Mariners sing the same old tune in blowout loss to Tigers

Published 12:43 am Wednesday, August 5, 2026

SEATTLE — Some of the band members may have changed, but the song remains the same.

The Seattle Mariners got a solid start from pitcher Emerson Hancock (6-6), but silent bats and rickety defense proved costly in an 8-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a three-game set Tuesday at T-Mobile Park.

Tuesday saw the departures of struggling hitters Rob Refsnyder (.140 batting average) and Mitch Garver (.175), both released from the roster by the Mariners. The exodus did little to inspire offense, as the Mariners went 4-for-30 — all singles — against Detroit, including three hits against starter Troy Melton (7-1).

“Just kind of didn’t allow a lot of solid contact,” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson, whose team fell to 55-59 in front of announced attendance of 35,752. “You know, wasn’t a lot of wasn’t a lot of strikeouts. We did draw a couple walks. We did have a little bit of traffic here and there, but nothing sustained and nothing consistent. And he just kept us off the barrel all night long.”

Taylor Ward, acquired by the Mariners (55-59) from Baltimore on Monday in exchange for three relief pitchers, struck out on three pitches in his first Mariners at bat and finished the night 0-for-3 from the designated hitter spot. Seranthony Dominguez, acquired as part of a deal that sent Luis Castillo to the Chicago White Sox, put the game out of reach in the ninth, serving up a three-run bomb to Gleyber Torres and a solo shot to Dillon Dingler.

Dominguez allowed four earned runs on four hits and two walks while recording just one out in his Mariners debut. Reliever Cole Wilcox finished the inning by stranding two Tigers (55-58) with strikeouts of Spencer Torkelson and Max Clark.

While there’s still plenty of time for the new additions to the roster to contribute, it was a rough start.

“For me, the first time going to the deadline, it’s just a crazy period for everybody around the league in baseball because you just aren’t quite sure what’s going to happen and how things are going to shake up,” said Hancock, whose name was reported as potential trade bait for the Mariners. “So I think if you look around, there’s a lot of teams that have a lot of new guys and a lot of new faces. And so I think it’s just as we get moved past farther from it, it’s like this is our group, and then you know we just kind of keep pushing from there.”

There was not much of a push for the M’s to score runs on Tuesday.

Detroit’s first run came in the third inning on what was ruled an infield base hit from Riley Greene with runners at first and second. Mariners shortstop Colt Emerson fielded the ball and threw well wide of first baseman Josh Naylor, allowing Torres to trot home for a 1-0 lead. Colt Keith followed with a two-RBI line drive to enter for a 3-0 lead.

“Tough play there by Colt,” Wilson said. “He makes that play nine times out of 10, and just like he looked like he just kind of pulled it up the line today, and kind of opened the door there for that big inning in the third.”

Greene’s bat shattered on the play, landing near Hancock. One game removed from his first career game-winning hit, Emerson fielded the ball cleanly, and rushed an off-balance throw in an attempt to beat Greene.

“It’s a broken bat, and sometimes it’s hard to see where the ball is going,” Hancock said. “And it’s an off-balance throw. It’s just a hard play, and he’s really good. I mean, he knows. Just kind of seeing his reaction, he wants it. He’s a competitor.”

Greene struck again in the fifth with his 16th homer, a solo shot into the J-Rod Squad section of center field.

Hancock pitched six innings before departing with his team down 4-0. He allowed three earned runs on eight hits and two walks on 94 pitches while striking out six

The Mariners threatened in the fourth, but came up empty. Randy Arozarena singled and Julio Rodriguez (1-for-3) walked with one out. Naylor and Cal Raleigh each struck out to end the threat.

Raleigh broke through with his team’s third hit of the night in the seventh. But Brendan Donovan, playing in his first Major League game since May 15, hit a soft liner back to Detroit pitcher Troy Melton. Fittingly, Donovan finished the night 0-for-4. The game ended when catcher Dillon Dingler challenged a ball call, and it was overturned for strike three.