Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Bryan Baker (47) looks on from the mound during the seventh inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Tampa Bay Rays' Postseason Hopes Take Hit After Sweep by Seattle Mariners

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Don Strouble | Last updated Aug 10, 2025 9:57 PM ET

The Tampa Bay Rays are in a precarious position after the Mariners closed out the three-game series in Seattle with a sweep.

The 6-3 loss marks the sixth time the Rays have been swept this season. Tampa Bay had no answers for Seattle’s offense all weekend, specifically All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh.

Raleigh homered in all three games of the series, with his latest coming in the form of a two-run shot off Tampa Bay’s Adrian Houser to kick off a four-run first inning. Houser threw 45 pitches in the first, the most by a Rays pitcher since Jake Odorizzi threw 48 pitches on June 2, 2017, also against Seattle.

Fighting Back

Over the next three innings, Tampa Bay began mounting a comeback. It started with a double by designated hitter Josh Lowe in the top of the second inning before shortstop Ha-Seong Kim sent a double of his own to left field to bring Lowe home and put the Rays on the board.

The Rays continued to get after Seattle right-hander Bryan Woo when left fielder Chandler Simpson hit a leadoff triple to left field in the third. and first baseman Yandy Diaz brought him home with an RBI groundout. Kim got to Woo in the top of the fourth with a solo home run to pull the Rays within one run.

Houser pushed through the rest of his outing without allowing another run. He exited after five innings with four strikeouts while allowing six hits, four earned runs and three walks.

Lost Momentum

The Rays continued to threaten Woo and the Mariners in the top of the fifth inning when Simpson delivered again, this time with a leadoff double. However, the Rays were unable to bring Simpson home to tie the game, and they failed to score for the rest of the afternoon.

Right-hander Bryan Baker entered in relief for the Rays in the bottom of the seventh and gave up a solo home run to Josh Naylor, giving Seattle a 5-3 lead. Fellow righty Edwin Uceta entered in the bottom of the eighth and ended up fanning three straight batters, including Raleigh and Randy Arozarena, but not before surrendering two singles and a walk that gave Seattle a big insurance run.

At 57-62, The Rays find themselves 5.5 games behind the New York Yankees (62-56) for the final American League wild card spot. Additionally, the Minnesota Twins (56-61) are also 5.5 games behind, while the Los Angeles Angels (56-62) are six back.

The Rays will move on to West Sacramento, Calif., to face the Athletics, who won the most recent series between the two clubs.

Tampa Bay will battle a familiar face on Monday night when southpaw Jeffrey Springs takes the mound for the Athletics to kick off a three-game set. Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot will make his 25th start. First pitch is at 10:05 p.m. ET.

Springs spent four seasons with the Rays (2021-25).

This article first appeared on Tampa Bay Rays on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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