Seattle Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suárez runs after a home run against the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 20 at Citizens Bank Park. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Takeaways From Seattle Mariners Series Loss Against Philadelphia Phillies

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Teren Kowatsch | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 4:00 PM ET

The Seattle Mariners had a road trip that they would like to flush and forget. The final series of the road trip was the perfect encapsulation on how the road trip went with the Mariners.

Seattle was swept in a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies from Aug. 18-20 at Citizens Banks Park. The Mariners offense was solid enough, but the pitching staff couldn't cool the hot Phillies bats.

Here's the takeaways from Seattle's series loss against Philadelphia:

Starting rotation takes a massive step back

The Mariners starting rotation had a solid 10-game homestretch before heading on the road, but took a massive step back during the road trip.

Seattle's Game 1 starter against the Phillies, Logan Gilbert, pitched two innings. Bryce Miller threw five innings in Game 2 and Luis Castillo threw four in Game 3. The trio of starters combined to allow 13 earned runs in 11 innings. Philadelphia scored 29 runs across the series.

The rotation is fully healthy for the first time this season. Miller was activated off the IL for Game 2 after being on the shelf due to right elbow inflammation since June 10 (retroactive to June 7).

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

With the rotation finally healthy, there's a chance the group can start to ramp up and resemble the form it had in 2024, when it was arguably the best unit in baseball.

But it was a bad first display for the fully healthy group.

Julio Rodriguez, Eugenio Suarez heating up

Despite the results of the series, there were several points of optimism for the team, especially for center fielder Julio Rodriguez and third baseman Eugenio Suarez.

Rodriguez hit .417 (5-for-12) with a run, a home run and two RBIs in the series. He slashed .351/.385/.703 with a 1.087 OPS on the Mariners' nine-game road trip.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Suarez hit .333 (4-for-12) with a run, a homer and three RBIs in the series. Suarez slashed .265/.306/.529 with an .835 OPS and two homers, four runs and five RBIs on the trip.

Absolutely torched pic.twitter.com/OJlW6lYv9z
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 20, 2025

The Mariners have put together some of their best offensive showings of the season since revamping the lineup at the trade deadline. Now with Suarez and Rodriguez starting to hit their stride, the offense could be even more potent on this playoff push.

Up next

Seattle will return for a three-game series against the Athletics, with Game 1 set to begin at 7:10 p.m. PT on Friday. Luis Morales will start for the A's and the Mariners' starting pitcher is still to-be-determined.

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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