Mariners lose another sloppy game in Baltimore, drop series to Orioles

BALTIMORE – Excuse the Mariners if they would like to be done with anything related with Baltimore this season.

A miserable season facing the Orioles came to an end on Thursday with a 5-3 loss in a game marred by a second rain delay in as many days, a poor start from Logan Evans in what might be his final turn in the Mariners rotation and a couple of sloppy mistakes from a team in the middle of a playoff push.

The M’s finished the season 1-5 against the last place team in the AL East. They scored a total of 13 runs over those six games. They were swept in Seattle in June during their longest slump of the season and dropped two of three here to bring an abrupt halt to their longest win streak of the season.

The 1-5 mark against the Orioles matched the 1-5 record against the Yankees as Seattle’s worst against any American League team.

And now after the miserable three days in the Charm City comes the tough part of this nine-game road trip – the Mets and the Phillies.

Oof.

“Trying to get back into this one and doing what we did, trying to tie this thing up and win this series was admirable, but we just dug ourselves too big a hole,” M’s manager Dan Wilson said.

Julio Rodríguez clubbed a two-run, opposite-field home run as the first batter after a 2-hour, 18-minute rain delay. It was his 24th homer of the season. It was also the only highlight on a day the M’s made Little League level mistakes a few days before playing in the Little League Classic.

The Mariners loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning, and Randy Arozarena’s fielders choice scored one run. But Josh Naylor grounded out to end it.

Evans struggled again with game management and walked too many batters, and he was already out of the game well before the rain delay hit in the top of the sixth inning. The M’s also were unable to execute the defensive side of the old first-and-third, delayed steal play that allowed Baltimore to swipe – literally – a run in the fourth inning. The same play every youth team has tried at some point to steal a run was one of two times that inning the Orioles crossed home plate without putting the ball in play.

“Situations are dependent. It depends on the situation, the game, runners, score, everything involved,” M’s catcher Mitch Garver said. “So we were throwing through there. Actually would have worked out perfect, hit him right in the chest. We were hoping to get at least one out there, even if the run scored, and kind of worst case scenario – run scored, and we didn’t get an out.”

The game went into a delay with one out in the sixth inning as a second deluge of rain pelted the field at Camden Yards. The game likely should have been delayed during the first downpour an inning earlier, but getting through the fifth ensured an official game.

Baltimore pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano had zero interest in throwing a pitch in the heavy rain and ultimately the delay was called when Sugano started walking off the mound and Rodríguez told home plate umpire Austin Jones he couldn’t get a good grip on the bat.

The delay officially started at 11:44 a.m. and was followed by a heavier band of storms that blew in about an hour later.

The umpires returned to the field just before 1:30 p.m. and at 1:35, the tarp was removed. The M’s clearly wanted the chance to rally against Baltimore’s shaky bullpen but the only damage came on the swing from Rodríguez.

“I think we knew we were going to get a little bit of rain, but I don’t think anybody understood that this was going to kind of grow as it went,” Wilson said. “That’s what happened. Obviously, it’s frustrating, but there’s not much we can do about the weather.”

It seems likely that this was Evans’ last start with the Mariners as Bryce Miller looked ready to return after his last rehab start for Triple-A Tacoma. And if it was Evans’ final outing, it was tinged with a sour taste that was mostly his own doing.

His issue this day was walks. Specifically leadoff walks. Evans issued leadoff walks in the second, third and fourth innings. Normally, those lead to disastrous results. The first two times he escaped the trouble thanks to timely double-plays.

It sounded as if Evans struggled with some of his grips in the humid conditions.

“The most frustrating part is definitely the walks. I don’t feel like I really got beat by them. I kind of just beat myself,” Evans said. “I think everybody would agree with that.”

The third time Evans issued a leadoff walk became one of those problematic innings as the Orioles scored three times.

Again, it was a leadoff walk – this time to Jordan Westburg – that set the stage. Westburg scored with two outs when Evans spiked a curveball that Garver couldn’t cleanly block. After Daniel Johnson walked to put runners at the corners, the Orioles pulled off the first-and-third steal play.

It’s not often seen at the major league level because, well, they’re professionals. But the Orioles pulled it off in part because Garver surprisingly threw down to second base. For the most part this season, the Mariners have not thrown to second in that situation.

“We wanted to throw through there. Again, just didn’t execute the way we wanted,” Wilson said.

Johnson stayed in the rundown long enough for Ryan Mountcastle to dart home and score before Cole Young’s throw. Johnson reached second safely when the throw went home and scored on Jeremiah Jackson’s base hit, the only ball put in play that inning to score a run.

Baltimore scored twice in the fifth off Carlos Vargas, although that was during the first wave of heavier showers and getting a grip on the ball appeared difficult.

The M’s have lost two straight for the first time since the final two games in West Sacramento against the Athletics at the end of July. They’ll send Luis Castillo to the mound on Friday night at Citi Field against the Mets.