The Mariners scored four runs in three games against Detroit and lost two of three. Then they scored four more against Tampa Bay and got swept. Eight runs, six games, five losses. We’re watching a season begin to slip into the grave.
At 56–63, the Mariners are entering the most unforgiving stretch of their season with an offense that still hasn’t gotten anything going. The pitching staff held Tampa Bay to nine runs and gave them a chance in every game. With the Yankees, Astros and Brewers waiting, the margin for error is officially gone. Doomsday August has arrived.
Mariners’ Nightmare August Schedule Could Decide Their Season
From Aug. 11 through Aug. 30, the Mariners will play 18 games in 20 days. Twelve are on the road, and fifteen come against teams currently above .500. The only losing club is Toronto, which owns the same 56–63 record as Seattle.
The Mariners begin with nine road games against the Yankees, Astros and Brewers. New York is 66–52. Houston leads the AL West at 60–59. Milwaukee owns baseball’s best record at 74–44.
If Seattle survives that trip, they will be rewarded with six home games against the 69–50 Cubs and 63–56 Phillies. After that, they’ll fly back across the country for three in Toronto.
The gauntlet bleeds into September with a three-game series at Fenway Park beginning Aug. 31. Seattle has won only two series there since the start of 2014.
So, basically this schedule has all the warmth of an eviction notice.
We can talk about merely surviving August, but survival sets the bar too low given where the Mariners are in the standings.
A 9–9 performance during the initial 18-game stretch would leave Seattle at 65–72. The Mariners would then need to finish 19–6 just to reach 84 victories.
Going 10–8 creates an 18–7 requirement. Even a surprising 12–6 run leaves Seattle one game below .500. The Mariners need to go 13–5 simply to emerge from August with a winning record.
The Mariners are four games behind Houston in the AL West and 3 1/2 games out of the final wild card. That wild-card gap doesn’t sound bad until we notice Texas, Detroit, Minnesota, Cleveland and Baltimore are all ahead of them.
It’s about catching one team, they have a line of them to leap over.
The Mariners can’t rely on their starting rotation to carry them through this run. Plus, carrying them requires run support. The team is slashing .229/.308/.375 slugging percentage. The lineup is scoring a league-worst 3.88 runs per game. The pitching staff owns a 3.78 ERA, yet the club remains seven games below .500.
We saw the formula fail against Tampa Bay. Allowing two, three and four runs should create chances to win. However, the Mariners turned those performances into three losses because the lineup doesn’t have a pulse right now.
Mariners’ Easier September Schedule May Arrive Too Late
Seattle’s final 22 games include seven against the Athletics, seven against the Angels and three against the Rockies. That should provide a runway toward October. But that runway could be useless if they can’t handle their August schedule.
The Mariners have 20 days to prove this season deserves to see September. Treading water will leave them below the line, out of time and explaining how close all those losses felt.
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