The Tampa Bay Rays couldn’t decelerate the red-hot Seattle Mariners on Saturday evening, falling 7-4 at T-Cellular Park, however one of many recreation’s most memorable moments got here in a uncommon pitcher-batter duel that had the gang buzzing.
Within the high of the sixth inning, Rays reliever Mason Englert confronted Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford in what became a marathon 17-pitch at-bat — tied for the longest by a Seattle hitter since pitch monitoring started in 1988. Crawford fouled off 12 pitches within the battle earlier than lastly coming out to shortstop, drawing a standing ovation from the house crowd regardless of the out.
J.P. Crawford and Mason Englert battled in a 17-pitch at-bat pic.twitter.com/S9Qj2lK4A5
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 10, 2025
The gritty showdown was one of many few shiny spots for the Rays on an evening when Seattle’s offense flexed its muscle early and sometimes. Cal Raleigh, recent off Friday’s go-ahead homer, launched his MLB-leading forty fourth residence run within the third inning — a three-run blast that put the Mariners forward 5-1. Julio Rodríguez adopted on the very subsequent pitch together with his second homer of the sport, a solo shot that pushed the result in 6-1. Rodríguez additionally opened the scoring within the first with a towering 436-foot, two-run homer.
Mariners take down the Rays at residence on Saturday
“Walks bit us, and preserving the ball within the ballpark when it counted,” Rays supervisor Kevin Money mentioned postgame. Tampa Bay pitchers issued eight free passes, together with 4 to Seattle rookie Cole Younger, who additionally scored on a wild pitch from Englert within the sixth for the Mariners’ ultimate run.
Rays starter Joe Boyle (1-2) struggled with command after a dominant outing in opposition to the Dodgers in his earlier begin. He allowed six runs on 4 hits — three of them homers — and 5 walks in simply 3 1/3 innings. “The speed was spiked,” Money famous of Boyle’s 100-plus mph fastballs. “I don’t know if that made him slightly extra erratic or not… he by some means has to harness it within the strike zone.”
Tampa Bay’s offense got here from the lengthy ball as effectively. Brandon Lowe homered for the second straight recreation within the first inning, and Junior Caminero crushed a three-run shot within the sixth to chop the deficit to 6-4. Caminero’s homer was his thirty second of the season and his fourth within the final three video games. In simply his first 162 profession MLB video games, the 21-year-old has compiled 39 homers, 105 RBIs, and 162 hits.
However Seattle’s bullpen shut the door after that, with Andrés Muñoz working a clear ninth for his twenty seventh save. The Mariners have now received six straight video games, shifting inside a half-game of the Houston Astros for the AL West lead.
For the Rays, the loss dropped them to 57-61, now 5 1/2 video games again of the Yankees for the ultimate AL wild-card spot. They’ve misplaced 12 of their final 16 and proceed to battle on the street, having dropped 13 of their final 16 away from Tropicana Subject.
Englert’s 17-pitch overcome Crawford shall be remembered for its grit, however the Rays will want much more than ethical victories to maintain their playoff hopes alive.