The Seattle Mariners’ loss on Saturday showed the difference between them and the Houston Astros

The Seattle Mariners lost to the Houston Astros 4-2 on Saturday night, the latest blow in a month filled with losses.

With the loss, Seattle has now lost five straight games, fallen 1.0 game behind in the American League West race and is now just four games above .500 at 52-48.

With 62 games left in the season, things look bleak for the Mariners, who are battling to make the playoffs for the second time in three years.

Saturday’s loss pretty much encompassed everything that’s currently worrisome for the Mariners, and it also showed the differences between the M’s and the Astros.

The word “struggle” is an understatement. The Mariners scored just two runs, both on a Julio Rodriguez home run, and had just three hits. They squandered the few chances they had, which has become all too common. And oh yeah, the M’s were once again eliminated 11 times.

The Mariners’ bullpen has struggled this year, with Matt Brash out for the season and Gregory Santos not making his debut until mid-July. The group has held up overall, but there were certainly questions about it, and those questions surfaced Saturday when Ryne Stanek allowed two runs in the seventh inning to turn a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 deficit.

That was really the separator and that’s what separates the Astros from the Mariners.

-In the fourth inning, George Kirby hit leadoff hitter Alex Bregman. Bregman eventually reached third base with two outs and Jeremy Pena singled in the game, driving in a run.

-In the top of the first inning, the Mariners got a single and two steals from Victor Robles, moving him to third base with two outs. Mitch Garver was tagged out, without even forcing the defense to make a play.

-Stanek walked the leadoff hitter in the top of the seventh inning and Jake Meyers made him pay with a two-run home run.

-In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Mariners also got a leadoff walk, but Jonatan Clase was immediately intercepted and the threat was over.

Against good teams, you can’t afford to put the first player on the field and get knocked out. It’s as simple as that.

A NEW PODCAST EPISODE IS RELEASED: The fourth episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is now available! In this episode, we discuss how the Mariners can beat the Astros, what they should not do in the series, Andres Munoz’s All-Star Game absence and much more, including our interview with Bryant Robinson, who directed the Julio Rodriguez documentary that recently aired on FS1. CLICK HERE:

FRANCE FUTURE:As he continues to struggle, Ty France is playing for his future with the Seattle Mariners at this point. We discuss options. CLICK HERE:

IN SUMMARY : Kudos to Seattle sports radio host Brock Huard, who perfectly summed up the Mariners in a simple message on “X” Friday night. CLICK HERE:

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE: