Mariners get must needed win to avoid sweep against Houston

As I’m sure all Mariners fans know, the first two games of the Houston series were awful. The Mariners had just gotten to 10 games above .500, and you could tell people were starting to truly believe that, just maybe, the Mariners might be serious contenders for a playoff berth once September rolled around.

Then came the Astros. They put a straight up whooping on us the first two games of the series. It reminded me of growing up and thinking that you are getting good at basketball. Then, either your parent or the older kids stop goofing off and put you in your place. That’s what happened in the first two games as the Mariners lost 12-3 and 15-1. That’s the last I’m gonna speak of those two games because, in the end, it’s just two losses.

The Mariners got it done in the finale against Houston.

In a way, it’s the great thing about baseball. Yeah, the run differential will be awful… but it already was. Just embrace that the Mariners are trying to do something that’s rarely if not never been done before. They are nine games above .500 (67-58) with a run differential of -62. Teams just don’t make the playoffs with a run differential like that. We all know this Mariners team is a bit different though.

As for the finale, it seemed like the Mariners were going to get swept, albeit in a close game. Tyler Anderson did exactly what we would expect, going 5.1 innings and giving up two runs. Those were the only two runs scored in the first seven innings, and the Mariners would be down 2-0 heading into the 8th inning.

They would finally get on the board thanks to JP Crawford and Jake Bauers, after Crawford ripped a double and scored Bauers to make it 2-1. Better yet, their back-to-back doubles came with two outs. Then, to lead off the ninth, Ty France went deep on the second pitch he saw to make it a 2-2 game, and the game would go to extras.

It got scary in the 10th, as Altuve would lead off with a single. The Mariners would make the smart choice of intentionally walking Brantley to load the bases, and would need something special to get out of the inning facing the bases loaded with no outs. Correa, Castro, and Gurriel would be sat down on strikes by Sewald, and the Mariners would make it to the 11th.

A Haniger walk would be followed by an RBI single by France, and then with runners on the corners, Seager would go yard with a three-run bomb to make it 6-2 Mariners. The Astros wouldn’t go down without a fight though.

After a lead-off groundout, Meyers would single, and so would Jones. Then, Wilson would walk to load the bases. In came Yohan Ramirez and he would shut the Stros down by striking out Altuve, and getting Brantley to fly out to shallow center, and Kelenic would end the game by snagging the ball and getting the Mariners the 6-3 win.

When all was said and done, the Mariners got out of the series having lost just a game in the standings. It could’ve been a lot worse, and they will have a chance to redeem themselves in one week when they play another three-game series against Houston, this time in Seattle. Hold tight Mariners fans, we aren’t out of this yet.