The Mariners and Angels were tied 2-2 heading into the ninth, but things quickly unraveled for Los Angeles. Cal Raleigh grounded out to start the inning, but Sam Haggerty followed with a single after taking a foul ball off his leg. Then came chaos. The Angels catcher tried to throw out Haggerty after a passed ball, but airmailed it, letting him take second. Haggerty then stole third on the very next pitch. Jesse Winker stood at the plate grinning while the catcher stewed. Seattle smelled blood.
Things got worse. Santana walked, and Julio Rodríguez came up with runners on the corners. The infield stayed in, hoping to stop the go-ahead run. Instead, Rodríguez hit a sharp grounder that could’ve been an out at home, but no one was covering the plate. Loop got hit by the ball, couldn’t back up, slipped trying to recover, and the play broke down fast. Everyone was safe. The infield had three more chances to get outs at the plate — all failed. One tag knocked the ball loose, another fielder slipped, and the Angels completely lost track of base runners. Crawford capped it off with a bloop single to make it 6-2.
The Mariners didn’t crush the ball, but they ran aggressively and forced mistake after mistake. The Angels’ defense collapsed under basic pressure. No backups, late reactions, and sloppy footwork turned a tied game into a blowout in minutes. Seattle didn’t do anything flashy. They just kept moving, and the Angels couldn’t keep up.