Andres Muñoz can’t hold lead, Mariners’ nightmare trip continues with loss to Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — The unmistakable feeling of bad vibes from awful losses that have been seemingly unavoidable for the Mariners on this road trip from hell has infected even their best and most reliable performers, leaving them as remnants of failure.
It was Andres Muñoz’s turn to feel the weight of defeat on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium in a crushing 6-3 loss.
The Mariners’ best reliever entered in the seventh inning to protect a one-run lead against the Dodgers’ best players — Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts — with the tying run on second base.
He couldn’t do it.
After Ohtani hit a rocket right to Justin Turner at first base for the second out, Betts ambushed the first pitch he saw for a double into to the left-field corner for a game-tying double. Muñoz was only able to escape the inning when Mitch Haniger made a perfect throw to home on Teoscar Hernandez’s single to right to get Betts at the plate.
Would that play save Muñoz and the Mariners?
No, it only got worse for the All-Star closer. He returned in the eighth inning, trying to give his team a chance to recover and rally. Instead, he served up a three-run homer to pinch-hitter Jason Heyward with two outs, effectively crushing any slim hopes of victory.
Seattle dropped the first two games of the series in Los Angeles and will turn to Logan Gilbert on Wednesday to try to avoid being swept.
The Mariners got a short and pitch-filled start from right-hander Bryce Miller, who pitched four innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He threw 92 pitches in the four innings of work.
Miller worked the first three inning scoreless, but allowed a runner to reach and struggled against the Dodgers’ left-handed hitters.
He allowed a first-inning double Freddie Freeman, issued a walk to Max Muncy in the second inning and gave up a triple to Ohtani in the third inning. But he was able to pitch out of each of those innings.
The left-handed hitters got to Miller in the fourth. For the second straight night, the duo of Gavin Lux and Muncy homered in the same inning. Lux jumped on a 3-2 fastball, sending a drive to right-center. Victor Robles tried to make a leaping grab, crashing into the wall as the ball barely cleared the wall and then somehow squirted out the bottom of the wall and reappeared on the warning track.
A confused Lux stopped at third base but was later awarded with a homer. There was no doubt about Muncy’s homer and no chance of making a play on it. His towering solo blast to right field measured 407 feet.
Miller was able to eventually work out of the inning, but it took 25 pitches in the frame.
Facing starter Walker Buehler, a one-time All-Star who has struggled in his return from almost two missed seasons due to injuries, the Mariners grabbed an early 2-0 lead.
After Buehler retired Robles and Julio Rodriguez on two deep fly balls in three total pitches, Cal Raleigh started the two-out rally with shift-beating double. Luke Raley and Randy Arozarena each worked walks off Buehler to load the bases.
Jorge Polanco shrugged off a pair of curveballs called for immediate strikes. After refusing to chase a fastball up in the zone, he took advantage of a sinker left in the middle of the plate, pulling a single into right field to score a pair of runs.
The Mariners tacked on another run in the third inning thanks to Polanco. Raleigh led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. He later scored when Polanco punched a double into the gap in left-center.
Scoring three runs in the first three innings of a game was a welcome change considering what has transpired on this road trip. And yet, it still felt like the Mariners should’ve gotten more considering how much traffic they had on base against Buehler.