Coming off the back of two series wins at home against division rivals, and on a four game win streak, the Seattle Mariners came into Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati to play the Reds with the hopes the momentum would continue with a win that would have put them above .500 for the first time since their Opening Day win. A series win taking the next two games would see them reach that mark and is still in the cards, but today that status eludes them with a 6-4 loss that gives them an 8-9 season record.

Immediately in the game the good vibes for Seattle fans continued, thanks to Dylan Moore. To opposing pitcher Nick Lodolo, it was a different experience as I imagine he had a chill settle into his bones, not just the air in Cinci but also the foreshadowing. A wave of Dylan Moore would flow over him this game, starting with his second pitch that DMo sent 106.7 mph off of the bat into the center field stands, a home run in 30/30 ballparks.

Lodolo would escape the first with no more damage, but Julio Rodríguez would work a walk to follow up DMo’s homer before batters 3-4-5 fell 1-2-3. Seattle would pin another run on the board in the second inning, and it started with debuting prospect Ben Williamson, making the start for Seattle batting eighth and fielding third base. With two outs and after starting down 0-2, Williamson found a 1-2 middle changeup he hit on a hard line drive to left field for his first major league hit in his very first at bat. The only thing that could make a moment like that sweeter is if the player’s family and friends are able to be there to see it happen, and for Ben that was the case and all fourteen of them can be seen cheering at the end of his first hit highlight video.

When Crawford came up next and singled, Williamson moved first-to-third. Bane of lefties and Lodolos Dylan Moore also singled next, scoring Williamson. With an early 2-0 lead, the Seattle bats felt comfortable enough to take a nap and slumbered for the next few innings, Lodolo facing the minimum in the third and fourth inning. J.P. Crawford led off the start of the fifth inning with a 3-2 hit by pitch allowing him to reach first, and Dylan Moore continued his anti-Lodolo crusade, destroying a first pitch meatball, this time a home run to left field that would have been out in every park.

As far as the Mariners offense, that was it. All four runs were driven in by Dylan Moore, the only batter with a multi-hit night in a game that saw Seattle reach double digit strikeouts with twelve, and only walk five times. Julio was hit-less with two strikeouts, but two of those walks belonged to him.

In a lot of games four runs could be enough to secure a win, but that can be a tall ask in a hitter friendly park behind a starter far from his sharpest in command. Luis Castillo had an incredibly strong first inning against his former club, needing only seven pitches and facing the minimum.

The rest of his outing was almost all trouble, with Castillo giving up two runs in the bottom of the third to leave it tied. Jose Trevino led off with a double into left field just past the glove of Randy Arozarena, Matt McLain worked a walk, and Gavin Lux and Austin Hays teamed up with a pair of singles to send Trevino and McLain home. Castillo had a nearly clean fourth that only saw Jake Fraley reach when Castillo was slow to cover first on an infield grounder, but the fifth inning would get messy enough to end his night. Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz worked 3-1 counts into walks to get things going, and I think every M’s fan alive was wondering if Dan Wilson would get going and pull his starter that clearly did not have it. Wilson opted to trust his veteran arm with the lead against the heart of the Reds lineup, on the third time around. Gavin Lux shoots it into left field for an RBI single, and the throw home is wide enough the runners were able to advance an extra base.

The Mariners still had the lead. Dan Wilson still had a chance to get his starter out of this jam. Warming in the bullpen was Carlos Vargas. Again Wilson decided to let Castillo work out of it, and again that gamble did not pay off. Austin Hays went deep to center field for a three run home run, and gave the Reds a lead they would never give back. Luis Castillo would finish the night with a line of 4.1 innings pitched, six earned runs on seven hits, four walks and three strikeouts.

Before closing the door in the top of the ninth, Cincinnati tacked on another couple runs in the bottom of the eighth. Gregory Santos came in to the game to work that inning, and getting first batter Christian Encarnacion-Strand to fly out to start the inning would provide no padding for his following mistakes. Jake Fraley ate a middle fastball for a ground-rule double, and Jose Trevino and TJ Friedl took advantage of Santos’ wild arm and worked walks. And with the bases loaded and one out, Matt McLain made three, working a walk to bring in a run. Eduard Bazardo provided relief to the reliever situation, allowing one inherited runner to score on a fielder’s choice grounder and striking out Blake Dunn to get out of the inning.

Hitting heroics from DMo and a Williamson debut hit were not enough to overshadow the shaky pitching performances that gave up the game, but there were still some seeds of satisfaction to be reaped from the rest of the bullpen appearances. Collin Snider went 1.2 innings, taking over for Castillo, and gave up no hits and no walks, striking out one. Casey Legumina, who made his MLB debut on Jackie Robinson Day with the Reds in ‘23 and was making his Mariners debut on Jackie Robinson Day today, also had a solid outing. Giving up one hit, a single to Gavin Lux, Legumina also secured revenge against Austin Hays on behalf of Castillo, striking out Hays.

Williamson and Moore stepping up today, Julio’s patience at the plate, and Legumina climbing to the top of the pile and declaring himself here all answer vital questions that have remained residual from the off-season. Other elements such as Wilson’s game calling and the unreliability of Santos in high leverage situations perhaps only leave us with more queries, and no clear paths to answers. Whether they will have those answers or not, tomorrow the Mariners will attempt to rebound from today’s loss, and keep from sinking further into the Reds.