Mariners look like they are on the right path after nearly sweeping Cardinals

With the Cardinals coming to Seattle, the Mariners pitchers were once again put to the test as they have lately been put through the gauntlet of facing a handful of the top offenses in baseball. It looked like the Mariners were going to be in for a rough series early as the Cards put up a two spot in the second inning, getting to Kirby right away as Jordan Walker hit a two-run double off of the wall.

If you're looking for a recap of the Cardinals offense in the opening game of the series, that was it. Seriously, that's the whole thing. George Kirby would turn it up a notch, retiring the next 11 batters. He gave up a single in the 6th but got the next two hitters out to finish the day with six strong innings en route to a Mariners 5-2 win. AJ Pollock broke the tie in the bottom of that inning with a two-run double, and the Mariners never looked back.

The Cardinals got to the Mariners early once again in Game 2, seeing themselves up 3-1 after the 3rd inning. Castillo calmed down after that, but still looked off, hanging his change a bit and taking a lot of pitches to get through 5 innings, throwing a season high 100 pitches. Once again, the Mariners waited until the bottom of the sixth to get their offense going, but this time it was different.

If not for a bad call by the umpire, the Mariners likely lose this game against the Cardinals

A ball that was obviously ball 4, and one that both the Cardinals catcher and pitcher thought was outside the zone, was instead called strike 2. A foul ball later, and Teo launched a two-run homer into center to tie the game at 3. Geno would come through in the 7th to put them up 5-3, and the Mariners would eventually win 5-4.

They were one more win away from a sweep of the Cardinals that would get them back to .500. Unfortunately, it's hard to hold their offense back for that long, especially when a not-sharp Chris Flexen is on the mound. He got shelled, once again, this time giving up 9 hits and 3 walks across just 4 innings, throwing 84 pitches while giving up 6 runs.

Kelenic and Teo did both go deep twice in this series, with Kelenic continuing to show that exciting talent that had so many scouts excited early on. People forget already, but he was ranked higher than Julio for quite a while in prospect rankings. Also, we might just be seeing a turnaround from Kolten Wong, as he had a three-hit game in the finale.

The Mariners took 2 of 3, put together some decent offense, and stifled a strong Cardinals lineup for the majority of the series. They are now 10-12, and have a big series coming up in Philly after on off day on Monday, as they will look to try and take a series from the defending NL Champs. The Mariners couldn't ask for a better opportunity against the Phillies, as Nola and Wheeler won't be throwing in the series. Make sure to tune in for the midweek series (and earlier games) against the Phillies.