Mariners Game Recap: It’s the same old song, M’s drop 4th straight game

The Seattle Mariners put up very little fight against the Texas Rangers as they suffered their 4th consecutive loss on Monday night at Safeco Field.

The Seattle Mariners (2-5) were unable to end their losing streak, as they lost 7-3 to the Texas Rangers (4-4) on Monday night. It was the M’s 4th consecutive loss, and they have still yet to win at Safeco Field in 2016. Colby Lewis (1-0, 3.00 ERA) dominated the M’s en route to earning the win for Texas. Hisashi Iwakuma (0-1, 4.09 ERA) did not pitch poorly, but he was saddled with the loss for Seattle.

Hisashi Iwakuma turned in a respectable showing against the Rangers. The veteran right-hander cruised through the opening frame, but allowed one run to score in each of the next three innings. He was lifted in the 7th after hurling 6 innings while surrendering 3 runs on 8 hits. Iwakuma notched 7 strikeouts and issued 1 free pass. It was not Kuma’s best outing, but he did enough to keep the Mariners in the game.

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Surprisingly, Seattle got on the board in the home half of the 1st inning tonight. Nori Aoki led off the game with a single to center field. Aoki was caught trying to steal second, but Kyle Seager replaced him at first base following a 1-out walk. Nelson Cruz stepped up with two outs, and plated a hustling Seags on an RBI double.

However, the M’s lead was short-lived as Texas fought back to tie the game in the top of the 2nd. Ian Desmond worked a 1-out walk, and scored later in the inning on an Elvis Andrus RBI single. The Rangers jumped out in front in the 3rd thanks to a Prince Fielder sacrifice fly.

Texas doubled their lead in the top of the 4th. Mitch Moreland led off the frame with a single. Andrus struck out, but Ryan Rua advanced Moreland to second base following a single of his own. Brett Nicholas popped out weakly for the second out, but Rougned Odor came through with a double down the right field line to score Moreland.

Mike Montgomery took over for Kuma in the 7th inning, and it proved to be an interesting outing for the young southpaw. Monty gave up a leadoff double to Nicholas, but managed to retire the next two men he faced. The M’s opted to intentionally walk Adrian Beltre, and that proved to be a mistake as Prince Fielder drove in Nicholas on a line drive to left field.

In a strange decision by skipper Scott Servais, Montgomery was asked to work the 8th inning as well for the Mariners. Monty induced a pop-out for the first out of the inning, but proceeded to allow three consecutive singles to load the bases. Odor cashed in with a 2-run single, and Nomar Mazara made it a 7-1 game following a sacrifice fly.

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The Mariners cut into the Rangers lead in the home half of the 8th inning. Keone Kela plunked Seager leading off the inning, and Cruz belted an 85 mph changeup deep to center field for a 2-run homer. The home run was Cruz’s second of the season, and shrunk the Rangers lead to 7-3. Unfortunately, it was too little too late for the home side.

There was very little in the way of atmosphere tonight at the Safe, and who can blame the fans for sitting on their hands. Seattle combined to score 4 runs in the previous three games entering Monday’s contest, and they pushed across just 3 runs tonight. The Mariners are playing a boring brand of baseball these days, and things need to change quickly in the Emerald City.

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Looking ahead, the Seattle Mariners (2-5) will play host to the Texas Rangers (4-4) again on Tuesday night at Safeco Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm from the corner of Edgar & Dave. It will be a battle of veteran lefties, as Wade Miley (0-0, 7.50 ERA) will toe the rubber for the M’s and Derek Holland (0-0, 5.40 ERA) will get the ball for Texas. As always, tomorrow’s game will televised locally on Root Sports Northwest and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices.