Mariners Secure Series Win Over Cardinals With 5-3 Victory
By Jeffrey Nooney, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - The spell from the Etsy witch continues to deliver. Our Seattle Mariners take the series against the St. Louis Cardinals by winning tonight’s game two by a final score of 5-3. While this win at T-Mobile Park obviously holds it’s own importance, the night as a whole was a great one for the Mariners as the Houston Astros lost up North. The Toronto Blue Jays walked off the Astros, which means the Mariners are now just one game behind Houston for the lead in the American League West division. Seattle continues to get results dating back to that second game in Atlanta, as while their starting pitcher struggled the offense was able to lift the pitching past an early deficit for the second game in a row. The Mariners continue to march towards the postseason, as the final road trip of the season looms large, and if their recent play is an indication of their momentum then the Pacific Northwest will have two teams in the postseason soon.
Seattle Reign FC and USWNT forward Lynn Biyendolo threw out the ceremonial pitch first ahead of the Seattle Mariners 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, September 10th, 2025 at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby was not quite himself tonight, and his struggles as of late continued after the ugly outing in the teams second blowout defeat against the Tampa Bay Rays on the last road trip. Kirby managed to get through just four innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, while walking two batters. He managed to only get two swing and misses in this performance, but did manage to collect two strikeouts. In September, Kirby has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) in just six innings pitched. The Mariners will need him to turn it around as the season has just 17 games left in it, especially considering some of the frustrating efforts put together by the rotation as a whole in a challenging 2025 campaign. The three runs
The Seattle Mariners pitching staff of starter George Kirby and relief arms Caleb Ferguson, Gabe Speier, Eduard Bazardo, Matt Brash, and Andrés Muñoz in their 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, September 10th, 2025 at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Even though Kirby struggled in this game tonight, the Mariners bullpen was electric for the second night in a row. Caleb Ferguson, Eduard Bazardo, Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz combined for five innings pitched, two hits allowed, no runs, no walks and seven strikeouts. While the bullpen has had it’s struggles through this second half of the season, it was nice to see them lock things down for the win tonight to allow the Seattle offense to produce enough.
Just like the night before, the Cardinals jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the ballgame. St. Louis third baseman Nolan Gorman doubled in Willson Contreras before Thomas Saggese singled in Gorman in the top of the second inning. Kirby was unable to put a few batters away and other hitters attacked him early to help get on base, but George was able to finish off the frame with just the two runs of damage done.
The Mariners took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to a three-run home run from outfielder Randy Arozarena, his 27th blast of the season. The Cardinals got one back in the top of the fourth on a freak play at third base, as St. Louis second baseman José Fermín hit a line drive down the third base line that ricocheted off of the third base bag. Seattle third baseman Eugenio Suárez made a great play on the ball and fired it to first for a called third out before the Cardinals challenged the call and it was overturned, meaning the game was now tied.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor hit his 19th home run of the season and showed more emotion than Seattle fans have seen from him since being traded to the ballclub, throwing his bat in the direction of the Mariners dugout. Seattle added another run with Randy Arozarena’s sacrifice fly to deep right field, scoring Mitch Garver and producing the final score of 5-3 in favor of the Mariners.
The Seattle Mariners offense was powered by home runs from Josh Naylor Randy Arozarena in their 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, September 10th, 2025 at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
Along the facing of the front row of the bleachers in left field hung a banner that displayed the message “Sign Naylor Now,” and games like tonight when the veteran first baseman comes through in the clutch illustrate the need for the Mariners to do so. When asked if he saw the sign, Naylor had great things to say about Seattle and his time with the Mariners organization so far.
“No, I didn’t. I don’t really look around in the crowd like that during the game. I’m kind of just locking on the moment. But that’s super cool. I mean, the fans here are awesome. Even (Cardinals first baseman Willson) Contreras at first, he’s goes ‘This place is electric’ And I’m like yeah, it honestly really is. The fans get excited. They get pumped up in big moments. Its kind of unexplainable. Its super colt be a part of. Sometimes you kind of feel the ground shake because its so loud. Sometime you can’t hear your own thoughts because its so loud. And that’s what you want to play. I’m very, very grateful. I’m very thankful for this fanbase. Its super awesome, so awesome.”
Playoff watch
As mentioned previously, the Houston Astros lost in walk off fashion to the Toronto Blue Jays and the Mariners pull within one game of Houston thanks to their loss and the Seattle victory tonight. The Texas Rangers, held together by waiver claims and Texas toast following the injuries that they’ve suffered so far this season, held on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers, so they remain just a game and a half behind the Mariners. The Cleveland Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals as well, so the Royals fall to four games behind the Mariners. The win for Cleveland means they stay at 2.5 games behind Seattle in the race for the final American League Wild Card spot.
Moral of the story: continue to root for the downfall of the Astros, Rangers, Guardians, and Royals.
What’s next?
Following tonight’s win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of the series to clinch the set, our Seattle Mariners look to complete the sweep of their National League Central foe tomorrow night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 PM PDT. Logan Gilbert (4-6, 3.61 ERA) will take the hill for the Mariners, while Michael McGreevy (6-3, 4.68 ERA) will throw for the Cardinals. Seattle will then host Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels for a four-game series to wrap up this seven-game homestand beginning on Thursday.
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