4, Sunday 1:10pm- JP Sears (11-13, 4.38 ERA) vs. Bryan Woo (9-3, 2.89 ERA)

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