4/17/25

(Cincinnati, OH) Seattle and Cincinnati took the field bright and early for the rubber game of their three-game series on Thursday. After splitting the first two in fairly close games, the two teams battled it out, both looking for their third consecutive series win.

Another late rotation shuffle after Wednesday night’s game saw Bryan Woo pushed back and Emerson Hancock thrust into duty for Thursday’s finale. Hancock was making his first start since not getting out of the first inning back on March 31st as he gave up six runs in the 1st inning. For Cincinnati, Brady Singer would get the start with the Reds winning each of the three games this season Singer has started.

Mariners 11, Reds 7 (11 Innings) (Game 3, April 17th)

For the first time in the series, Seattle did not score in the 1st and actually found themselves trailing after an inning of play. After retiring the first two batters he faced, Emerson Hancock gave up a two-out single to Elly De La Cruz to extend the inning for Austin Hays. After dealing the knockout blow to the Mariners in game one, Hays got the Reds going earlier as he drove an opposite field home run out to right center for his second of the season. The two-run blast gave the Reds the initial lead for the first time in the series at 2-0.

Seattle left a couple of runners on in the 2nd but Hancock didn’t allow a runner on in the 2nd or 3rd. Leading off the 4th, Randy Arozarena continued to find his way on base with another walk. That brought Luke Raley to the plate and he was due for a breakout after being the unluckiest hitter in baseball so far this season based on the stats. This was a start. Raley got a hanging slider in the middle of the plate and crushed it 398-feet for his second home run of the season. The two-run blast reset the game as we were back to even at 2-2.

A double play helped Hancock pitch a quiet 4th and Seattle grabbed the lead in the top of the 5th. Back-to-back singles by Julio Rodríguez and Jorge Polanco actually put runners on second and third thanks to a Cincinnati error. Another error gave the M’s the lead as Cal Raleigh hit a soft line drive to Elly De La Cruz at shortstop. The ball skipped right by his glove to score Rodríguez, making it 3-2 with still nobody out. Brady Singer was then pulled as Tayler Rogers came in and Donovan Solano pinch hit for Rowdy Tellez to counter the pitching change. Solano recorded his first RBI as a Mariner with a sacrifice fly to right to score Polanco and make it 4-2 Mariners.

Emerson Hancock had a big bounce back start in this one which was a tougher test due to pitching in a hitters friendly park. After giving up those two runs in the 1st, Hancock only allowed three more Reds to reach base in his five innings of work. The young righty allowed the two runs on just five hits without walking a batter and striking out four. The strong outing solidified Hancock’s standing as the #5 starter in the rotation until the return of George Kirby.

The bullpen was not as sharp for the Mariners as they have been. Collin Snider cleaned up Gabe Speier’s mess in the 6th before Carlos Vargas got in trouble in the 7th. A walk to Blake Dunn was followed by a Jake Fraley double to put runners on second and third with one out. Vargas loaded the bases by walking Matt McLain for TJ Friedl. The damage was minimized as Friedl hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Dunn and make it 4-3. After walking Santiago Espinal to load the bases, Vargas was pulled for Trent Thornton who struck out Elly De La Cruz looking to strand the bases loaded and keep Seattle in front at 4-3.

In the top of the 8th, Seattle got that run back. A single for Ben Williamson and a walk for Miles Mastrobuoni put a couple of men on with one out against Tony Santillan. J.P. Crawford stayed hot at the plate with a double down the right field line. Williamson scored to make it 5-3 on Crawford’s second double of the season. Unfortunately, Seattle couldn’t capitalize with runners on second and third with one out and had to settle for the two-run lead heading into the home half of the inning.

Eduard Bazardo found himself in the set-up role this time around and after retiring Austin Hays to begin the inning, loaded the bases with a single and two walks. In stepped former Mariner Jake Fraley and he dealt a massive blow to his former squad. A fastball right down the heart of the plate was sent to deep right center and had just enough to clear the wall for a grand slam. It was Fraley’s second career grand slam and his second home run of the season and put the Reds in front, 7-5.

Emilio Pagán then entered for the Reds looking to close out the comeback and break Mariner hearts in the 9th. Not on Cal Raleigh’s watch. The Big Dumper unloaded on a fastball on the inner half and sent his eighth home run of the season 422-feet to cut the deficit to one at 7-6. Then came Randy Arozarena to the plate and he fell behind 0-1. However, his resurgence in 2025 brought Seattle back to life. Arozarena hit a screaming line drive 108.2 mph off the bat over the wall in left to go back-to-back with Raleigh. It was Randy’s fourth of the season and after a 1-2-3 inning by recent call-up Casey Legumina in the home half, sent the game to extras at 7-7.

The last pitcher in the Reds bullpen came in to pitch the 10th and Graham Ashcraft created his own mess. An error on a bunt by Miles Mastrobuoni moved the automatic runner Dylan Moore to third while also putting Mastrobuoni on. J.P. Crawford slapped a chopper in the six-hole that was back handed by De La Cruz, but he had no play anywhere as Moore scored to make it 8-7. Julio then hit into a fielder’s choice but swiped second to put runners at second and third with one out. Mitch Garver walked and Cal Raleigh struck out to load the bases with two outs for Randy Arozarena. After getting a little help on what should have been strike three, Arozarena chopped one into left center field and hustled his way into second with his sixth double of the season, scoring two and making it 10-7. Donovan Solano then hit a routine grounder to De La Cruz at short, but another error by the shortstop allowed everyone to reach and score Garver to put Seattle up 11-7.

The four-run lead felt safe with Andrés Muñoz entering the game and indeed it was. Muñoz struck out Jeimer Candelario and got Blake Dunn to groundout to first base for two outs. Jake Fraley would not fare much better with a harmless fly out to Julio in right center to put an end to the game. The bats bailed out the bullpen this time around and Seattle made it three straight series wins with an 11-7 win over Cincinnati in ten innings.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Reds

• Jake Fraley- 3-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, R
• Austin Hays- 1-5, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Brady Singer (ND)- 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO

What’s Next

With the first of their three consecutive road series complete, the Seattle Mariners (10-9) will now head out of the country for the only time this season when they travel up for a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mariners enter the series in second place in the AL West just two games behind the Texas Rangers. Toronto (11-8) come into the series in second in the loaded AL East behind the New York Yankees by one game.

Toronto so far this season has finally started to live up to their potential with a very scary lineup. After being swept by the New York Mets on April 6th, Toronto has won six of their next nine games, including winning both Tuesday and Thursday in Atlanta to take the series against the Braves. The pitching has actually been pretty solid for the Jays but they win their games at the plate with a lineup that is even stronger with the offseason signing of Anthony Santander. Seattle has not won a series in Toronto since the 2022 Wild Card series in the Mariners return to the postseason.

This player spotlight has to be about Vladimir Guerrero Jr. One of the most talked about potential trade names withdrew himself from trade talks by signing a 14-year, $500 million extension that will likely make him a Blue Jay for his entire career. The dangerous hitter actually had a tough series in Atlanta going 2-9 but is always a guy to be careful of. His power numbers are down as well as he has just one home run this season while hitting .292 on the season. Vladdy has been quiet against the Mariners, hitting just .252 in in 30 games against Seattle. They have been very careful with him though, walking Vladdy 14 times in those games. Keeping the bases empty for Guerrero will be the key for the Mariners so they can keep being careful with him, but with Santander now hitting behind him expect the M’s to up the aggression against the face of the franchise this time around.

NOTE: Friday’s opener is only available on Apple TV+

• Game 1, Friday 4:07pm (Apple TV+)- Bryan Woo (2-0, 2.84 ERA) vs. Bowden Francis (1-2, 3.71 ERA)
• Game 2, Saturday 12:07pm- Logan Gilbert (1-1, 2.38 ERA) vs. José Berríos (1-1, 5.16 ERA)
• Game 3, Sunday 10:37am- Luis Castillo (1-2, 4.22 ERA) vs. Easton Lucas (2-1, 4.70 ERA)

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