The Mariners Have Lost Six Straight and Cal Raleigh Called Himself the Problem

Ten months ago the Seattle Mariners were seven outs from the first World Series appearance in franchise history. They entered 2026 with what most evaluators called one of the deepest rosters in the American League. Wednesday night they lost 10-5 at Yankee Stadium, dropped their sixth straight game, and fell to 56-65. That is nine games under .500, a season low. Then Cal Raleigh said the quiet part out loud. Cal Raleigh Named Himself After Tuesday's loss, Seattle's catcher did not hide behind cliches. > "The approach is not there. To me, it's just off-balance swings. Late to the heater and early on the off-speed. I'm not pointing fingers. Ultimately, I'm the worst of the group right now." He is not wrong about himself. Raleigh is hitting .161 with a .570 OPS. For a player who has been the offensive and emotional center of this team, that number explains a lot of what has gone sideways in Seattle. The team numbers back up the diagnosis. Since the start of July the Mariners are 12-22 with the third-lowest OPS in Major League Baseball. The six-game skid is their longest since May 2022. They have lost 15 of their last 20. They sit five and a half games out of first in the AL West, a division that Houston now leads at 62-60. ESPN dropped Seattle from 16th to 21st in this week's power rankings. How Wednesday Actually Went The collapse pattern is what should worry Seattle backers. This was not a game they never led. | Inning | What Happened | Score | |---|---|---| | 1st | Arozarena 2-run HR, Julio Rodriguez solo HR off Will Warren | SEA 3-0 | | 3rd | Canzone HR; Spencer Jones 2-run double for NY | SEA 4-3 | | 5th | Naylor RBI single, then Grisham HR ties it | 5-5 | | 7th | Grisham go-ahead double, Rice RBI single, Chisholm bases-loaded walk | NYY 8-5 | | 8th | Grisham 2-run HR | NYY 10-5 | Seattle jumped on Will Warren for three homers in four innings, tying the Yankees starter's career high for home runs allowed. Then the Mariners scored nothing over the final four innings while the Yankees bullpen threw four-plus scoreless. Paul Blackburn picked Josh Naylor off first base to end the seventh. Brent Headrick struck out the side in the eighth. Trent Grisham was the story on the other side. Two homers, a go-ahead double, four RBIs, three runs scored, three hits in five at-bats from the leadoff spot. It was his ninth career multihomer game and his fifth three-hit game this season. New York reached double digits in runs for the first time since July 9. The Betting Read on a Team in Free Fall Fading a struggling team is the most obvious play in sports betting, which is exactly why it is usually the worst one. Books know Seattle is skidding. That is already in the price. By the time a six-game losing streak makes headlines, the closing line has moved and you are paying a premium to bet the obvious side. The more useful angle here is Seattle's game script. This offense is not dead, it is inconsistent. They put five on the board Wednesday and still lost by five. They score early, then vanish. Look at first-five-innings markets and live totals rather than blindly buying the opposing moneyline at an inflated number. There is also a reversion argument nobody wants to make out loud. A team that was a legitimate contender in the spring does not usually lose the ability to hit. Raleigh at .161 is far below any reasonable baseline for him. If he stabilizes even to league average, Seattle's team totals are underpriced relative to where the market has pushed them. Thursday's finale gives you a clean test. Logan Gilbert (8-7, 3.42 ERA) faces Max Fried (4-3, 2.88). Gilbert is a good pitcher on a bad run of team form. Check how much the market discounts him because of what his teammates have done. SBA Takeaway Losing streaks create two traps. The first is chasing the fade after the number has already moved. The second is calling a bounce-back too early because a roster looks good on paper. The disciplined approach with Seattle right now is to skip the sides entirely and work the totals and derivative markets. This offense is streaky inside games, and that is where the pricing is softest. Wait for the market to overcorrect against them before touching a Mariners moneyline. On the Yankees side, watch the injury reports closely. Giancarlo Stanton ran the bases Tuesday, Cody Bellinger has progressed to hitting and fielding, and Aaron Judge has not been cleared for baseball activities yet. New York is 68-52 and leads the AL wild card race. If those three return in September, the October price you see today will look very different. Related Reading - The Rays Have the Best Record in the AL and Nobody Noticed - Bellinger Is Out 4-6 Weeks, and the Yankees' Deadline Just Got Complicated - The White Sox Lead the AL Central, and That Breaks the Whole Trade Deadline