The Seattle Mariners wasted no time shaking off a rough homestand.
Three games into a 10-game road trip, the M’s are 3-0 after sweeping away the San Diego Padres in the first leg of the inaugural Vedder Cup.
Recap: Mariners beat Padres 6-1 to sweep Leg 1 of Vedder Cup
There was a lot to like from this series win, which improves the AL West-leading Mariners’ record to 26-17 on the year. Here are the three best things we’re seeing.
Bryan Woo’s All-Star bid
With injuries sidelining three of the five members of Seattle’s vaunted rotation, Woo has picked up the baton and absolutely ran with it.
Woo added yet another gem to his game log this season, shutting down the Padres over seven innings of one-run ball Sunday. He allowed just five hits and no walks, and even with the leadoff home run by Padres star Fernando Tatís Jr., you’re looking at one of the best outings all year by a Mariners starter.
Most of those belong to Woo anyways, though.
Following Sunday’s win, Woo is 5-1 with a 2.65 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and .200 opponent batting average over nine starts. He has 55 strikouts to just eight walks – yes, fifty-five to just eight – and has now gone at least six innings in each of his starts this season. As Mariners PR pointed out, Philadelphia’s Zach Wheeler has that many outings of at least six innings in 2025.
The 25-year-old Woo ranks fourth in MLB in WHIP, walks per nine innings (1.25) and strikeouts to walk ratio (6.88), 14th in opponent average and 17th in ERA.
In 2023, George Kirby represented the M’s in the All-Star Game. Last year, it was Logan Gilbert. This year, it’s sure looking to be Woo’s turn.
Rowdy Tellez’s contributions
It wasn’t the greatest start to Rowdy Tellez’s Mariners tenure when he opened the season 1 for 20, but that’s a distant memory now.
Tellez had home runs in each of the first two games of the sweep over the Padres, then added a double off the wall in left field in Sunday’s victory that was right in the middle of a three-run rally where the Mariners strung together five straight hits with two outs.
Mariners’ five straight hits with two outs leads way to sweep of Padres
The big lefty may not be known for multi-hit games, but he sure does pack a punch when he gets a hold of one. And the Mariners have been regularly seeing that this month in particular.
In 15 games in May, Tellez is hitting .262 (11 for 42) with four homers, two doubles, eight runs scored, 10 RBIs, and most importantly a .595 slugging percentage and .890 OPS.
As a reminder, Tellez was a late offseason addition on a minor league contract. That’s a pretty strong return on investment even if his full-season numbers are still a little rough.
Cal Raleigh’s right-handed production
There was another Mariners player who homered in each of their first two wins over the Padres. And true to the spirit of where I’m going here, Raleigh had a homer from each side of the plate.
Not only is Raleigh tied for the AL lead and second in MLB with 15 home runs this year, but the switch-hitting slugger is looking to be equally as deadly no matter if he’s swinging left-handed or right-handed.
Mariners try Cal Raleigh in a new spot in the lineup
With Saturday’s drive as a righty hitter, Raleigh pushed his total from that side to five this year in just 53 at-bats. That means he has 10 in 109 ABs from the left side. After consulting a local calculator, Raleigh is averaging a homer every 10.6 at-bats as a righty, and a homer every 10.9 at-bats as a lefty.
His slash lines from both sides are pretty similar, too. As a lefty, Raleigh is slashing .239/.391/.560 for a .951 OPS. As a righty, it’s .264/.316/.604 for a .920 OPS.
I don’t know how many Mariners fans were going into this season thinking Raleigh had another step or two to make, but clearly he did. So a year after he won the Platinum Glove, and a year after he made big strides evening out his power between his two swings, he’s not just turning into one of the premier sluggers in all of baseball but also becoming a matchup nightmare for opposing managers trying to decide if they want to send a lefty or righty reliever in to face him.
The Seattle Mariners’ road trip continues at 4:40 p.m. Monday in Chicago against the White Sox. Radio coverage on Seattle Sports will begin at 3:30 p.m. with the pregame show.
More on the Seattle Mariners
• Surprising Mariners contributor makes two web gems in one game
• Dodgers release Chris Taylor, who became All-Star after trade from M’s
• How Mariners RHP George Kirby fared in third rehab start
• M’s prospect Cole Young blasts 458-foot HR, nearly hits for cycle
• Why Seattle Mariners are a ‘more compelling’ team this season
