Seattle Mariners 2013 Year In Review

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

June

In June, the biggest news the Mariners made came off the playing field.

First, the team drafted DJ Peterson with their first pick in the draft. He appears to be the corner infield man of the future for the M’s. But given the recent acquisitions this offseason and the organization’s determination to not give up on Justin Smoak, it remains to be seen how soon that impact can be had.

The Mariners called up Mike Zunino, sparking much debate but also creating a lot of happy fans who had been eagerly awaiting his arrival.

On the field, the Mariners struggled. Players were going back and forth to the disabled list. Inconsistent hitting was salvaged – albeit barely – by amazing pitching (at least by Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma).

When the dust settled, the Mariners were sitting at 35-47 (11-16 in June), 4th in the AL west, 13 games back of Texas. Halfway through the season, halfway to a 70-win season.

July

The month of July provided moments of false hope for Mariners fans. Just prior to the All-Star break, the Mariners swept the Los Angeles Angels.

Then after King Felix and Kuma represented the M’s in the All-Star game, the M’s went back to work with five more wins including a sweep of the Astros.

An eight-game winning streak – the longest of the season – brought the Mariners to within 10 games of the Oakland Athletics, but more importantly, only 8.5 games back of the 2nd wild-card spot and nearing the .500 mark (four games under).

But not all was good news. On July 22nd – the 7th game in the winning streak – manager Eric Wedge was hospitalized after feeling dizzy during batting practice. Turns out he had suffered a stroke and would miss 28 games with the club.

When July came to a close, the Mariners owned a record of 50-57 (15-10 in July), were 12.5 games back of Oakland and 9 games back of the 2nd wild-card.