Mariners flirt with the wrong side of history in 9-4 loss

It’s not often that a team gets no-hit twice in a season. 14 times in history, to be exact, including the 2019 Mariners.

But getting no-hit three times a season? That would have to be uncharted territory — or so we thought.

It wasn’t until the 7th inning that Omar Narvaez blooped a single into right field that gave Seattle their first hit of the ballgame — just eight batters away from a historic low.

If there’s any takeaway from tonight, it’s that the Mariners are limping their way through a rough patch, arguably their worst of the season. Sure, they dropped from a franchise-best 13-2 record to the basement of the American League West months ago — but they still scored runs. They still reached base.

Seattle’s offensive no-hitter Saturday marked the second in a 23-day span for the club. They didn’t secure a hit until the 4th inning Sunday, and they started Tuesday’s game with six hitless frames, once again flirting with the wrong side of baseball history.

Call the hitting drought what you want, but I’ve never seen a crowd cheer with such enthusiasm for a bloop single amidst a 5-0 deficit.

Just an inning later, the crowd erupted when San Diego catcher Austin Hedges airmailed a throw to second base that scored J.P. Crawford from third. Seattle then trailed 8-2.

It seems as though the Mariner fan base has embraced the ‘enjoy the little things’ mindset for 2019. And they should prepare for similar outcomes in 2020, while the team grows into a postseason contender.

I’m in no way mocking the fans cheering for bloop singles and opponent errors. In fact, I’m applauding it. The bottom line is that Seattle has no chance at a World Series this season, and next year doesn’t exactly show the glimmer of home we’ve dreamt of.

What I’ve joined my peers in doing is attending games and enjoying the wins as they come.

Tuesday was not one of those nights, as Seattle dropped their fifth straight contest in a 9-4 defeat to the Padres.

Despite the loss, the moment of the night occurred in the bottom of the eighth, when Tim Lopes roped a ball over the center-field wall that gave the rookie his first big league homer — and first hit.

With the crowd on their feet, Lopes answered their curtain call, rising above the dugout and acknowledging the some 24,000 in attendance.

The blast closed the gap to 8-4 before San Diego plated a run in the top half of the ninth.

Seattle closes their two-game set with the Padres Wednesday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 3:40 p.m. Yusei Kikuchi takes the mound, hoping to recover from an inconsistent month of July.