(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The Seattle Mariners managed to pull off a 10-8 extra-inning win on Tuesday night against the Kansas City Royals.
However, they still ran into a little bit of trouble late in the game.
Prior to Tuesday night, the Mariners had lost three consecutive games in extra innings or in the bottom of the ninth.
They had a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth against the Royals last night and ultimately squandered it before fighting back to take the lead in the 10th.
Of course, they traded away closer Paul Sewald at the trade deadline, which has not worked out well for them.
On Twitter, Bob Nightengale noted the concerning trend the Mariners are now dealing with.
The Seattle # Mariners, who traded away their prized closer at the deadline, have now lost 3 straight games in extra innings and the bottom of the 9th, and have now blown a 3-run 9th-inning lead.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 16, 2023
This is certainly a concern for the Mariners.
Even more concerning is that despite their win, they still managed to blow a ninth-inning lead and almost suffered yet another crushing defeat.
Fortunately, the bats picked them up in the 10th inning and ultimately saved the day, but this is definitely an unsettling trend that the Mariners seem to be following as of late, and it goes to show that trading away Sewald may not have been such a good idea for the team.
Seattle acquired some bats in that trade, but they are now without a proven closer, which could pose a major problem for them down the stretch as they look to secure a second consecutive postseason berth.
They’ll need to sort out their bullpen issues in order to get back on track and make a run.
The post The Mariners Are Following A Troubling Trend appeared first on The Cold Wire.