SEATTLE _ Even an unexpected accomplishment can no longer prevent what has now become the expected outcome for the Seattle Mariners _ defeat.
But for a fleeting moment _ approximately the time it took for the Houstson Astros to leave the field after the bottom of the sixth and the Mariners to take the field in top of the seventh _ there was hope of victory, something that has happened just twice in nine games on this homestand and three times in their last 19 games.
And then it was gone, replaced by the empty feeling of yet another loss suffered in a basically empty T-Mobile Park.
An announced crowd of 12,208 _ the fifth smallest this season _ watched as the Mariners' bullpen took a one-run lead and pitched it into an 11-5 drubbing in the span of two innings. It's the 14th time this season the Mariners have given up double-digit runs to an opponent _ 10 of them coming since April 27.
Seattle is now 25-39. The Mariners are past hitting rock bottom and now digging a tunnel or a tomb underneath of it. Since April 26, they have a 7-28 record while playing a grotesque kind of baseball that has left their manager disgusted and their fan base indifferent to their presence.
To put this into perspective, the Miami Marlins are now 22-36 and closing in on Seattle. The Mariners are creeping into the territory of the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals.
Even with Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve and George Springer missing from the Astros lineup, it's quite possible to think that the Mariners might not win another game on this homestand. They have two left, and Justin Verlander is pitching for Houston in the finale.
That brief moment where victory seemed possible came in the sixth inning. Trailing 4-1, the Mariners chased Houston starter Wade Miley with two baserunners to start the frame. With two outs, Omar Narvaez cut the lead to 4-2 with a bloop single to center off of hard-throwing right-hander Josh James.
Kyle Seager worked a two-out walk to load the bases. It prompted manager Scott Servais to call on Daniel Vogelbach to pinch hit for Tim Beckham. Astros manager A.J. Hinch countered the move by bringing in lefty Reyman Guduan. It seemed like a logical strategy. Vogelbach came into the game with just three hits _ all singles _ in 40 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers this season, including four walks and seven strikeouts. It's why he wasn't in the starting lineup with Miley starting for Houston.
After throwing a first-pitch slider for a called strike, Guduan pumped a 95 mph fastball at Vogelbach. The pitch stayed in the middle of the plate and found the middle of Vogelbach's barrel. The booming blast rocketed to center field, striking the wall about six to 10 inches from going over it for a grand slam.
Vogelbach had to settle for a three-run double instead. But the Mariners had a 5-4 lead, and while victory wasn't imminent, it didn't seem impossible.
But Seattle's best reliever, right-hander Brandon Brennan, couldn't hold it.
He walked the first batter of the seventh and then gave up two more hits that tied the game. A fielder's choice and a sac fly to left plated two more runs, and the Mariners' one-run lead was reversed into a 7-5 deficit.
A rally against Houston's bullpen was unlikely, but it didn't matter once lefty Jesse Biddle gave up four runs in the eighth inning.
Called up from Class AA Arkansas on Tuesday morning to make the start in place of Yusei Kikuchi, Moore gave the Mariners a serviceable start under the circumstances, pitching 4 2/3 innings and allowing four runs on four hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
