Mariners suffer 12th inning loss to rival Astros
By Jeffrey Nooney, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - In what may be the most frustrating game played by our Seattle Mariners so far on the 2025 season, they lose a close one to the Houston Astros in 12 innings by a final score of 2-1, with the Mariners record falling to 4-8. Seattle starting pitcher Luis M. Castillo (1-1, 2.12 ERA) took the hill and was only able to make it through five innings of work. “La Piedra” struggled with command a bit in this one, throwing first pitch strikes to just eight of the 21 batters he faced. Castillo needed to throw 102 pitches to get through his five innings, as he allowed five hits, walked two and struck out six without allowing a run. The Mariners bullpen pitched seven innings in total tonight, allowing two unearned runs in the loss. Astros rookie infielder Cam Smith collected his first run batted in on a triple in the seventh inning, but that lone run was the only run the Astros scored until the 12th inning.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Luis M. Castillo threw five scoreless innings in this contest, helping his team hold tight in an eventual loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday, April 8th, 2025 at T-Mobile Park. (Photo by Dylan Nguyen for Circling Seattle Sports)
The Mariners once again struggled to collect hits with runners in scoring position tonight, hitting a collective 1-19 with runners in scoring position with the only hit coming from a Luke Raley infield single that scored Mitch Garver in the bottom of the seventh inning. The strikeout problem from last season looked like it followed into this season, with Seattle striking out whopping 19 times tonight. Every hitter that was in the starting lineup struck out in this one, as it was just an absolute fail from the offense tonight in most every way as frustrations with the Mariners offense continue to mount and worries from the fanbase this offseason are more and more real.
Seattle Mariners catcher Mitch Garver represented the lone run of the night for his team, as Luke Raley drove him in with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning as the Houston Astros went on to win in the 12th inning on Tuesday, April 8th, 2025 at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Dylan Nguyen for Circling Seattle Sports)
Seattle did have a great showing defensively, as J.P. Crawford had another spectacular game in the field following up his insane play from the night before. Second baseman Ryan Bliss had a game-saving play in the 11th when a ground ball hit by Jose Altuve bounced right in front of the second base bag, but Bliss was able to snag it with a leaping effort, saving a run from scoring. With the bases loaded in the 11th, third baseman Dylan Moore made an insane double play to end the frame when Astros second baseman Brendan Rodgers smoked a baseball right to him, as he bobbled the ball but was able to step on the bag at third before nailing Rodgers at first. Another great performance from the Perry Hill led infield tonight, after some struggles in the field have caused great frustration from an already irritated fanbase.
Relief pitcher Jesse Hahn may have earned the loss tonight, but do not let that tell you he was bad. Hahn had not pitched in the big leagues since 2021 before being called up a few days ago by the Mariners, and battled through injuries during his time away. He suffered a right shoulder impingement while pitching in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system. He has had a long road back to the big leagues, and he may have earned his spot in the arm barn for the Mariners or at least will be someone that they’ll want to keep around the organization. Hahn finished tonight with two innings pitched, one run (not earned), three walks (all intentional) and two strikeouts. He is one of the feel good stories going for the Mariners so far this season.
Quick Mariners baseball notes, from Mariners PR
The Mariners move to 4-8 for the season with the 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros.
It marked the Mariners first 12+ inning game since April 9, 2023 at Cleveland (12 innings).
Seattle is 3-3 in one-run contests this season.
Mariners starter Luis Castillo finished his 3rd start of the season, allowing 0 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts across 5.0+ innings of work, facing 1 batter in the 6th…he threw 102 pitches (63 strikes).
In a Mariners uniform, Castillo has gone 5.0+ innings in 74 of his 76 starts, and in 42 starts at T-Mobile Park…Castillo is 18-11 with a 2.84 ERA (79 ER, 250.2 IP) with 60 walks and 294 strikeouts.
Against the AL West in 29 starts, Castillo is 13-9 with a 3.17 ERA (61 ER, 173.0 IP).
In each of his 3 starts this season, Castillo has allowed 0 runs in his first 4.0 innings pitched.
Seattle’s bullpen (Eduard Bazardo, Collin Snider, Gabe Speier, Carlos Vargas, Andrés Muñoz, and Jesse Hahn) threw 7.0 innings pitched, allowing 2 runs, 0 earned runs, 3 hits, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts.
Speier threw a scoreless frame in the 8th inning in his 5th appearance of the season.
In 33 career games during the months of March/April (2022-c), he has a 0.28 ERA (1 ER, 32.0 IP) with 3 walks and 35 strikeouts.
Muñoz appeared in the 10th inning, throwing 1.0 innings pitched, allowing 0 runs, 1 hit, with 0 walks and 1 strikeout…he has yet to allow a run in 6.0 innings pitched, with 9 strikeouts in 6 appearances this season.
Hahn appeared in his 2nd game of the season with 2.0 innings pitched, with 3 walks (all intentional), and 2 strikeouts.
Hahn became the first Mariners pitcher with 3+ intentional walks in a game since Aaron Laffey (3 IBB) on May 10, 2011 at Baltimore.
Luke Raley hit a RBI single in the 7th inning and recorded 2 stolen bases.
Raley recorded his 3rd career multi-SB base game.
Randy Arozarena had a single and a walk, reaching base safely in 8 straight games, and in 11 of 12 games this season.
Mitch Garver recorded a single, a run, HBP, and his 1st stolen base of the season (3rd of his career).
Julio Rodríguez recorded his 4th stolen base of the season and the 90th of his career in the 3rd inning.
Ryan Bliss collected his 1st double of the season, and the 4th of his career in the 5th inning.
Cal Raleigh hit his 2nd double of the season in the 8th inning.
The Mariners went 4-for-4 in stolen bases tonight (Raley 2, Rodríguez and Garver), and have recorded 6 straight games with a stolen base)
With 19 stolen bases, Seattle has tied the most stolen bases in the first 12 games of the season, matching the 1987 season.
What’s next?
With tonight’s loss to the Houston Astros in the second game of the series, our Seattle Mariners will be looking to take tomorrow’s rubber match in game three of the series to wrap up the first set of this second homestand on the 2025 season. That rubber match is tomorrow, Wednesday, April 9th with a first pitch time of 1:10PM PDT as our Mariners will have Luis F. Castillo on the mound to duel with Astros right hander Hunter Brown. This is also the final day of the Cal Raleigh “Platinum Glove” bobble head giveaway days, as the first 10,000 fans into T-Mobile Park will receive a collectible to celebrate the “Big Dumper” and his incredible 2024 season.
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Check out our previous Seattle Mariners articles here.
Check out our previous articles with writing by Jeffrey Nooney here. Check out his previous work with Sodo Mojo by clicking here.
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