Seattle – The Mariners lost on Tuesday night after to Josh Jung the Texas Rangers. It was hideous baseball that’s been indicative of an absolutely horrific collapse in the last two weeks of September – they’ve gone 4-9 since their epic comeback against Atlanta.
Jung hit a solo shot, an RBI single with runners on first and third, and a three run homer to give the Rangers a shut out victory at T-Mobile Park. Mariners starter Robbie Ray was hung out to dry by his offense, which managed five hits and five walks but no run. His second home run put the game out of reach and came off of Diego Castillo.
Seattle’s lack of depth on the offensive end — and the awful play of Adam Frazier this year — was apparent when manager Scott Servias turned to Abraham Toro with two runners on and one out in the bottom of the ninth. Fraizer’s at bat felt like a forgone conclusion.
While the absence of Julio Rodrigues and Eugenio Suárez during that two week stretch, Suárez returned on Tuesday, has definitely played a part in the collapse. It’s just been lethargic and unwatchable baseball against the bottom of the league.
It’s been hideous baseball, but despite that Seattle’s playoff odds are still at 99.9% and the magic number is down to five.
And that’s despite the fact that Baltimore has played .500 ball since September 12th (7-7). The comfortable lead in the AL Wildcard that the M’s built up has provided them a pretty significant cushion throughout their collapse. Which means that we should be extremely thankful to the schedule makers that the O’s got the face of their division in the season’s final three weeks.
Baltimore has needed to go on a tear to overcome the hole they were in. And, thus far, the Orioles haven’t been able to. Which means that Seattle is limping towards the finish line, but the odds of ending this drought are still excellent.
The magic number
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