Mariners Pitching Crumbles Late, Cubs Utilize Five-Run 7th to Beat Seattle 5-1

The Seattle Mariners held Chicago scoreless for six innings, but the bullpen and offense let the M’s down on Monday.

Seattle’s starter, Justus Sheffield, danced his way out trouble with two-runners-on in four of the five innings he pitched. The Cubs stranded nine runners in the game, all when Sheffield was pitching.

When Chicago finally broke through, they scored five runs in the seventh, and left no one on base. Sheffield’s constant Houdini maneuvering, sadly, didn’t matter in the end.

Matt Wisler was great in his first inning of work, but his one-third of the seventh was not. He gave up three earned runs in that one-third pitched.

When Taylor Guilbeau came in to pitch, there were two runners on with Anthony Rizzo coming up. Rizzo stepped in the box and brought in the tying run.

Guilbeau intentionally walked Albert Almora Jr. and promptly gave up a three-run triple to Kyle Schwarber, 4-1 Cubs. Chicago tacked on one more run in the inning.

Offensively, Seattle managed just six base runners, only two reached second base, and only one reached third and home. The Mariners left four on base throughout the game.

All in all, a Seattle season focused on development was on full display at Wrigley Field. The young Sheffield looked great, but the rest of the team did not.

Cubs win 5-1.

Winning Pitcher, (1-0) David Phelps: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 K, 1 BB

Losing Pitcher, (3-3) Matt Wisler: 1.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 K, 2 BB

The M’s finish their quick interleague series with Chicago on Tuesday. Pregame coverage starts at 4 p.m. on 750 The Game.

Here are the highlights from the game:

Top 5th … Dee Gordon RBI Double, 1-0 Mariners