CINCINNATI — After their charmed existence in August, maybe the Mariners were due for some tough luck here in early September.
Or maybe their bullpen really is running out of gas.
The Reds rallied from a four-run deficit to walk off with a 7-6 victory Tuesday night over the Mariners, who were handed one of their most deflating defeats of the season while getting knocked out of the top spot in the American League West.
The Astros finished off their 14-1 beatdown of the Rangers shortly after the Mariners' loss went final. That nudged Houston (79-61) a game ahead in the division.
The race is on, and the Astros appear to be in full rocket mode.
The Mariners, in contrast, have stumbled on the first half of this 10-day, 10-game trip, losing four of their first five to fall to 77-61.
"If anybody thought this was going to be easy, they're crazy," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "It's tough. It's tough to win games this time of year. You gotta grind. Everybody's gotta be ready to go and do their job every night. We'll see what happens from here. Our guys will come out and compete tomorrow."
After trailing 5-1 in the sixth inning, the Reds' Nick Martini's hit a pinch-hit, three-run home run in the eighth inning off Justin Topa to complete the comeback.
The Reds won it in the ninth against Andres Muñoz after Elly De La Cruz, their rookie phenom, reached on an infield single, stole second and scored easily on Christian Encarnacion-Strand's chopper to right field.
The Mariners have lost three in a row, and the first two games in their first series at Great American Ball Park since 2016. It's historically been one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the MLB, and that's certainly played out the past two nights.
Martini's homer, in particular, would rank high on the luck List.
It had an exit velocity of 95.1 mph, and it landed in the first row beyond the wall in right field, just over the glove of a leaping Teoscar Hernandez.
According to Statcast, Martini's homer had an "expected" batting average of .160, and it would have been out in just six of 30 MLB ballparks (and certainly not at T-Mobile Park).
"In this ballpark — it is so small," Servais said, adding: "There is no lead safe in this ballpark."
Mariners sluggers did take advantage of the park — just not quite enough.
Julio Rodriguez hit two homers Tuesday, both to the opposite field, and he has three homers in the first two games of this series.
Hernandez got things started early for the Mariners with a two-run homer in the first inning of Reds right-hander Connor Phillips, the former Mariners draft pick making his major-league debut.
Rodriguez's three-run shot off Phillips in the fifth gave the Mariners a 5-1 lead.
Rodriguez added a solo shot to right field in the seventh to make it 6-3.
Servais lamented that the offense missed on a couple chances to tack on insurance runs.
Rookie Bryce Miller pitched effectively through five innings, benefiting from a twirling, diving catch from Dominic Canzone in left field to end the fifth inning, robbing De La Cruz of extra bases with the bases loaded.
Miller allowed one run on seven hits, with one walk and two strikeouts. Curiously, he hit three batters in the foot with his slider — after hitting just three batters in his first 20 starts — a day after rookie Bryan Woo also hit three Reds.
"I don't know, honestly. We can put it up to circumstance," Miller said. "Just a weird two days, I guess."
The Reds started their comeback with two homers off Dominic Leone in the sixth inning.
Rookie Noelvi Marte, a former Mariners top prospect, hit the first homer of his big-league career off a 95-mph fastball from Leone that was inside and off the plate. Marte was able to get the barrel out front and pull the ball 366 feet at 108 mph.
Gabe Speier and Matt Brash got the Mariners through the seventh inning, but Topa ran into trouble in the eighth. He was most frustrated by the walk he allowed to Marte after getting ahead in the count 0-2.
"Obviously, it's not ideal to walk the guy there," Topa said. "Made a couple good pitches and then just lost him there."
Pinch-hitter Tyler Stephenson singled and Martini followed with his pinch-hit homer.
"Stuff happens," Miller said. "Sometimes the ballpark plays a factor. ... Just really didn't go our way today. But we're fully confident in our staff. We've thrown the ball well all year. It's not time to hit the panic button."
The score tied 6-6, the Mariners had a chance to take the lead in the top of the ninth.
Mike Ford was hit by a pitch in the knee — he was down for several moments in obvious pain — to put two runners on for Eugenio Suarez.
Suarez didn't start Tuesday, the first time all season he hasn't started, but he came in as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning, and he got a chance to bat for the first time with two outs in the ninth.
After getting ahead in the count against Reds closer Alexis Diaz, Suarez swung at a 3-0 fastball on the outside corner and flew out to center field, ending the inning.
The Mariners will turn to Logan Gilbert on Wednesday to try salvage one game in this series.
