SEATTLE _ With 19 games remaining, it's not just about the Mariners winning games, though the they need to do that to give themselves a chance in a crazy-and-crowded American League wild-card race.
But it's also about winning games on days that teams ahead of them lose.
On Sunday, Seattle failed to capitalize in that situation and to complete a sweep of one of those teams ahead of them in the wild-card standings.
The Mariners' top two set-up men _ Nick Vincent and Marc Rzepczynski _ struggled again, leading to a game-deciding, three-run eighth inning from the Angels in a 5-3 loss.
With the Twins losing earlier in the day, the Mariners were poised to move to two games back in the wild-card standings. Instead at 71-72, they remain three games back.
Brought in with the scored tied at 2, Vincent gave up a leadoff single to pinch hitter Ben Revere. After a sac bunt from Brandon Phillips moved Revere to second, the Mariners immediately issued an intentional walk to Mike Trout, who had homered earlier in the game.
In previous games before this weekend, that move meant that Albert Pujols would be coming to the plate and a double play was a possibility. But following the trade with the Tigers, Justin Upton came to the plate and a double was the reality. Upton lined a ball to left center that scored both runners.
Later in the inning with Upton on third, Rzepczynski uncorked a wild pitch that bounced off Mike Zunino and onto the infield grass. Upton sprinted home for a 5-2 lead.
The Mariners wasted a solid outing from starter Erasmo Ramirez. The diminutive right-hander pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. It was the sixth straight start that Ramirez has given Seattle six complete innings.
But his outing end on a sour note. Given a 2-1 lead, Ramirez couldn't hold it through seven full innings.
After getting two quick outs to start the seventh, he fell behind 2-0 to Luis Valbuena. The all-or-nothing Valbuena had done nothing in his first two at-bats. But he got all of the 2-0 pitch at the bottom of the strike zone, golfing a solo homer to center to tie the game at 2.
Ramirez's other run allowed came on a first-inning solo homer to Trout over the center-field wall.
