Mariners collapse late in Kansas City and fall out of lead in AL West

Matt Brash has his worst outing of the season, but there was plenty of blame to go around in the Mariners’ crushing 7-5 loss to the Royals.

It’s amazing how just one loss can totally flip the script and in some cases almost completely eradicate the good vibes which came from a season-high 10-game winning streak. However, it’s going to be tough for plenty of Seattle Mariners fans not to regress back to the default setting of anxiety and doubt after Wednesday evening’s 7-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals.

It’s not just the loss on its own, which saw the Mariners miss a golden opportunity to pull to within one game of the Detroit Tigers for the AL’s second seed and an invaluable first round bye. It’s also that the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians all won, to highlight just how tight things are in the chase for playoff spots.

The combination of results saw the Mariners drop out of first place in the AL West by half a game, while also falling two games back of the Yankees for the first overall wild card spot and the first round homefield advantage which would come with it. Of particular frustration for M’s fans is that a Rangers team which had been on a great run of form themselves recently, decided to fall apart completely in Houston and get swept by the Astros.

In this respect, as long suspected it really is going to all come down to the Mariners’ weekend series in Houston, with the outcome going a long way towards determining who wins the AL West. First things first though, the M’s must find a way to win Thursday’s series finale in Kansas City and get back into a tie with the Astros at the top of the division.

Mariners struggle in clutch situations

There was plenty of blame to go around in Wednesday’s 7-5 loss to the Royals. One of the most crucial aspects of the game was the Mariners going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position compared to 5-for-13 by the hosts, to highlight both the lack of opportunities and the inability to cash in.

Arguably the biggest example of failing to cash in, came during the top of the eighth after the rejuvenated J.P. Crawford had given the Mariners a 4-3 lead on a solo home run. However, Julio Rodríguez committed a cardinal sin, by getting picked off at first base with two outs and Cal Raleigh on first base.

The Mariners would be made to pay for this in brutal fashion in the bottom of the eight, as Matt Brash couldn’t have picked a more inopportune time to have his worst outing of the year. He allowed four hits and four earned runs — both season highs — and didn’t even make it out of the inning as the M’s fell behind 7-4.

A former Mariner comes back to haunt the team

To really pour salt into the wound, the Royals retook the lead at 5-4 courtesy of a two-run blast by former Mariner Adam Frazier. He had only hit one home run in his previous 22 games and to really rub it in, as per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, it was only the 11th homer this season that traveled less than 340 feet.

Postgame, it was mentioned that Brash just didn’t look like he had his usual stuff on the night. Mariners manager Dan Wilson said:

“Yeah, walking the lead-off guy makes it a little bit more difficult and it just seems like they went pretty aggressive on him after the home run and were able to tack on some hits.”

In fairness to the righty, one outing does not take away from what has been a tremendous overall season for him. Wilson quite understandably maintains confidence in his reliever, as he said:

“Matty’s been here before and he will bounce back. He’s a guy we want in that situation and he’ll be ready to pitch.”

The Mariners did pull one back in the top of the ninth, with Eugenio Suárez coming home as Dominic Canzone ground out into a double play. However, Crawford would subsequently also ground out and the M’s suffered one of their roughest losses of the season.

Bryce Miller continues to battle but still needs more

In truth the stage was set when the Mariners fell behind in the very first inning, as Bryce Miller gave up a three-run homer to Salvador Perez. Yes it was the only three runs he would give up over 5.0 innings, but it forced the visitors to battle off the back foot almost from the word go.

Miller admitted afterwards that it was a grind for him, on the night when he allowed eight hits and two walks on 89 pitches. He said:

“Yes it wasn’t the easiest five innings I’ve ever had, but it was definitely a grind. (It was) hot and humid so I was sweating, but we got through five. If I could have redo on the pitch to Perez I think I would probably go a different location, but overall I had to grind and got through five.”

As much as Miller has made encouraging progress since his return from a second stint on the Injured List, he knows he still has more to do. He said:

“Just about every start since I’ve come back, it just seems like there’s been one pitch that I can circle that has got me. I’ve just got to limit those damage pitches and go deep into games and give us a chance.”

The old Eugenio Suárez makes a welcome return

The loss also wasted Suárez’s bat finally waking up, as he ended a horrific run of 0-for-32 at the plate. He had four hits and produced two RBI, and the Mariners can only hope that this signals the beginning of a return to form for the two-time All-Star.

Afterwards, Suárez spoke to the media about his performance . He said:

“Today was one of those days where you start to feel better. You see the ball really well and you make good decisions on your swings and I had four (hits), so it was very good for me.”

Wilson liked what he saw on the night from Suárez and talked about all the hard work he’s been putting in to get things tuned around. He said:

“I know the hitting guys have been working with him and they do such a great job. Geno’s a professional, he’s been here, he’s a vet and he knows. Tonight we saw what Geno’s capable of. … He was just swinging the bat and he looks like he’s gaining a lot of confidence and that bodes well for us going down the line.”

One loss doesn’t undo all the good work which came from putting together a 10-game win streak, but the timing is bad given just how tight things are in the AL combined with the time of year. The Mariners will send Luis Castillo to the mound for Thursday’s rubber match, in a game which they really need to get due to everything which is at stake.

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Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

It’s clearly going to come down to the series in Houston, so how is it all going to play out? Will the Mariners win the AL West or fall short and have to settle for a wild card spot? Or do you have any concern they will miss out altogether? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.