THE NAUTICAL 9 — Episode 8 Week of April 27–May 1, 2026 | Hosts: Travis & Ryan

The M's closed April at 16-16 after a 5-1 road trip through St. Louis and Minnesota. Cole Young is becoming something special, Matt Brash is a question mark, and Luis Castillo remains the $25M elephant in the rotation.

@ Cardinals (April 24–26) — Sweep

• Game 1: Kirby's 3rd straight quality start, Naylor 418-ft go-ahead blast, Muñoz closes it. W 3-2
• Game 2: Woo gets shelled (5 HR allowed), but the offense chips back inning by inning. Will Wilson ties it with a homer off Riley O'Brien. W 11-9
• Game 3: ABS challenge in the 9th changes everything — Ruf Schneider battles back, gets a hanger, walk-off homer. W 3-2. Sweep.

@ Twins (April 27–29) — 2-1

• Game 1: Castillo struggles, cold weather, rookie pitcher nobody had film on. L 11-4
• Game 2: Gilbert solid, Naylor bat flip of the year, Randy 3 hits, Julio 3 doubles. W 7-1
• Game 3: Cole Young 3 RBIs including the go-ahead 2-run single in the 9th. Brash exits after 2 pitches. W 5-3

STORYLINES

Cole Young is for real. .383 with 10 RBIs over his last 13 games. 2nd-best WPA in all of baseball behind only Trout. #1 among all position players in defensive WAR. He went from one of the worst defensive 2B in baseball last year to the best this year. Where does he hit in the order, and when does he get his first All-Star nod?

Matt Brash. Exited Wednesday after 2 pitches with right-side discomfort. Had a 0.00 ERA in 13 outings. IL stint likely. Bizzardo probably slides into the leverage role. Oblique word has been mentioned. Not great.

Luis Castillo. The $25M question. Sometimes has his 95-96 stuff, sometimes doesn't. Cold weather theory has merit. But Hancock has been dominant and Bryce Miller is rehabbing. When everyone's healthy, something has to give.

JP Crawford's defense. Still the captain, still hits. But the range isn't there anymore and it shows. Leave it alone while we're winning — revisit if we stop.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

• Red Sox fired Cora and 5 coaches at 10-17, then won 17-1. Phillies fired Thomson (9-19), offered the job to Cora, he said no, Donnie Baseball steps in. Mattingly wins his first two.
• NL Central: every team is at or above .500. Reds are 20-11 with Tito Francona out of retirement. Wild.
• Braves at 22-10, rookie J.R. Richie from Bainbridge, WA gave up a homer on his first MLB pitch then struck out 8.

COMING UP

• Randy Johnson #51 retirement ceremony — Saturday May 2, T-Mobile Park (80s jersey night giveaway)
• Home vs. KC Royals (May 1–3) then the Braves (May 4–6)

The conversation covers the Seattle Mariners' performance in April, focusing on their struggles, bullpen issues, and offensive performance. The discussion delves into the team's challenges and successes, providing insights into their current state and future prospects.

Takeaways

• Seattle Mariners' April performance
• Bullpen struggles
• Offensive performance

Travis and Ryan break down a week that tested every M's fan — from the darkest record since 2011 to right back in the AL West race in four days. That's baseball.

🏥 Injury News & Roster Moves JP Crawford is back and already clutch — he's tied the team walk-off record. Victor Robles back on the IL, Schneider on paternity leave, so Patrick Wisdom gets the call from Triple-A.

🌾 Down on the Farm Cade Anderson is dealing — 11 K's in 5 innings in his last Double-A start. The guys dig into the logjam: if Bryce Miller returns and Emerson keeps rolling, something has to give. Six-man rotation? Trade? Move Emerson to the pen? Colt Emerson projected for a May call-up.

😤 Anaheim — The California Nightmare

• G1 (W 3-1): Woo dealt. Cole Young breaks it open in the 10th.
• G2 (L 1-0): Zack Neto leadoff homer — that was all she wrote. Jo Adell robbed Cal, Naylor, AND leaped into the stands to rob JP. Three robberies. Greatest defensive outfield game we've ever watched against us.
• G3 (L 8-7): Offense scored seven but Luis gave up six and the bullpen gave up more. Brutal finish.

😤😤 Texas — Four Losses, Four One-Run Games

• G1 (L 2-1): Cal's first career homer. deGrom and the pen did the rest. Gilbert wasted again.
• G2 (L 3-2): Donovan leadoff bomb. Still not enough. Third straight one-run loss.
• G3 (L 2-0): Two hits. Two. Four and nine. It was dark in Arlington.

☀️ Houston Home Stand — The Cure

• G1 (W 9-6): Season-high 9 runs. Three in the first on walks and chaos. Randy two-run bomb breaks it open.
• G2 (W 8-7): Down 7-2, came all the way back. Cal's first homer at T-Mobile. Julio's first homer of the year. JP walks it off with a bases-loaded single.
• G3 (W 6-1): Walked until the cows came home. Julio extends his on-base streak.
• G4 (W): Nails goes nuclear — back-to-back homers. 13 hits. Kirby goes 7.2. Back to one game under .500.

🌍 Around the League Dodgers are 12-4 being Dodgers. Everyone else is bunched up. Rangers lead the AL West at 9-7. Blue Jays and Astros rotations are in shambles. Pirates and Reds quietly hanging around. Cubs gave up 14 to Philly.

🔭 Looking Ahead Padres (10-6) in town — soft schedule but a real lineup. Woo goes tonight. Jackie Robinson Day tomorrow. Then Rangers at home for redemption, followed by the A's. Travis wants a win streak. Ryan says take it one series at a time. Either way — stay on the roller coaster.

Thanks for listening to The Nautical 9. Find us wherever you get your podcasts.