SeaTown Sports Brew: Mariners Kick Off Their Season
The Brew returns...
The Leadoff - Mariners are off and running
Seattle Sports is at an all-time high. The Seahawks are the reigning Super Bowl champions. The Sonics’ return appears imminent. And the Mariners are favorites to represent the American League in the World Series. Did I just write that sentence?
This past offseason, the conversation around the Mariners felt different. From the outset of the offseason, the Mariners signed first baseman Josh Naylor. After that, to me, anything else would’ve been gravy. The team then went out and nabbed utility player Brendan Donovan to play third base. For a team that was just innings away from its first-ever World Series birth back in October, this was just enough.
Now we’re back in action, and this team is chasing a World Series championship. Losing three out of four against the Yankees isn’t exactly a rousing start. But it’s only April 2nd and we are only seven games into a 162-game season. The Seattle Times has already run a “no need to panic” piece. Julio Rodriguez is 2-for-26, Naylor is 1-for-27, and Cal Raleigh has struck out 15 out of the 25 at-bats. We’re used to a Julio cold start. We are alos used to Cal striking out a ton. The Naylor cold start is something new. I’m not worried at all. This team started 3-4 last season (and in 2021, 2022, and 2024) and turned out just fine.
Besides the cold bats, the pitching has been electric. Luis Castillo went six scoreless against the Yankees in the walk-off game, two hits, seven strikeouts, looking every bit like a legitimate ace. Emerson Hancock also pitched six scoreless innings, no-hitting the Guardians in those innings. Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Bryan Woo also appear to be in mid-season form. The Mariners’ whole identity is built on the staff, and the staff is holding up its end of the bargain.
The opening seven games has not been ideal. After a winter of expectations, going 3-4 against the Guardians and Yankees is not the statement anyone was hoping for. But I’ve been watching this team long enough to know that cold April bats are a feature of baseball, not a crisis. The pitching is real. The lineup is real. The only question is when, not whether.
Winners & Losers
Winner: Luis Castillo Six innings, two hits, seven strikeouts, zero runs against the Yankees. Castillo looked like an ace.
Winner: Cal Raleigh’s Walk-off Yes, he struck out 10 times in the team’s four games. Yes, that’s a Mariners record for Ks to start a season. But he also delivered the moment that handed the Yankees their first loss of the year.
Loser: The M’s Cleanup Trio (So Far) Julio Rodríguez, Josh Naylor, and Cal Raleigh — the core of Seattle’s big-swing offseason — are a combined 7-for-78 to start the year. That’s a .090 batting average for the guys who were supposed to be the reason this team finally scores runs. It’s early. It always is. But the numbers aren't good.
Loser: The Seattle Kraken It’s April 2nd, the regular season ends April 16th, and the Kraken are sitting at 32-30-11 with 75 points — just outside the playoff picture in the Western Conference. This is a brutal stretch to be on the outside looking in. They still have games left to play their way back in, but the margin is thin and the calendar is not cooperating.
Loser: Sounders Schedule Planning The Seahawks being the defending Super Bowl champs is mostly great news, but it does have side effects. The NFL opener will be hosted at Lumen Field on October 1st, which caused the Sounders to shuffle two matches off their original schedule.
Fast Break
UW women’s basketball coach Tina Langley and Washington agreed to a six-year, $7.1 million extension that extends through the 2031-32 season. This is a major win for the program who has made two straight trips to the NCAA tournament.
Seahawks bringing the UW pipeline to the NFL. The Hawks are reportedly hiring Jimmie Dougherty, the former Huskies offensive coordinator and QB coach, as an offensive assistant. His first NFL gig at 47 years old. The UW-to-Seahawks connection keeps deepening, and it makes you wonder how much of the Huskies’ offensive scheme will show up in the Seahawks’ playbook.
Denzel Boston getting draft buzz. The AP’s mock NFL Draft has UW wide receiver Denzel Boston projected to the Cleveland Browns. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen for Boston’s sake.
On-Deck
Mariners in Anaheim (this week). The Angels series is the first real road test of 2026 — and more importantly, it’s the stretch where we’ll start to find out if the offensive struggles will continue for the meat of the order.
Kraken crunch time. Every Kraken game between now and April 16th is basically a playoff game. A win or two this week could flip the picture entirely.
Seahawks offseason. The draft is coming. Seattle picks at Nos. 32 (Round 1), 64 (Round 2), 96 (Round 3), and 188 (Round 6, from Cleveland).
That has to be SO exciting!
"Seattle Sports is at an all-time high. The Seahawks are the reigning Super Bowl champions. The Sonics’ return appears imminent. And the Mariners are favorites to represent the American League in the World Series. Did I just write that sentence?"