The Seattle Mariners took the field on Sunday with momentum on their side and a crucial chance to make a statement. A win over the Houston Astros would have secured a division sweep, pulled Seattle within two games of the AL West lead, and sent a resounding message to a battered Houston roster missing key contributors. Instead, what started as a promising afternoon unraveled into an 11-3 defeat that left the Mariners and their fans grappling with what could have been.
Seattle jumped out to an early 3-0 lead behind rookie sensation Bryan Woo, whose dominance through four shutout innings suggested the Mariners might cruise to victory. But baseball, as it often does, flipped the script. A leadoff walk in the fifth inning opened the door for the Astros, and they charged through it with relentless urgency. Cam Smith’s two-run double capped a three-run inning that erased Seattle’s lead and tilted the energy of the game.
Woo, just 24 years old, owned up to the shift in momentum. “It sucks. Frustrating, to say the least—especially because I feel like a lot of it’s on me,” he said after the game, candidly shouldering the weight of the loss. His words echoed the frustration of Mariners fans who had dared to believe this series might become a defining moment of their season.
Things only worsened from there. The Astros added solo home runs in the sixth from Christian Walker and former Mariner Taylor Trammell, driving home the point that no lead is safe in baseball—especially against a team with postseason pedigree. Woo, who had been cruising, was suddenly on the hook for the loss. “That can’t happen,” he said flatly, his disappointment palpable.
Despite a lineup that lacked All-Stars Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes, the Astros’ offense came alive when it mattered most. Mariners manager Dan Wilson tried to temper the postgame reaction. “We got an early lead, but they came back,” he said, giving credit to Houston’s resiliency. Even with starter Hunter Brown exiting after just four innings, the Astros’ bullpen held firm—while Seattle’s faltered.
A late-game double by J.P. Crawford offered a flicker of hope for a comeback, but a costly baserunning error snuffed out that momentum. “That one stung,” Wilson acknowledged. “You can’t waste opportunities like that against a team like Houston.”
The six-run avalanche from Seattle’s bullpen in the final innings buried any remaining hopes of a rally. What could have been a milestone sweep instead became a missed opportunity, dropping the Mariners to 53-46. They remain in the Wild Card hunt but missed a chance to significantly tighten the division race.
Context adds to the sting. Seattle entered Sunday riding a five-game winning streak, including strong performances against playoff-caliber teams. The Mariners have narrowly missed the postseason in back-to-back years, and each winnable game carries weight. “Sweeps are hard,” Woo admitted. “But this one hurts a little more. We had it right there.”
Now, as the team turns its attention to a looming series against the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers, they’ll need to reset quickly. The race for October is unforgiving, and in a league where momentum can vanish in a single inning, the Mariners must find a way to stay afloat—and eventually surge forward.
Image Source: Bryan Woo @ Instagram
