Mariners pitcher Tayler Saucedo lashes out at harassment and death threats to him and girlfriend after tough loss to Phillies

Seattle Mariners pitcher Tayler Saucedo has been underwhelming this season, and one of his worst performances of the season came against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. The reliever revealed vitriolic comments from fans aimed at him and his girlfriend on Thursday.

Tayler Saucedo fave up five runs in 0.1 innings on Wednesday as the Mariners crashed to an 11-2 loss. Following the loss, Saucedo revealed hate messages from fans on social media in a post on X.

“@sauce07 I hope your f–king head gets blown off to pieces walking in Philly you autistic ugly piece of s–t,” a fan wrote on their Instagram story.

While the 32-year-old closer acknowledged his poor performances this season, he lashed out at the comments.

“I understand wanting me gone after today and this year as a whole. Nobody is more disappointed with how this year has gone for me than myself. Trust me, I want to win just as much as all of you, whether I'm here or not,” Saucedo wrote on X.

"But messaging me this bulls*** and my girlfriend and sending this stuff is beyond baseball. It’s insane how comfortable people are sending this stuff to not only me but also my partner. Tell me I suck all you want that’s fine but at some point we gotta get a grip.”

Tayler Saucedo refused to turn off notifications after online threats

Tayler Saucedo had a 3.54 ERA across the previous two seasons, however, the veteran reliever has struggled this year with a shocking 11.05 ERA in seven games.

This is not the first time a player has copped abuse from fans this season. Houston Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. and Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks have also received online threats from fans.

Despite the abuse from fans, Tayler Saucedo declined the suggestion of turning off his notifications.

“I see a lot of people saying turn off notifications but I’d like to say this: I keep them partially open because I like interacting with fans,” Saucedo said. “Today was an example of going too far. No matter the reason we cannot send this stuff especially to people not involved. I share the same exact love you all do for the Mariners.”

The Mariners are involved in an intense race for the AL West with the Houston Astros., who they trail by two games at the top of the table.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash