ARLINGTON, Texas — If the situation had arisen the day before, the decisions about the pitchers used would have been different because, well, there would’ve been better pitchers in the Mariners’ bullpen. But hours before the Mariners took the field at Globe Life Park for Wednesday night’s series finale with the Rangers, they watched as two of their best relievers — left-hander Roenis Elias and right-hander Hunter Strickland — packed their bags and readied themselves for relevant baseball. They’d been traded to the Nationals. And a bullpen that had suddenly shown some viability was weakened considerably.
So when manager Scott Servais wanted to keep a one-run deficit in place so his team could rally to extend its winning streak, his options were more than limited.