Yankees silenced by Mariners in their first loss of the season following Cal Raleigh’s walk-off single

Yankees Face First Loss of the Season Against Mariners

SEATTLE — The Yankees are experiencing what the Giants went through at the start of the season.

After shutting out the Giants in their opening series, the Yankees found themselves on the receiving end against the Mariners on Monday night.

On a chilly evening at T-Mobile Park, the Yankees’ offense struggled, and their bullpen finally faltered in the ninth inning. Cal Raleigh hit a walk-off homer against Paul Blackburn, handing the Yankees their first loss with a score of 2-1.

In his Yankees debut, Ryan Weathers allowed one run over 4¹/₃ innings. The bullpen, which had been solid with 3¹/₃ scoreless innings, extended their scoreless streak to 14 ¹/₃ innings before the ninth inning troubles began.

During the crucial bottom of the ninth, Leo Rivas began with a single that slipped past Ben Rice. After one out, Brendan Donovan added another single, putting runners on the corners.

Lowery, who had struggled at the plate all season, was initially on the bench but ended the game with a crucial hit down the right field line.

The Yankees employed their automated ball-strike system effectively, going 5-for-5 on challenges, matching the total number of hits they’d recorded against the talented Luis Castillo and the Mariners’ bullpen.

Weathers had a commendable debut, striking out seven and managing to hold off the Mariners until the fifth inning. However, after two early singles, he managed to end the inning without allowing further runs.

Fernando Cruz took over for Weathers, but things didn’t improve as pinch hitters Dominic Canzone and Julio Rodriguez both struck out, keeping the score at 1-0.

The Yankees struggled against Castillo until the sixth inning, with only two hits. However, once he exited, they capitalized on the opportunity. Ben Rice put the Yankees ahead in the seventh with a sharp hit against left-hander Jose A. Ferrer, although Giancarlo Stanton reached on an error shortly after.

With one out and runners on the corners, Amed Rosario pinch-hit for Ryan McMahon. Although the Mariners switched to right-hander Eduardo Buzzard, Rosario managed to hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1.

In the seventh, the Mariners threatened to regain the lead with two runners on base and one out but couldn’t convert, with Brent Headrick striking out Lowry and Camilo Doval grounding out Rodriguez, stopping the threat.

Weathers had a tough start, walking Brendan Donovan and then losing 3-1 to the next batter. Nevertheless, he rebounded to strike out Rob Refsnyder and Josh Naylor, ending the inning on a strong note.

Yet, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Weathers. He allowed a grounder to center field and walked Mitch Garber after a long at-bat. Following a couple of outs, Cole Young hit a single that put the Yankees behind for the first time this season after not trailing for the previous 28 innings.

The Yankees finally got their first hit in the fourth inning, but it was quickly negated. Stanton aggressively pursued a pitch that was called a third strike, hitting a liner that fell between outfielders, only to be thrown out trying to reach second base.