Mariners lose heart-breaker 2-1 in extra innings to the Yankees

A season-long problem for the Seattle Mariners rears its ugly head, as the lineup once more fails to take advantage of excellent pitching.

Everything appeared set up as well as it could be for the Seattle Mariners, heading into their crucial three-game home series versus the New York Yankees. Thanks to other results around the Majors on Monday, they found themselves 4.0 games back of the Houston Astros in the division and just 2.0 back of the final AL wild card.

Unfortunately for the fans, as we’ve written repeatedly in recent weeks, every time the Mariners are seemingly in position to take advantage, they lose. And this happened yet again, starting with getting trounced 11-2 on Tuesday night in the series opener against the Yankees.

Of course one-off dominant losses can happen from time to time, even to the best of ball clubs. And in fairness to Dan Wilson, it was the first such instance since he took over as Mariners manager.

However, what really hurt was the result on Wednesday night, a devastating 2-1 extra innings loss which was there for the taking. This was a game which the Mariners should have won, but instead became a loss which could well have all but sealed their fate in a season which had seemed to hold so much promise.

As has been the case far too often in this frustrating season, the Mariners’ excellent pitching was offset by a poor offensive output. Once again the lineup cost them a win, as they labored through 10 innings and only managed one solitary run.

A strange situation

However, what ended up being most costly of all, was an unintentional mistake by Julio Rodríguez in the bottom of the 10th. The Yankees had taken their 2-1 lead in the top of the inning after a Anthony Rizzo RBI double, but the Mariners had runners on the corners with no outs.

Randy Arozarena was then struck out swinging, in the process losing his bat, which went spinning towards third base where Rodríguez was stationed. At least he was, to begin with.

The two-time All-Star instinctively moved out of the way to avoid Arozarena’s errant bat, but went too far into foul territory. As a result, quick thinking by the Yankees allowed them to tag the outfielder for the crucial second out.

Justin Turner — who scored the Mariners’ only run of the night with a solo blast in the bottom of the eighth — was subsequently struck out swinging to end the game. This led to the M’s and their fans wondering about what could have been, in a game where they were the better side.

J-Rod explains what happened

Postgame, Rodríguez advised that he thought it was going to be a dead play after Arozarena’s bat went flying towards him. He said:

“I got away and turned my back to the field and I heard (third base coach) Manny (Acta) yelling, ‘Get back to third.’ … Honestly, at that moment I wasn’t really thinking about the game, just trying to get away from the bat coming at me.”

Mariners manager Dan Wilson also discussed the incident with the media. He said:

“Kind of a freak scenario there at the end with the bat coming down there and just kind of a reactionary thing. It was a great ballgame on all fronts and a tough one to lose.”

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Miller Time not enough for the Mariners

Certainly it is a tough game to lose, when your pitching only gives up three hits on the night and the Yankees strike out a season-high 15 times. Leading the way was Bryce Miller, who went 6.0 innings and allowed just two hits, along with four walks.

It took Miller a career-high 106 pitches to get through his 6.0 innings, but he was more than good enough on the night. He also struck out eight batters and gave up just the one run, a RBI single from that man Rizzo in the top of the second.

As tough as it was for the 26-year-old to ultimately be on the losing side, he can take pride in the way he pitched against the Yankees. In two previous starts against the Bronx Bombers, he had allowed 16 hits and 13 runs in 10.2 combined innings.

On Wednesday night specifically, Miller struggled early but overcame this thanks to his mental fortitude and a key adjustment in his approach. He said:

“I threw a lot of pitches early. I tried to do too much, but I came in after the second and decided I was going to go after them. So after that I was able to get ahead better and throw more strikes, and get deep into the game.”

After Miller left the game, Troy Taylor, Andrés Muñoz and Collin Snider combined to pitch 3.0 innings of shutout baseball and get the game to extra innings. Then Snider gave up what was ultimately the winning hit by Rizzo, and got tagged with the loss.

Losing ground in the playoff race

Combined with other results on the night around the league, the Mariners find themselves in dire straits with just 10 games remaining. They are now 5.0 games behind the Astros in the AL West and 3.0 back of a wild card spot.

Pure and simple, the Mariners cannot realistically afford even one more slip up moving forward, if they are to have any hope of qualifying for the playoffs. This begins on Thursday afternoon, when they send Logan Gilbert to the mound for the series finale versus the Yankees.

How does it all end for the Mariners now? Do you see a minor miracle happening, will they came up just short, or fall further away over their remaining 10 games? Let us know in the comments section below.