The Mariners took another hit Thursday night, and the loss was the kind that leaves a team staring at the standings with very little comfort. Seattle fell to the A’s, who were playing mostly backups and minor league call-ups, after Oakland erased a 3-1 deficit. The defeat was Seattle’s 75th of the season, dropping the club to 66-75 and six games out in the American League West with 21 games left.
That puts the playoff odds at just 11.6 percent, a number that fits the mood around the team. The fanbase, as the source material makes clear, is feeling worse than that.
Still, the night wasn’t entirely empty. Julio Rodriguez carved out a piece of baseball history, becoming the first player ever to open a career with five straight 20/20 seasons.
No Griffey. No Bonds.
No Mays. No Trout.
Just Rodriguez.
At 25, Rodriguez already has three All-Star selections and two top-six MVP finishes. Even with that résumé, he’s still a lightning rod for frustration because of his inconsistency and some recent mental mistakes. On the most recent “Refuse to Lose Territory” podcast, that tension was front and center.
“But it is incredible how productive this guy is, and yet how much more we all still think is in the tank. Like, that shows you, there are a lot of people that are disappointed with what Julio is or what Julio is becoming, there are a lot of people disappointed.
There are a lot of people wanting more. There are people saying that Julio's no longer a guy you can build around.
There are people telling me Julio should have his- the, the Mariners should decline Julio's option in a couple of seasons. There are people on social media saying, "Get Julio off my baseball team."
They all expect more, and I think it's fair to say there's more in there. But also recognize that he's done things that no player in baseball history has ever done.
So it shows you how talented he is. People still want more and expect more when what he's giving is still something that's never been seen before.
It's rather amazing.
You talk about a generational player? He has done things that no player in baseball history, we're talking about 150 years at this point practically, no player's ever done.
And yet there's a large portion of the population that is upset with him, and I can't really blame them for being disappointed about certain things. I can't blame them for wanting more.
But what we've got is also pretty darn special, and it deserves to be acknowledged.”
The numbers this season still look ordinary next to the history: a .245 average, 20 homers and 20 steals, with an OPS+ of 104, which puts him just barely above league average. But history is history, and Rodriguez just added another line no one else in the sport has ever written.
Seattle and Oakland meet again Friday at 7:10 p.m. PT, with Logan Gilbert scheduled to start.
In Other News...
Julio Rodriguez Is Giving Mariners A Long Term Problem They Can't Ignore
Julio Rodriguez is still contributing enough at the plate to keep the Mariners invested, but the shape of his season has become harder to ignore. His offensive profile has trended backward since his rookie year, and in 2026 he has settled at a .245 average with a .306 on-base percentage while still managing a respectable .708 OPS and 104 OPS+.
The bigger concern for Seattle is that the decline is not limited to one side of the ball. Rodriguez went from plus-9 runs saved last season to minus-4 this year, and when a player with his pedigree starts sliding both offensively and defensively, it puts the organization in an uncomfortable spot. The Mariners do not need a referendum on his talent, but they do need a clearer answer on where this is headed. [Read more 🡒]
Mariners Suddenly Have A Lazaro Montes Concern They Cant Ignore
Lazaro Montes gave the Mariners a brief scare after running into the right field wall and feeling soreness in his left hip, a jarring moment for a club that has leaned on his arrival as one more sign of the systems depth. He initially stayed in the game, but the discomfort lingered enough that he was eventually pulled for evaluation, turning a routine outfield play into a concern the Mariners had to sort out immediately.
The encouraging part is that X-rays came back negative, which at least removes one obvious worry from the equation. Even so, Seattle will keep a close watch on Montes and decide whether anything else needs to be done, a reminder that the margins for a young player can get thin fast when a hard collision sends him from the field to the training room. [Read more 🡒]
Kade Anderson Is Forcing Mariners Fans To Reconsider One Rotation Hope
Kade Andersons first stretch in the majors has been bumpy, and it has given Mariners fans a reason to slow down on the early excitement around one of the organizations rotation hopes. The rookie has allowed several earned runs in his first few starts, but the underlying ingredients still look encouraging enough to keep the long view intact. His pitch mix has already shown it can work, which is usually the first sign a young starter has something worth developing.
What Anderson is learning now is less about raw stuff than about how to survive lineups that punish mistakes fast. The next step is sharpening pitch location and sequencing, the kind of refinement that often separates a promising arm from a reliable big-league starter. There is still room for optimism, too, since experience tends to settle this sort of adjustment, and a little more velocity could help the whole package play up if the command follows. [Read more 🡒]