Mariners 2-0 loss to the Texas Rangers as Billy Joel songs

let the piano man drown out the sorrow

The mood before the game:

This Is the Time

Last night’s loss sucked, and with these pre-playoffs series, this really is The Time. As the season ends with divisional matchups, every game is must-win now, and Mariners fans are acutely aware.

Sticking with the platoon:

Stiletto

A song about sticking with someone even though they constantly hurt you? Yeah that sounds like playing a platoon matchup even though the obvious answer (playing Jarred) is right there. As we’ll see this was the wrong call.

Amount of time Jordan Montgomery stayed in the game:

Two Thousand Years

There’s always so much discussion about the terrible, awful, no good Rangers bullpen, and rightly so, but tonight it didn’t really matter. Although Montgomery needed over fifty pitches to get through the first three innings, he buckled down and got all the way through the seventh on 102, giving the Mariners just two innings on which to feast.

Ty France on this play in the 2nd:

Running On Ice

This little roller up the first base line had out number 3 written all over it, but with Ty shaded a little bit too far over towards second and his “million dollar death snail” speed meant that instead it scored the first run of the game, giving the Rangers an early lead.

Dylan Moore’s non-homer

Close to the Borderline

This D-Mo fly ball in the 4th inning got us very excited and convinced us that the game was tied, but alas, it bounced off the yellow line and back into play, forcing Dylan, and us, to be content with a double. A double that would later be stranded.

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

Montgomery finally yanked:

The Night is Still Young

Finally in the eighth the Rangers brought in Jose Leclerc, who you may remember as the guy who gave up Julio’s grand slam last July. Vibes were high until he carved through the lineup in the eighth. Somewhat surprisingly, they left him in for the ninth.

Us badmouthing Ty:

Careless Talk

Which Ty France wasted no time proving that a mistake when he hit a proper, Ty France-esque line drive into left field. That’s a two hit game. Folks, we may be so back.

Jarred’s plate discipline:

You Look so Good to Me

It took until the ninth inning for Scott to finally put Jarred in, and he showed the same new discipline that he’s had since coming back up. Admittedly, the pitches from Chapman were Very Bad, but it’s still very good to see.

After Jarred’s walk:

Getting Closer

Two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth is getting up there in leverage, and with a wild Chapman on the mound, it felt like the Mariners might be able to send this thing into extras.

And then:

Pressure

Sam Haggerty hit a weak flyball to shallow center to bring up pinch hitter Luis Torrens with two on and two out. Not quite the line from the third verse (two men out and three men on), but it’s close enough.

Ballgame:

Worse Comes to Worst

Unlike the singer of the song, the Mariners did not get along when worse came to worst. Torrens hit a ball 104 mph, but right at Corey Seager, and that was that.

Mariners Fans:

Keeping the Faith

The best part of our LL meetups at Growler Guys is being able to chat with other fans and keep spirits up after stinky losses like these. I think we can still say that the fans are optimistic, although a little more worriedly. At this point, the Mariners need to do serious damage to the Astros in this mid-week series and probably also take at least 2 from the Rangers. We’re still keeping the faith. For now.

The Mariners Post-Game:

Got To Begin Again

One of the best parts of baseball is that its scientific. There are 162 games in the regular season, an enormous sample size of games. That means that the Mariners have a chance almost every morning to wake up, brush off the loss, and get back into it. It’s hard, but it’s what they have to do.