SEATTLE - The Seattle Mariners had their chances Tuesday night at T-Mobile Park. They just never turned them into enough runs, and Cincinnati made the most of a few swings in a 4-2 Reds win.
Seattle finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 runners. Cincinnati went 0-for-5 in those spots and left four on base, but the Reds still found a way to cash in with power. The Mariners had six hits to the Reds’ five, yet both Seattle runs came on solo homers with nobody aboard.
The first came from Wilson, whose blast trimmed the deficit to 3-1.
Later, center fielder Julio Rodriguez entered as a pinch-hitter for Luke Raley after being absent from the starting lineup following his early exit from Monday’s 8-0 win over Cincinnati. Rodriguez led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo homer to left-center, pulling Seattle within 3-2.
"I think we knew prior to the game that (Rodriguez) was good to go later in the game if needed," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview. "He came in and thought he put up a couple really strong at-bats and hit the ball extremely hard both times."
Rodriguez nearly changed the game earlier, too. In the sixth inning, with runners on first and second, he smoked a 110-mile-per-hour ground ball that shortstop Elly De La Cruz handled cleanly. The play turned into a force out and left Seattle with runners on the corners and two outs, but the Mariners couldn’t bring anyone home.
Cincinnati answered in the ninth to put it away. Designated hitter Nathaniel Lowe led off the inning with a solo homer off Mariners reliever Michael Rucker, stretching the Reds’ lead back to two.
That was the third solo homer and third lead-off homer of the night for Cincinnati. The first two came against Luis Castillo, who gave up a lead-off shot to De La Cruz in the first inning and another to third baseman Eugenio Suarez in the fourth. Suarez is a former Seattle player.
The Reds’ other run came on a sacrifice fly from first baseman Sal Stewart in the fifth.
Castillo worked seven innings and allowed three earned runs on four hits, with two walks and three strikeouts.
"I think I'm going to hear (about that homer from Suarez) for the rest of our lives, I think," Castillo said after the game via interpreter Freddy Llanos on Tuesday. "We have a really good relationship so I don't think I'm ever gonna forget that one."
Rucker, usually used in lower-leverage spots, pitched for the second straight day. High-leverage relievers Eduard Bazardo and Gabe Speier had not pitched the day before.
"With being down in that situation, we've got a quick turnaround again tomorrow," Wilson said. "You've got to weigh all your options there and (Rucker) did throw the ball extremely well last night.
I thought he threw the ball well (tonight), too. Lowe was (just) able to get him there."
Seattle couldn’t answer in the ninth and went down in order to end it.
The Mariners will try to lock up their second straight series win in Wednesday’s rubber match against the Reds at 12:40 p.m. PT. Emerson Hancock will start for Seattle, and Brady Singer will go for Cincinnati.
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