Mariners suffer historic collapse in 13-12 loss to Royals

The Mariners should be embarrassed.

Truly, they should. It doesn’t matter who you are playing. Even if it was the Dodgers or Astros, to give up double-digit runs in a single inning seems like something that could only happen in a nightmare. To do so against the Kansas City Royals, who have the 8th worst offense in baseball, is dumbfounding.

The Mariners had one of their worst losses in team history against the Royals

Down 2-1 heading into the 5th inning, the Mariners had one of the more interesting innings you’ll ever see at the major league level. Despite having a rash of injuries, they were still able to send 13 men to the plate, you would expect them to have smacked a couple of home runs, or see a stretch of hit after hit after hit to provide the offense.

Instead, the Mariners had just four hits that inning, all of which were singles. They had two HBP and four walks, getting tons of free bases from the Royals. When it was said and done, they had scored eight that inning. Adding on two more in the 6th, and they had an 11-2 lead.

I don’t know about you, but I assumed the game was all but over. No point in playing the rest of it. Wrap this up, because it’s done.

Or… maybe not.

Ready to cry, Mariners fans? Here is how the 6th inning went for KC.

• Strike Out
• Walk
• 2 Run Homer
• Walk
• Walk
• Single
• Fielders Choice RBI Groundout (two outs, three runs in.)
• 2 Run Double
• Walk
• Walk
• 1 Run Single
• 2 Run Single
• 2 Run Double
• 1 Run Single

My stomach hurts just thinking about this. They gave up 11 runs that inning. Festa, Brash, and Swanson recorded just two outs in facing ten batters. The Mariners had a great opportunity to hop Tampa and sit in the 2nd WC spot, and further their lead on Baltimore. Instead, they allowed the Royals to tie the team record for a Mariners opponent for most runs given up in an inning.

Instead, we sit here on a Monday morning wondering what happened, as it still doesn’t seem real. The Mariners suffered one of the worst collapses in team history, reminiscent of the disgusting 15-14 loss in 2001 when the Mariners held a 14-2 lead and lost, preventing them from reaching 117 wins.

The good news is that at least they are back home in Seattle, with ten games remaining to finish out the season. Hopefully, they turn it around on this homestand and can head into the playoffs on a high note!