What a difference a week makes. Unfortunately for the Seattle Mariners, it hasn't been a good one. On Aug.
11, the Mariners were tied with the Houston Astros for first in the American League West and were 2 1/2 back of the final wild-card berth. Entering Sunday, they've lost five in a row, are four behind the Astros and 5 1/2 out of a wild card, and are looking to avoid being swept by the host Pittsburgh Pirates in the series finale of a three-game set on Sunday. "Stay strong and keep pushing forward," Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez said.
"Obviously, it's tough right now. But I feel like if you believe in yourself, it doesn't matter how you want to look at it, you can get out of whatever it is that you're in." The Mariners tied the game at 1-1 in the second inning and pulled within 3-2 in the fifth on Saturday before the Pirates pulled away to hand them a 7-2 loss.
It marked the fourth time in the past five games Seattle scored two runs or fewer; the other time, the opener Friday, the Mariners scored three. "We're not playing good baseball. There's no way to sugarcoat it," manager Scott Servais said after his club struck out 14 times Saturday.
George Kirby (8-9, 3.42 ERA) will get the nod for the Mariners, looking to rebound after giving up a career-high 11 runs (six earned) in a 15-1 loss to the Tigers on Tuesday. The righty yielded seven runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings last season in his lone career appearance against Pittsburgh.
The Pirates head into the series.