HOUSTON -- The frustration was so palpable on Sunday afternoon that it pushed manager Dan Wilson to a breaking point.
For the first time in his MLB career, including as a player, the Mariners skipper was ejected from a game, after contesting balls and strikes with home-plate umpire Laz Diaz following a called strikeout to Randy Arozarena that sent a tie game to the bottom of the ninth inning.
And just moments later, Casey Legumina surrendered a leadoff single to Jose Altuve and a walk-off homer to Christian Walker that sunk Seattle to a 5-3 defeat, adding salt to the fresh metaphorical wound that Wilson was still speaking to postgame.
“You can't argue balls and strikes, and so that was that,” Wilson said. “But I think these guys, you know, they fight hard. Their at-bats are so good, and all the way through the day, just really good at-bats. And so you feel for them a little bit, and you feel some of their frustration. But at the same time, it was just a tough one today.”
Wilson has operated with an extremely mild-mannered demeanor since his playing days, a large reason why he was so successful. And it’s translated since he took over as manager last Aug. 22, when Scott Servais was let go. It’s also why he’s resonated so well within the clubhouse, with many calling him a more hands-off players’ manager.
Yet underneath, many have also spoken to a more burning competitive persona that doesn’t necessarily surface with raw emotion. But it did on Sunday, which clearly looked like an effort of player support.
Because by all tracking measures, the final pitch to Arozarena -- and all of the called strikes against him on Sunday, for that matter -- was in the strike zone.
“I hope they know that already,” Wilson said. “But I think we talk about how hard these guys play and how hard they work, you know that that's what shines through to me.”
That final sequence was the dagger on a day where there were many frustrating moments throughout what felt like a winnable game -- especially after the Mariners jumped to a 3-0 lead by the top of the third.
Legumina was pitching on back-to-back days and went to the same spot three out of four times vs. Walker, who is one of the sport’s better sluggers but has been off to a slow start in the first year of a $60 million contract with Houston.
Matt Brash, who recorded the third out of an eighth-inning jam in relief of Collin Snider, might have been considered to stay in for the ninth, but he pitched on Friday and was getting hot in the bullpen on Saturday. Had he entered on Saturday, it would have marked his first back-to-back appearances since returning from Tommy John surgery on May 3. Andrés Muñoz, who only pitched on Friday in this series and has been used almost exclusively in save situations, was not seen stretching in the ninth.
Before the late-innings theater, Luis Castillo’s efforts were the day’s highlight, featuring a massive and sustained uptick in velocity -- capped by a 97 mph strikeout on his 114th and final pitch to end the sixth inning.
That workload tied Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene for the most pitches thrown in a game this year, and it was one shy of Castillo’s high since joining the Mariners at the 2022 Trade Deadline.
“That's what we train for,” Castillo said through an interpreter. “That's why we work. We train our bodies, our arms. But unfortunately, we didn't get the win today. But I feel good.”
Castillo nearly departed with a one-run lead -- which, given how the game unfolded, might have been enough for Seattle to hang on to victory, given that the bullpen might have operated differently late.
But he surrendered a two-out double in the sixth to Cam Smith, who sliced the 97.7 mph offering just barely inside fair territory and into the right-field corner, which allowed speedster Jake Meyers to race all the way home from first base.
As the dust settled, the Mariners lost their first road series since their first of the season, a sweep in San Francisco seven weeks ago.
They also saw their lead atop the American League West trim to 1 1/2 games over these Astros, who have won four of their first seven meetings with three-game series at both T-Mobile Park and Daikin Park remaining.
However, the Mariners still finished 6-4 on their longest road trip to date.