NEW YORK -- Things went from bad to worse for the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night, as they dropped a difficult 10-5 contest against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
On a night that they finally got some offense, the pitching staff couldn't hold it together. The M's had leads of 3-0, 4-1 and 5-3 but squandered each of them. Bryce Miller gave up five runs over six innings and Gabe Speier took the loss, giving up three earned runs in 0.2 innings of relief.
Speier's runs came in the seventh inning, which coincided with another interesting development: Cole Young was removed as the team's second baseman in favor of Leo Rivas.
In the top of the eighth inning, it was announced to the press box that Young was removed with dizziness.
Speaking after the game, manager Dan Wilson said that Young was not sick beforehand, but his dizziness on the bench got to the point where he needed to be removed.
Young took an at-bat in the top of the sixth with two on and one out, but popped out. He played defense in the bottom of the sixth as well. He had a single in the first inning and scored on Randy Arozarena's home run.
It's unclear at this point if Young will play on Thursday in the series finale, but Wilson said Young was still dizzy as of postgame on Wednesday and that they would see how he is in the morning.
The full audio from Wilson is available below:
If you're looking for Bryce Miller video, you can find it here (misses just the first part of his first answer):https://t.co/PwgnpczfPt
If you're looking for Dan Wilson audio (no video), it's here in full. He did not say "tough one tonight."#TridentsUp#Marinerspic.twitter.com/r1Clq4Baxi
Wilson spoke glowingly of Young's offense and defense before the game, saying that he's been one of the team's best players this season, and he has been.
The 23-year-old Pennsylvania native is hitting .262 with 14 homers and 52 RBIs. He's hit all over the batting order, helping cover up for various injuries to various players. He's also played stellar defense at second base, serving as a rock for a generally poor defensive roster.
First pitch of the series finale on Thursday is at 10:35 a.m. PT. It doesn't get any easier as the M's face Max Fried while sending right-hander Logan Gilbert to the mound themselves.
After that, the M's will head to Houston for a crucial three-game series with the Houston Astros.
At 56-65, the season is slipping away from the Mariners with 41 games to play, but if they want to have any chance of salvaging it, they have to find a way to beat Houston, who they trail by 5.0 games in the American League West.
Of noteThe latest edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast is out, featuring ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney. You can listen to the episode here, or you can watch it in the YouTube player below:
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