Mariners' next 7 games could bring them face-to-face with an unspeakable outcome

All season long, even as the Mariners have struggled to escape the .500 mark, the sentiment has remained the same: This team is better than it has shown. However, while we do believe this, it has now reached a critical point where we're about to find out what they're truly made of. This is about delivering in what will be a defining stretch of the campaign, or facing potential consequences which will send a shiver down the back of the spine of fans.

We're not going to outright state the next seven games are a do-or-die scenario, but it sure feels pretty damn close to it. This is a pressurised road trip for the Mariners as it is, for a team which is only 21-29 on their travels in 2026. Now throw in the fact they're playing four games against the Rangers and then three versus the Dodgers, and the stakes are raised that much higher.

The Mariners head into Friday's series opener in Texas with a 51-52 record and sitting half a game back of the Rangers. The M's would undoubtedly take a 2-2 split, but that will be easier said than done, gives they were swept last time they traveled to Arlington. All three games were winnable, but they only managed three total runs, in line with an uninspiring lineup which ranks second-last in the majors this season in scoring.

(On a related note, the Mariners dismissed assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes on Thursday and promoted hitting coordinator Ed Paparella. We would question Magallanes being made the fall guy for the hitting woes, but it does allude to the M's being desperate enough that they're now done playing Mr. Nice Guy.)

Then it's onto Los Angeles, to face the two-time defending World Series champions. It's bad enough that the Dodgers are 31-19 at home this season and lead the majors overall in run differential, but the Mariners struggle as it is when playing at Dodger Stadium. The M's have been swept in their previous four road trips to face the Dodgers and are 7-17 all-time at their stadium.

It isn't all doom and gloom for the Mariners, but still ...

If there's one positive in all of this, it's that Shohei Ohtani won't be pitching against the Mariners due to ongoing left knee issues. However, it still feels like this seven-game stretch is going to define the season. And if disaster does strike, then the M's will be deep underwater right in front of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

If this happens, then you get the sense teams are going to start calling (more), about Randy Arozarena, possibly J.P. Crawford and certainly about the starters. As much as the Mariners have always been envisioned as buyers ahead of the upcoming deadline, things can change very quickly if they lose both series against the Rangers and Dodgers. And in this scenario, if you're Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander, you have to at least listen.

Ultimately, we do still retain faith in a team which has all the talent in the world. A team which, for example, has won their road season series in Texas in four of the past five seasons. At the same time however, selling at the deadline is already not outside the realms of possibility, and that scares us half to death.

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