SEATTLE – At some point after the All-Star break, the Mariners were going to need to ease the workload of their two rookie starting pitchers.

SEATTLE – The juxtaposition between the two teams was beyond stark to the point of glaring, and it wasn’t because one team was wearing hideous black baseball pants.

The Pacific Northwest has strong ties to three of the 24 perfect games thrown in the history of Major League Baseball – those by Felix Hernandez, Randy Johnson and Don Larsen.

SEATTLE – For a moment, a breakthrough looked possible for the Mariners’ offense.

SEATTLE – I first started covering the Mariners at the end of the 1985 season, when the manager was Chuck Cottier (but not for long), and the modest hope of fans was pinned (futilely, it turned out) on the likes of Mike Moore, Mark Langston, Phil Bradley and Spike Owen.

SEATTLE – In the players lounge of the Mariners clubhouse, which rarely gets used for anything other than pregame meetings, a small library, which is used even less, if at all, was installed featuring a collection of books mostly about motivation, self-help, leadership and improvement.

It’s a game they wouldn’t have lost the last two seasons. It’s a game they would’ve ended in nine innings, winning by one run.

SEATTLE – Ruled out, initially, Jarred Kelenic took off his helmet, then his batting gloves, and sat on his rear end on the infield dirt, leaning back on his hands, his right leg stretched out over second base.

SEATTLE – The flight from Seattle to New York covers about the same distance as the flight from Baltimore to Seattle. But for the 37-39 Mariners, the former probably felt like an hour and the latter closer to 10.

BALTIMORE – A split would’ve been splendid considering how the road trip started with two abysmal losses in New York. But the seemingly neverending inconsistency displayed by the Mariners at the plate, specifically the scouting report that they are susceptible to ‘spin’ – sliders, curveballs and cutters – late in counts has yet to be resolved. And until it does, the end results in game outcomes will be just varied.

BALTIMORE – As Ryan McKenna walked to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning, it seemed like a fortuitous situation for the Mariners.