The Mariners took advantage of a team that just gave up on its season.  They weren’t easy wins – Friday required a big hit by Cano and a lot of great pitching, Saturday required a big hit by Cruz and a perfect four innings from the bullpen, Sunday required many big hits and many more perfect innings from the bullpen – but the better team prevailed, and I guess that’s all that matters.

Yesterday was looking pretty dire, with the White Sox jumping out to an early 5-0 lead.  Seager hit a solo homer to get the Mariners on the board, then after a Segura sac fly, Danny Valencia brought the M’s all the way back with a 3-run home run.  We were able to knock Derek Holland out of the game in the sixth inning while scoring the go-ahead run on a wild pitch to take the lead.

The bullpen, which had been as good as can be, got dinged for the tying run in the bottom of the seventh, but were able to hold things off until we got to extras.  In the top of the tenth, Cruz came back to smash a solo homer to take a 1-run lead, which brought in Edwin Diaz for his third save in three days (arguably his best appearance, striking out the side in order).

This series brought the Mariners back to 1 game under .500, and within 2.5 games of the Wild Card, but it isn’t going to mean a damn thing if we go to Houston and lay down for three straight games.  If we can’t figure out how to beat the best, we’re never going to break this streak of seasons without a playoff appearance.

So, forgive me if I’m not jumping for joy at the latest Mariners sweep.  Do it when it matters; don’t just immediately start another losing streak to kill all your momentum.