SEATTLE -- A four-game series win over the reeling Royals was on the table for the Mariners on Thursday night, and with it, a chance to strike another major blow to a postseason team from a year ago.
That looked especially true in the bottom of the ninth inning, when the Mariners had the tying run on third base and the winning run on second.
But Julio Rodríguez struck out looking on a borderline pitch in a tense at-bat vs. closer Carlos Estévez -- his fourth K of the night -- then Cal Raleigh grounded out softly to sink Seattle to a 3-2 loss.
It spoiled a strong start from rookie Logan Evans on the day that he was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma, while the ticketed 38,030 on hand never saw the big breakthrough that they were begging for.
Those moments put the finishing touches on the Mariners’ 0-for-11 night with runners in scoring position, a trend that creeps up when Seattle’s offense goes through its most glaring scuffles.
Rodríguez’s shortcomings in those high-stakes moments have been the most microscopic, given his high-profile standing, his No. 2 spot in the lineup and the admitted pressure that he puts on himself to deliver. He now has a .644 OPS with runners in scoring position, seventh lowest on the team among regular players and well below his .828 OPS in those situations over his first three seasons.
“I thought he was pitched tough tonight. That was a tough pitch,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said of Rodríguez, and specifically, his ninth-inning strikeout. “I think he's been swinging the bat well, and we've seen a lot of good stuff from Julio. And tonight was just a tough night.”
Rodríguez hasn’t had a day off since May 22 in Houston, when he was scratched before first pitch with back tightness, though he did serve as the designated hitter last Saturday in Arlington.
A scheduled rest day -- and the reset that the Mariners would hope would come with it -- could be coming, though they do only have nine games left until the All-Star break and a big road trip through the Bronx and Detroit looming after Monday’s off-day.
“Those are frustrating moments, no matter what,” Wilson said. “I think we all come away frustrated, but that's why we come back tomorrow, we're ready to go, and that's what we have to do. We bounce back.”
Outside of RISP opportunities, the Mariners had two big homers, from Dominic Canzone and Jorge Polanco, but both were solo shots and they couldn’t overcome the three-run rally that the Royals mounted in the seventh, capped by Bobby Witt Jr.’s remarkable slide around an attempted tag at the plate from Raleigh.
Seattle kept Witt silent over his first three at-bats -- all outs registered by Evans, including two K’s -- but he jumped on reliever Carlos Vargas for a game-tying RBI single in that seventh, then stole second base without even even a throw from Raleigh to position himself for what wound up being the game-winning moment.
“It's a tough play,” Wilson said. “It's coming in from right field, so it's a difficult tag. You can't see the runner at all on that. And so I thought his slide was where it needed to be. And that is a very difficult play. I thought Cal did what he could do to make the play.”
Added Witt: "Those are the ones that just kind of happen. You just want to avoid the tag, and kind of do whatever you can to avoid the tag."
Though Witt’s slide was the headliner, it was the two walks from Casey Legumina that gave him the layup needed -- and illustrated the tightrope that the pitching staff was operating with, after Seattle’s bats were stymied by spin specialist Seth Lugo, who had the first two strikeouts vs. Rodríguez and seven overall.
The Mariners (45-42), who entered the day a season-high seven games behind the Astros, could’ve also gained ground in the AL West after Houston lost in Denver. But they now find themselves only 1 1/2 games up on the final AL Wild Card spot.
They’ll instead have a quick turnaround for a matinee vs. the Pirates, who despite their last-place standing have gone 26-24 since firing manager Derek Shelton -- and who bumped up National League Cy Young Award front-runner Paul Skenes for Sunday.