Mariners: What to take away from getting swept by Philly

Jun 28, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino (3) tags out Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis (13) in a run down to end the third inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 28, 2017; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino (3) tags out Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis (13) in a run down to end the third inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Mariners just suffered one of the worst setbacks the 2017 season could’ve thrown at them. After jumping to two games above .500, a season best, they dropped four straight games. Two at the hands of the hapless Philadelphia Phillies.

We acknowledged earlier this week the Mariners are coming up on one of their easiest schedule stretches in the 2017 season. That stretch was supposed to start with this series. Sweep the bad Phillies team and start rolling into Oakland, Kansas City, and Oakland again.

Yet, that did not happen, and the Mariners, instead of being two games over, they are two under, and both losses were glorious meltdowns. So what should M’s fans be feeling right now after this tough two game stretch?

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Honestly, we should give the team a little slack. 710 ESPN’s Jim Moore wrote this about the team in his column:

When you’re talking about a .500 team, which we are, the Mariners look great some nights, terrible on other nights and in between the rest of the time. That’s what .500 teams do.

Bad teams win games sometimes. The Phillies have done the win thing 26 times this season. While that’s bad, they’ve won 26 times. They don’t lose all their games. So it would be unfair for us to just automatically write these games off as wins, but we definitely seemed justified to expect more from this team. The same team that rattled off six straight wins spanning Texas, Detroit, and Houston.

That said, the M’s won a bunch, but they still have bad games, it’s just what happens, and it’s too bad it had to happen now, when we could have really used some wins.

I personally feel like Scott Servais is on some thin ice right now as he mismanaged the bullpen in both games, and blew the lead in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game.

Next: How to rightly root for the Mariners until the All-Star Game

Right now, Seattle is still hanging around in the American League, because the AL is mediocre this year. So thankfully, even though two losses are a mess for the team, the Mariners can bounce back if they can play solidly over the next 10 games before the break. So let’s have some hope and try not to read too deep into the losses to Philadelphia.