This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer's Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CLEVELAND -- The dugout erupted in a celebration that was both good-natured and self-deprecating.
It was a show of relief after what’d taken place over the previous two weeks. But with hindsight for how the rest of Sunday’s game would play out, it proved to be painstakingly premature.
The play itself was an infield single that Julio Rodríguez legged out in the sixth inning, which, coupled with a bobble from Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana, scored Victor Robles after he'd swiped second and third base.
And it gave the Mariners their fourth run of the day, a threshold they hadn’t reached in a single game since June 12.
But it wound up not being enough after a disastrous bullpen meltdown -- which in turn put a bigger spotlight on the 14 baserunners that Seattle’s offense stranded and its 2-for-14 showing with runners in scoring position.
“We've got to keep the foot on the gas; that’s the story of the game there,” Cal Raleigh said, perhaps trying to absorb some blame away from manager Dan Wilson and the low-leverage relievers who surrendered a five-spot in the decisive eighth inning.
“We've got to play full nine -- come to the field ready to compete for two, three hours a day, and not an hour and a half. So that's kind of what I saw.
"We’ve just got to be better, myself included."
Raleigh’s point could be illustrated through both losses this weekend.
On Saturday, the Mariners were on the verge of being shut out until rallying within one run in the eighth, when Randy Arozarena ripped a three-run homer. But immediately after, they left the tying and go-ahead runs stranded -- then did the same in the ninth.
On Sunday, they were in the driver’s seat all afternoon, thanks to Emerson Hancock’s impressive rebound and the offense putting a runner on base in all nine innings. But once Michael Rucker and Josh Simpson gave up the five-spot, Seattle’s bats only had three outs left to punch back.
Remarkably, they did -- getting one back on a run-scoring error then putting the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. But they were unable to bring them home and ran out of time.
“We’ve got to learn from it,” Raleigh said. “We’ve got to put together better nines [nine innings] than we’re doing right now. You’ve got to play all nine innings as hard as you can with a lot of energy, and find a way to scrap and claw for runs -- because you never know when you might need that extra run.”
There were certainly ingredients to a more productive offense this weekend at Progressive Field, via a higher batting average (.252, compared to their .232 season average) and on-base percentage (.353, up from their .313 season average).
But they lacked the pop that’s been a defining and decisive factor in their success and struggles.
The Mariners had just five extra-base hits among their 123 plate appearances, which correlated to a .336 slugging percentage. On Sunday, they fell to 6-22 this season in games in which they haven’t homered.
And overall, they haven’t been homering -- with 26 in June (tied-24th in MLB) compared to 42 in May (tied-most). So, that puts so much more onus on manufacturing runs in other ways.
“Just keep your head down, just keep having a good approach, keep putting the balls on play,” Rodríguez said, “and I think things are going to happen.”
Zeroing in since June 12, the Mariners’ most recent game with more than four runs, they’re hitting .183 with a .520 OPS and only two homers with runners in scoring position.
“We’ve all got to do a better job of just executing with people on base and being mentally disciplined, mentally tough enough to be able to come through in those moments," Raleigh said. "It’s not going to be handed to you.”
Raleigh’s commentary on Sunday came in the explicit forum as a team spokesman after an extremely tough loss. It’s a role he’s shouldered for years, but one that clearly weighs on him more in 2026 because he’s had his own struggles.
As bad as the Mariners need more from everyone within run-scoring opportunities, it’s especially true for Raleigh, who’s slugging .282 since returning from the injured list on June 16.
And he recognizes it as much as anyone.
“I think what's lacking is just that discipline to stay in the middle of the field and not get too big and to sacrifice yourself as a hitter sometimes, and do what's best for the team,” Raleigh said. “I think we all could do a better job of that, and like I said, myself included.”