Mariners Have Chance To Play Heartbreakers; Don’t

Sep 13, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher

(18) throws to a St. Louis Cardinals batter during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Mariners are not fighting for a playoff spot. And statistically, they are no longer fighting for a winning record.

Last night though, they were fighting to play the bad-guy, the fun-suckers, the heartbreakers.

But of course, in good ol’ Mariners fashion, we accommodated the in-contention St. Louis Cardinals by having the game in hand and generously giving it back. Does that mean one bird in the hand isn’t the same as two?

With Mike Zunino‘s towering home run in the 5th, and Hisashi Iwakuma‘s stellar starting performance, the Mariners look poised to take an improbable 1-0 win to the finish against the offensive juggernaut that is the Cardinals. But remember friends, we are the Seattle Mariners, kings and lords of self-sacrifice and self-destruction.

The Mariners had 10 hits to the Cardinals’ 4, but only managed to push that home run across. Nothing was manufactured, no clutch hitting, no pulling away from the playoff bound midwesterners. And the rest of the game followed as such:

Bottom of the 8th, Nick Franklin allows Brock Peterson to reach safely on a throwing error.

Then came an oversight; with the man on first, Matt Carpenter walks, and the pinch-runner Pete Kozma steals third base.

And with runners at 1st and 3rd with one out, Jon Jay grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored the baserunner from third. An unearned run for Charlie Furbush, and a tie game for the Cardinals.

Fortunately the Mariners held serve in the 9th, and onto extras they went. But the 10th was a disaster.

The Mariners had a guy on first with no outs and Franklin bunt pops out so the runner can’t advance. Then later in the inning there are guys on 2nd and 3rd with two outs, a major opportunity to put late runs on the board and have a chance to steal the game from the juggernaut. But alas, nothing. Against a team like the Cardinals, one mistake, one opportunity not taken, equals a loss.

In the 10th, the man who gave us our only lead of the game gave the game back to the Cardinals with a passed ball. 10th inning, game over. 2-1 loss for the Mariners.

A winning season is folly. A better record than last season seems to be a pipe dream. But at least for me Mariners, try to spoil the party for somebody. Please.

We need something in September to cheer about.

Don’t forget to take part in Sodo Mojo’s and Amazon.com’s contest in which the winner receives $500 worth of sports memorabilia courtesy of Amazon. For details, click here.