Rays Bury Mariners in Third Straight Loss for Seattle

Nick Martinez (7-2, 2.65 ERA) has quietly been one of the best arms in the AL East all year, and he drew a Mariners lineup that's lost 3 straight and 4 of its last 5 heading into this one. Luis Castillo got the ball for Seattle looking to snap that skid, but he came in with a 3-7 record and a 4.93 ERA that's made every start feel like a coin flip.

Seattle's lineup was already banged up before first pitch. Julio Rodriguez remained out on the concussion IL and wasn't activated for this series, and with Brendan Donovan still working back from a groin issue at the Mariners' complex, the middle of the order was missing two key pieces against a Rays club that's been rolling at 54-37, best in the AL East.

Tampa Bay had dropped 2 of its last 5 himself, including a 12-run beatdown from the Yankees just a day earlier, so this wasn't a team without cracks of its own. But at home, with Martinez on the mound and a healthy lineup, the Rays were built to bounce back — and the market saw it too, with sharp money piling onto Tampa Bay pregame.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
SEA	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	5	0
TB	0	0	1	1	2	0	3	0	—	7	14	0

The final line tells the story of a game that got away from Seattle in stages. Tampa Bay scratched out single runs in the 3rd and 4th, added 2 more in the 5th, and then blew it open with a 3-run 7th that turned a tight game into a laugher. Castillo and the Mariners' bullpen combined to allow 14 hits on the night, and Seattle's offense never found any rhythm against Martinez and the Rays' relief corps, managing just 2 runs on 5 hits.

For the Mariners, this is now 3 losses in a row and 4 in their last 5, a brutal stretch heading into the back half of a series where they're already shorthanded. For the Rays, it's a much-needed answer after getting run out of their own park by New York, and a reminder of why Tampa Bay sits atop the AL East at the break approaches.

Seattle Mariners at Tampa Bay Rays