Final score: Mariners 5, Twins 4

When the Mariners made their eight-win run last week, we knew that their next road trip had the potential to kill any momentum they gathered at home. Not to discredit their run, fueled by a pair of walk-offs and a perfect game, but robbing wins from the Rays, Twins, and Indians is not exactly a sign of an impending postseason run.

Fortunately, or perhaps not so fortunately, this road trip lived up to our tempered expectations. Against a first-place team, the Mariners took three losses; against the Twins, they captured three of four games.

In this morning’s series capper, Blake Beavan earned his ninth victory with 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 1 SO over 7 IP. It marked his lowest strikeout total since a disastrous two-inning outing against the Dodgers in mid-June, and his longest outing since the beginning of August.

The offense kept up their end of the deal, scoring on back-to-back hits in the 1st for a quick dose of run support. By the 6th inning, the Mariners trailing 2-1 while Brian Duensing retired 12 consecutive batters, they managed a four-run outburst on a 2-RBI single by Trayvon Robinson and a pair of sac flies (well, one sac fly and one case of a blinded Josh Willingham).

Right now, the Mariners are hanging onto a postseason chance of 0.5%. Heading into September, they’ll split the remaining 30 games with the Angels (9), Red Sox (3), Athletics (6), Blue Jays (3), Rangers (6), and Orioles (3). With roster expansion beginning this Saturday, let’s hope that Seattle finds enough of a spark to be more than a stepping stone for teams still in playoff contention.

Next game: vs. Angels | August 31 | 7:10pm