Mariners Game Recap: M’s Happ-Less in Series Finale

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The facts are that the Seattle Mariners just lost a baseball game to the Cleveland Indians by a score of 6-0.

J.A. Happ lasted just 2.1 innings on Thursday (David Richard-USA TODAY Sports).

The facts continue that the Mariners are now 27-33, and 6.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West.

The facts also state that the Mariners just won a series. So I can’t be too mad, I suppose, in the grand scheme of things. I do, after all, prefer when they win a series vs. lose a series. And if you win more series than you lose throughout the course of the year, then you’ve got a good chance to be really good.

But I’m still mad. The Mariners won a series in Cleveland. But they also looked terrible in today’s afternoon matinee.

The M’s got nothing going offensively against Shaun Marcum, who suddenly looked like the Shaun Marcum that anchored my fantasy teams about eight years ago. The M’s got nothing from J.A. Happ, and the M’s got trounced by an Indians lineup that didn’t feature Jason Kipnis.

Happ was dreadful this afternoon, lasting just 2.1 innings. He allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks. More concerning was his pitch count, which reached nearly 80 in less than three innings of work. Happ never looked comfortable today, getting behind in counts and going deep into most counts.

He gave way to Tom Wilhelmsen, who allowed one unearned run in 1.2 innings. Vidal Nuno threw the fifth, sixth and seventh, allowing one run. Fernando Rodney threw a scoreless eighth. He walked the leadoff man before getting a double play and a strikeout.

The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the second before putting four on the board against Happ and Wilhelmsen.

On the offensive side of things, the Mariners did nothing against Marcum. They didn’t get their first runner until the fourth when Logan Morrison was hit by a pitch and didn’t get a hit until the fifth when Mark Trumbo singled through the left side.

Robinson Cano is swinging the bat better of late (Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports).

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The one positive was Robinson Cano, who is swinging the bat a little better. He laced a flyout to center in the fifth and doubled in the seventh. He also had two doubles on Friday.

The Mariners open a huge series with the Astros tomorrow in Houston. Felix Hernandez toes the rubber for the M’s. It feels like the kind of series that could keep the M’s in contention — or put a huge stake in the rest of the season.

No pressure. Go M’s.

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