Seattle tagged Gerrit Cole for three home runs in the first inning before the newest Mariner, Luis Castillo, took care of the rest, sending the Yankees to a 7-3 loss on Wednesday afternoon in The Bronx.

The Yankees (70-36) dropped the series and lost for the third time in their past four games before heading out on a nine-game road trip that will begin Friday in St. Louis.

Wednesday marked the second straight start in which Cole was rocked in one big inning. Last Friday against the Royals, it was a five-run fifth inning that did him in. On Wednesday, it was a six-run first inning.

“It’s kind of hard to believe how much it just blows up so quick,” Cole said. “I’m trying to be excellent out there and obviously not. Obviously the game’s letting us know we’re not there. So we gotta keep grinding on it. It doesn’t feel good. We let a series get away from us and it’s because of a very poor first inning today. That’s on me.”

Beloved Major League Baseball broadcaster Vin Scully, known best for his record-setting 67 seasons with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, has died at the age of 94, the Dodgers announced.

“We have lost an icon,” said Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten. “The Dodgers’ Vin Scully was one of the greatest voices in all of sports. He was a giant of a man, not only as a broadcaster, but as a humanitarian. He loved people. He loved life. He loved baseball and the Dodgers.

“And he loved his family. His voice will always be heard and etched in all of our minds forever. I know he was looking forward to joining the love of his life, Sandi. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this very difficult time. Vin will be truly missed.”

Scully was hired by the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950 and continued to work for the team until 2016, which set the record for the longest broadcasting tenure with a single team in professional sports history and was second only to longtime Dodgers manager and executive Tommy Lasorda‘s 69 seasons for the most with the Dodgers organization in any capacity.

The Bronx native was also the voice of 25 World Series, 20 no-hitters and 12 All-Star Games during his legendary career, having also contributed to CBS Sports (1975-82) and NBC Sports’ (1983-1989) for MLB, NFL football and PGA Tour golf coverage.

The Mets, with a 9-5 victory over the Nationals, extended their NL East lead on the Braves to 3 ½ games. The Mets, who won five of six games on the road trip, have picked up a game on the Braves since the finale of their series in Atlanta. The Mets’ lead over the Braves on May 30 was 10 games.

“When you look at the schedule and everything, you hope you’re in it,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told Atlanta reporters. “Shoot, after you play 100-and-whatever games, this is where you want to be. You want to be in this position, where these games are big.”

The next five games won’t decide anything, but the Mets still have two trips to Atlanta remaining (including one within the final week of the season) that combined with these five could carry significant weight in determining who wins the division and who is reduced to playing in the wild-card round. The two division winners in each league with the best records will receive a bye in that first round.

The Mets received a loud hit from Daniel Vogelbach and strong pitching performance from Chris Bassitt in handling the gutted Nationals in their second game since they traded Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego.

Vogelbach’s first homer in a Mets uniform — a grand slam in the fifth — broke the game open, burying the Nationals in a 6-0 hole. The lefty-hitting Vogelbach entered the day with a .483 on-base percentage in eight games since arriving in a trade with Pittsburgh for reliever Colin Holderman.