Takeaways From Seattle Mariners Series Loss Against Baltimore Orioles

Seattle didn't have its full-strength lineup for the entire series. Cal Raleigh received the day off in the series finale Thursday and Mitch Garver was slotted at designated hitter and Dylan Moore was in right field Wednesday.

Even without the Mariners having a consistent lineup across the series, the stretch against the Orioles was a sobering, and perhaps necessary, reality-check for Seattle's lineup. Even with the depth the team gained with the trade acquisitions of first baseman Josh Naylor and third baseman Eugenio Suarez, dropping two-of-three against Baltimore is a reminder that there's still a floor to the offense. The Mariners won't be able to coast through the final month-and-a-half of the season.

Seattle's frontline starters are back to form

It took almost an entire season, but George Kirby and Logan Gilbert are back to their respective All-Star forms.

After respective stints on the injured list this season, both pitchers have strung together starts resembling the expectations many analysts had for them going into the season.

Kirby had arguably his best start of the year against Baltimore on Aug. 12. He went seven innings, struck out seven and allowed three hits. It was his fourth consecutive quality start and second scoreless outing over that stretch.

Gilbert threw 6.1 innings, fanned six, walked two and allowed two earned runs on four hits (one home run). It was his third quality start in his last five outings and sixth consecutive start where he's struck out at least six batters.

With those two back to their usual form, and Bryce Miller's return imminent, the rotation might finally be back at top form, and it couldn't happen at a better point in the season.

Up next

The Mariners will begin their three-game series against the Mets at 4:10 p.m. PT on Friday. Luis Castillo will start for Seattle and Sean Manaea will start for New York.