Mariners Offense and Bullpen Continue to Scuffle in 5-2 Defeat to Athletics
By Jeffrey Nooney
Seattle, WA - In a frustrating trend from years past that’s resurfaced early in the 2026 campaign, the Seattle Mariners offense continued to struggle tonight against the American League West-leading Athletics. The Mariners could only push two runs across tonight, one on a sacrifice fly from Josh Naylor and the other thanks to a solo home run by Cal Raleigh. Seattle’s lineup managed to rack up eight hits, but seven of them were singles; the Mariners ineptitude with runners in scoring position was made glaringly more apparent in this contest.
UW Softball legend and current Portland Cascades infielder in the AUSL, Sis Bates, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
The Athletics got on the board first in the top of the first inning. Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo walked the A’s leadoff hitter, Nick Kurtz, who came around to score on Tyler Soderstrom’s first double of the night.
The Mariners answered in the third inning when Josh Naylor hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Rob Refsnyder. The A’s struck back in the fourth inning when Jeff McNeil, whom they acquired in an offseason trade from the New York Mets, hit his first home run of the season. Cal Raleigh tied the game at two in the fifth inning with a solo home run, his fourth of the season, and second in as many games.
Seattle Mariners designated hitter Cal Raleigh rounds the bases after his solo home run against the Athletics on Tuesday, April 21st, 2026, at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
The Athletics then scored the eventual winning run in the sixth inning when Tyler Soderstrom scored on a Jacob Wilson double off Mariners reliever Eduard Bazardo. The Athletics would add one run in the seventh when catcher Shea Langeliers hit his eighth home run of the season, his second home run in as many games. With the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Nick Kurtz scored on an RBI single off the bat of Jacob Wilson, putting Seattle into an even deeper hole that they couldn’t fully climb out of.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo was on the hill against the Athletics on Tuesday, April 21st, 2026, at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo had to battle throughout this game. He managed to get through five innings, allowing two runs (both earned) on five hits, walking two, and striking out six. The first five outs that Castillo recorded tonight were strikeouts. He threw 95 pitches, including 62 for strikes. 24 of those 62 strikes were foul balls, something Luis talked about after the game against the aggressive Athletics lineup.
“The pitches were kind of where I need them to be, but when you have an aggressive team like that, they like to swing. They made contact off of me. But for me, I think the important thing that I took from it is, they were able to foul those balls because the pitches were exactly where I wanted them. Sometimes you get those balls to go foul, sometimes they go into pop-ups or even groundouts. But for me, I think those pitches were exactly where I wanted them.”
Quick notes, from Mariners PR
The Mariners drop game 2 of the 3-game series vs. the Athletics with a 5-2 final
Luis Castillo threw 5.0 innings, allowing 2 runs (2 ER) on 5 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks while striking out 6 batters…he threw 95 pitches and 62 strikes.
Marks his 101st game with 6+ strikeouts and 2-or-fewer walks…ranks 11th in MLB since 2017.
Cal Raleigh went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk in tonight’s game…his 5 total bases in tonight’s game are a season-high.
Marks his first home run in back-to-back games this season (last:9/20-9/21/25) and his 3rd multi-hit game of 2026.
His 3 times on base in tonight’s game are a season-high.
Julio Rodríguez went 2-for-3 with a walk to extend his on-base streak to 18 games (4/2-c).
His on-base streak is tied for the 3rd longest streak this season and is the 3rd longest streak of his career.
He has also recorded a hit in each of his last 6 games (4/16-c)…logged his 2nd multi-hit game over the stretch.
Rob Refsnyder recorded his 2nd hit of the season to start off the 3rd inning, his 2nd hit to lead off an inning this season.
He entered the game batting at a .276 clip when leading off the inning over his career.
Josh Naylor drew a walk and drove in the Mariners first run of the game on a sac-fly to center field…
He reached base in each game he has played during this homestand (4/17-c), going 6-for-11 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and 3 walks over the stretch.
Mitch Garver threw out Max Muncy at second base for his 2nd caught stealing of the season…Mariners catchers own the 2nd-lowest stolen base percentage at .529 in MLB in 2026.
Cole Young singled in the 4th inning…he owns a .393 OBP over his last 7 games.
Randy Arozarena went 1-for-4 tonight…his 25 hits and .381 OBP lead the Mariners.
The Mariners bullpen (Eduard Bazardo, Gabe Speier, Cole Wilcox) threw 4.0 combined innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks while striking out 4 batters.
Before Bazardo's first career regular-season loss tonight, he held the Major League record for most career innings pitched (151.0) without a loss.
The record goes back to Ernie Herbert, who went undefeated in 115.2 innings pitched from 1913-15 with the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Maroons.
The active pitcher with the most IP without a loss is Yankees reliever Brent Headrick (63.0 IP).
What’s next?
The Seattle Mariners will finish up this homestand tomorrow afternoon against the Athletics, with a first pitch scheduled for 1:10 PM PDT. Seattle’s Logan Gilbert (1-3, 4.03 ERA) will take on Aaron CIvale (2-1, 3.54 ERA) of the Athletics. After a much-needed off day on Thursday, the Mariners head back out on the road for six games to face the St. Louis Cardinals and the Minnesota Twins. Before the season, this particular road trip looked to be a cakewalk against two rebuilding teams. However, the Cardinals are tied for second in the N.L. Central with a record of 14-9, while the Twins are off to a surprising start as well, as they are second in the A.L. Central with a 12-11 record.
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