Mariners lose, are officially eliminated
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The elimination came without much notice or discussion. It was expected and inevitable. Just another reminder of what the Mariners didn’t accomplish this season. The main goal of this team and every team in baseball – a spot in the postseason – went unrealized.
In the sixth inning of Sunday’s 3-2 loss against the Angels, the Mariners were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention when the Astros beat the Rangers 4-3 in Houston.
Like last season, the Mariners’ fate had been reduced to relying on another team’s success. Unlike last year, there was no minor feeling of accomplishment after elimination. Instead, it was just a reaffirmation of the disappointment that has been building all season.
Beyond the overall failures of the season, the M’s are fading in the final games of the season.
After getting within three games of .500 on Sept. 22, Seattle has lost five straight games. The Mariners finished with a losing record on the road at 40-41 and ensured that they won’t finish at .500 for the season, falling to 74-82 with six games left to play.
The losing isn’t guaranteed to stop at Safeco Field – a place where they are 34-41 this season. They host the Houston Astros – a team not only vying for a postseason spot but the A.L. West title – for a three-game series starting on Monday. Seattle’s projected starting pitchers are Roenis Elias, Vidal Nuno on short rest, and most likely a bullpen start of relievers.
Seattle had plenty of chances to pick up a win on Sunday. But more baserunning follies in a season overrun with them extinguished those hopes.
“We shot ourselves in the foot with our baserunning and it came back to haunt us,” manager Lloyd McClendon said.
The first shot came in the fourth inning. With one out and Kyle Seager on second base after having doubled off Angels starter Jered Weaver, Nelson Cruz hit a ground ball deep in the hole to shortstop. Seager gambled and tried to advance. But shortstop Erick Aybar backhanded the ball and fired to third to get Seager.
“Not the right decision,” McClendon said.
The Mariners managed to get a run that inning because Robinson Cano and Jesus Montero followed with back-to-back singles.
In the fifth inning, with the game tied 1-1, the Mariners had a few baserunning issues. Logan Morrison was hit by a pitch to start the inning. He appeared to have stolen second base moments later, but a replay appeal ruled him out. The bigger gaffe came with two outs. John Hicks hammered a double down the left-field line – just his second hit in 29 at-bats.
But he got overaggressive at second base and was caught in a rundown when Angels catcher Carlos Perez fired down after a pitch.
“I can’t think of a play that I’d want with a catcher at second base with two outs,” McClendon said. “It was a bad play.”
Seattle got a decent start from Hisashi Iwakuma (9-5). He worked 7 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and one strikeout.
The Angels broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth when David Freese belted a solo homer – his 13th of the season – to right-center to make it 2-1.
The Mariners tied the game in the eighth on Mark Trumbo’s line-drive, pinch-hit homer over the wall in center field off Fernando Salas.
But the Mariners’ chances were done in the bottom of the eighth. Johnny Giavotella doubled and Aybar bunted him to third. McClendon called on Carson Smith to face lefty-hitting Kole Calhoun.
Calhoun hit a ground ball to the left of a drawn-in Jesus Montero. The ball hit off the end of his glove and bounced into right field to score the game-winning run.