Game 133, Astros at Mariners – At Least the Losses Sting

Yusei Kikuchi vs. Lance McCullers, Jr., 7:10pm

The M’s lost a heartbreaker to the Astros last night, a one run game in which the M’s had a late lead, only to cough it up. It’s a game that reminds us that in a playoff chase, there’s really no such thing as an encouraging loss, and that it’s an odd, perhaps mixed blessing that M’s losses in late August are still capable of inflicting emotional damage.

The M’s got another strangely effective Chris Flexen starts. For the starter with the second-lowest K/9 (among qualified pitchers), Flexen’s been remarkably steady this year thanks to a low HR rate and an extremely low walk rate. Doing one those things is relatively easy to do, even if it’s no…