SEATTLE _ For a team that has struggled to get its bats going since July 1, the Mariners offense showed signs of life during Wednesday's rubber game against the Astros, turning a 9-1 deficit after a suboptimal three-inning outing from Marco Gonzales into a 9-7 game in the sixth.
Despite getting within striking distance of Houston, the Mariners couldn't muster any additional late-game magic to even things up, ultimately dropping their second straight game and the series to the Astros in a 10-7 defeat.
The Mariners are now 17-25 since July 4, with their hopes of earning their first postseason bid since 2001 seemingly slipping further and further away each day.
After going 0-3 with a 7.94 ERA in his previous three starts, Gonzales skipped his scheduled appearance on Sunday, allowing him three extra days of rest once he returned to the mound on Wednesday. The time off didn't seem to do enough for the left-hander, as he struggled from the start, with the Astros taking advantage to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first. The real damage, however, came in the fourth, when Gonzales allowed six consecutive hits that led to four runs before recording an out. A single from Jose Altuve, which put the Astros up 7-0, ended the day for Gonzales, making it his shortest outing since April 9. A career-high eighth run was later charged to Gonzales.
After first getting on the board with a solo home run from Nelson Cruz in the fourth and an RBI double from Robinson Cano in the fifth, the Mariners strung together a five-run sixth inning, which was capped by a two-run home run from Mitch Haniger. They twice had the tying run at the plate in the eighth but Ben Gamel grounded into a double play and Dee Gordon grounded into a force out to end the inning. Seattle went down 1-2-3 in both the seventh and the ninth.
The Mariners will have Thursday off before heading to Arizona to kick off a three-city road trip.
