Mariners Noon Number: M’s winning streak snapped at five
Kyle Gibson and a cadre of relievers limited the Seattle Mariners to seven hits, with just one extra base hit, and the Minnesota Twins salvaged the finale of a there-game series, 2-1, on Thursday to end the M’s winning streak at five.
It’s the second time this season the Mariners have clawed their way back to .500 only to lose the next game. The Mariners have won nine of their last 11 games and six of eight on the current homestand, which ends on Sunday.
Seattle starters are 9-2 in last 11 games, posting a 3.61 ERA (25 ER, 62.1 IP) with 49 strikeouts. In that stretch, they have allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven of the 11 starts, including on Thursday, when Christian Bergman was victimized by an untypically poor defensive play by Robinson Cano which led to the eventual winning run.
Bergman allowed one earned run, the fourth time in seven starts he’s allowed two earned or fewer. In his last three starts, Bergman has posted a 1.50 ERA (three earned runs in 18 innings) with 14 strikeouts.
We’re still a little ways from having to worry about it, but with Felix Hernandez returning next weekend the M’s will finally have a little bit of flexibility with their roster of revolving starters. Bergman, though, appears to have done enough to continue to stick around while the M’s still await Hisashi Iwakuma and Drew Smyly back.
Iwakuma’s rehab has proven much slower than Hernandez, though, and Smyly threw from the base of the mound for the first time on Thursday so he still has a ways to go as well.