Mariners drop odd, frustrating game to Twins for 4th straight series loss

There was somehow maybe even more than the usual assortment of oddities in the Mariners’ game Sunday — chaos, if you will.

There was the sight of pitcher Luis Castillo having to bat in the fourth inning when Seattle lost the use of its designated hitter due to an injury to Mitch Garver — only the third time a Mariner pitcher has batted in a home game with the DH rule in effect, and the first time a Seattle pitcher has batted in any game since the introduction of the universal designated hitter rule in 2022.

And there was the sight of Twins centerfielder Byron Buxton – long regarded as one of the better defensive players in the game — losing a fly ball in the sun, helping key a two-run Seattle fifth inning that got the Mariners back into the game.

That inning also included Twins pitcher Joe Ryan bobbling a routine comebacker to the mound allowing for another Mariner run to score.

“A whole lot of stuff out there today for sure,’’ was the way Mariners manager Scott Servais put it.

But there was also once again a few too many strikeouts (11) and not enough runs.

And it was that “same ‘ole, same ‘ole’’ on offense that ultimately doomed the Mariners, resulting in a 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins in front of 33,367 at T-Mobile Park.

While the Mariners got all the breaks they could have asked for, they couldn’t take advantage with the strikeouts a key reason why Seattle went just 4-of-18 with runners in scoring position, leaving 12 runners on base.

“Our timely hitting has been atrocious, to be honest,’’ said right fielder Luke Raley.

Raley went 3-of-5 with a double, a run scored and an RBI, so he maybe could have been excused from that criticism.

But he lamented later that he also struck out on three pitches with runners on second and third in the first inning, helping set an ominous tone for the day.

“I’m at the forefront of it,’’ Raley said. “I had a great opportunity with second and third and you just can’t strike out on three pitches. It’s embarrassing. It’s frustrating.’’

The game then got “clunky,’’ as Servais termed it, when Mitch Garver — who was starting at catcher to allow Cal Raleigh something of a day off in serving only as the designated hitter — was hit by a pitch in the second inning and forced to leave with a right wrist contusion (X-rays were negative and Servais said Garver should be okay).

That forced Raleigh to have to catch and cost Seattle the use of the DH.

And that meant Castillo had to bat for the first time since he played for Cincinnati in 2021.

He was instructed to do nothing but watch the pitches when he came to the plate in the fourth with Raley on second, striking out on three pitches — one of three straight Mariners to strike out in that inning.

Castillo then allowed two runs in the fifth inning as the Twins took a 3-0 lead.

Seattle then rallied in what looked on paper as not too-unusual of a fashion — two runs on three hits and an error.

But it looked as weird as possible on the field.

First, a grounder to the mound with two on from Julio Rodriguez was bobbled by Ryan who then threw late to home, allowing Dylan Moore — who had tripled — to score.

Had Ryan fielded the ball cleanly, Moore, running on contact, would likely have been out easily. Moore was initially called out but the play was overturned after Seattle challenged. Ryan was charged with an error.

Buxton then lost sight of a Raleigh fly – ducking to avoid getting hit as it landed — that allowed Seattle to load the bases with one out.

Raley then followed with a liner that got by first baseman Carlos Santana but was fielded by second baseman Austin Martin — but with nowhere to throw to get anyone out — allowing another runner to score and cut the lead to 3-2 and keep the bases loaded.

That brought up Castillo’s spot in the order, and Servais had to take him out even though he’d thrown just 77 pitches in place of pinch-hitter Ryan Bliss.

But Joe Ryan then struck out Bliss on three pitches and got former Twins teammate Jorge Polanco to pop out to short to kill the threat, typifying a frustrating offensive day for Seattle.

“Really bizarre,’’ Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of the fifth inning. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an inning play out in that manner. …. I do think that probably the positive for us, which is despite running all over the field having to attempt to make those plays, not making those plays, Joe was still able to go out there and execute pitches.’’

Servais, though, thought at that point Seattle was going to again snatch an improbable win from the jaws of apparent defeat, especially when Polanco singled with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to score Raley and tie the game.

But the game didn’t say tied long as reliever Ryne Stanek gave up a single to Jose Miranda and then a home run to former Oregon State University standout Trevor Larnach to put the Twins back ahead, 5-3.

Seattle then went down meekly 1-2-3 in the last two outs, including a groundout from Rodriguez, who saw his average fall to .247 and his OPS to .624 in the midst of a current rough stretch in which he has just two hits in his last 29 at-bats.

“We were right where we needed to be at the end,’’ Servais said. “And you hope we could pull a little magic out. I give the Twins credit they got the big hits when they needed them.’’

Not just Sunday, but also Saturday when a three-run homer by Buxton in the sixth inning keyed a 5-1 win.

“They got some big hits in this series — bigger ones than we did,’’ Servais said. “And that’s what decided the outcome of it.’’

The twin losses to Minnesota meant the Mariners have now dropped eight of 11 and four series in a row while watching their lead in the AL West cut to 3.5 games over the Astros after leading by 10 on June 18.

The game also marked just the fourth time this year Seattle has lost when out-hitting its opponent — the Mariners had nine hits to the Twins’ eight, even if a couple, like the one Buxton lost in the sun, were the result of some good fortune. Seattle is now 35-4 this year when out-hitting its opponents.

Servais said Seattle hitters may at times be trying to do too much in so-called clutch situations.

“We expand (the strike zone) sometimes in those spots because the guys want to get the hits so bad to turn the tide,’’ he said. “And when you do that you are playing into the pitcher’s hands.’’

It’s an issue Seattle is going to have to figure out quickly with not only the surging Astros hot on their heels but a Baltimore team that entered Sunday leading the Major Leagues in runs scored coming to town for a three-game series beginning Tuesday.