It was far from the Mariners’ worst loss of the season, but Tuesday’s 3-1 stumble against the Texas Rangers came at a point when they simply can’t afford any missteps.
Provided an opportunity to gain ground in the American League wild-card race, the Mariners squandered the chance in large part because of yet another crushing baserunning mistake.
They then saw Nick Vincent, their most reliable reliever for much of the season, continue his late-season fade by giving up two runs in decisive eighth inning.
The loss dropped the Mariners to 74-77 and kept them four games behind Minnesota in the race for the final wild-card berth with just 11 games remaining.