Mariners play two hundred ten minutes in purgatory, do not win

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images The Mariners play at least two of these games every year. They’re not always the most fun on the surface, unless you really like pitching duels that feature pitchers you’ve never heard of, but there’s always something thrilling about them. The Mariners played the Astros, and who shut them out? Who did you say pitched? Tommy Milone is a Mariner? The details change, but the the essence of this repeated game is always the same.

The recipe is as follows:

The Mariners need to be playing a vastly superior team.

The Mariners are certain to have one left-handed pitcher on the team whose presence makes no sense. Have that guy pitch.

Have the vastly superior team pitch…