Cal Raleigh, J.P. Crawford Return for Mariners Game Today vs Orioles

Mariners game today got a needed lift when Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford returned to the lineup for Seattle’s home series against the Orioles. The Mariners came back after a rough road trip with two regulars back in place, while Andrés Muñoz’s back issue remains the biggest pitching concern.

Raleigh and Crawford in Seattle

Raleigh’s return matters because he was described as the team’s superstar catcher, and Crawford adds another steady bat and glove to a lineup that needs more length at home. Seattle did not just get one reinforcement; it got two, and both were available as the club opened the series on its own field.

The Mariners had returned home after the rough trip and faced Baltimore in the middle of a season series that the two clubs had already split 4 games in Baltimore last week. That puts the focus on how Seattle handles this stretch now that its lineup is deeper than it was on the road.

Muñoz Back Issue

The complication is on the pitching side. Muñoz was forced from Sunday’s game because of a back issue, and that is the most concerning problem in Seattle’s bullpen picture entering this series. A late-game arm leaving with back trouble changes how the Mariners can manage tight innings right away.

Seattle’s situation is clearer because the lineup help arrived at the same time the bullpen question surfaced. The club can write Raleigh and Crawford into the everyday conversation, but it now has to watch how Muñoz responds after being pulled on Sunday.

Orioles Arrive Stronger

Baltimore reached the West Coast after getting Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo back from minor injuries last Thursday. They had missed the first three games of the Orioles’ series in Baltimore, and their return gave the Orioles another layer before this trip to finish the season series.

The Orioles also bring a shape that Seattle has to navigate. They entered with the fifth-highest strikeout rate and the sixth-highest walk rate, and only four Baltimore players had 200 or more plate appearances at the time. That mix points to a lineup with uneven traffic but enough reach to punish mistakes if Seattle’s staff loses command.

Brandon Young and Kyle Bradish are part of that pitching side for Baltimore. Young graduated from the Orioles’ development pipeline last year and was sixth on their 2025 prospect list, while Bradish returned to the mound late last year after Tommy John surgery and has seen his slider knocked around a bunch this season. His sinker effectiveness has also waned this season, which gives Seattle a clearer target when the Orioles put him on the mound.

For the Mariners, the practical change is immediate: Raleigh and Crawford lengthen the lineup at home, and that matters over a series when the other side is already healthier than it was in Baltimore. The unresolved piece is Muñoz, because Seattle can absorb a rough road trip more easily with bats back, but not if a back issue takes away one of its late-inning options.