For two consecutive games, the Seattle Mariners and their handling of the pitching staff has come into question.

On Saturday, manager Dan Wilson possibly let rookie starter Kade Anderson go too long, with him surrendering home runs on each of his final two pitches of an eventual 5-4 win.

On Sunday, Wilson definitely let Bryce Miller go too long, as Miller walked the bases loaded in the third inning before giving up a grand slam, and then walked the bases loaded again in the fifth before being removed with a career-high seven walks.

The internet screamed on Sunday about Miller being allowed to pitch after allowing the grand slam, and it screamed louder when he was allowed to walk the bases loaded in the fifth, setting the stage for a 5-2 deficit to snowball into a 19-2 bloodbath.

Now, this is not a column defending or condemning what's gone on with the bullpen, it's more just an exploration of what's happened - and what can happen moving forward.

On Saturday, I think Wilson was trying to "steal" outs with Anderson before turning the game over to a fairly taxed bullpen. I also think there's an element of Wilson that trusts his starters more than some of his relievers.

On Sunday, I don't really think that was the case. I think Wilson was a man with no good options and a roster that left him in that position.

Let's examine:

1) Because the Mariners don't know the full extent of Bryan Woo's injury, they were left in flux as far as his start over the weekend. That, at least in part, prompted them to call up Anderson for the start on Saturday.

As a result, the Mariners had six starters and seven relievers for Saturday and Sunday, as opposed to the usual five and eight. So, Wilson's options were limited right from the jump.

2) Looking specifically at Sunday: Let's say that Miller was taken out right after the first walk in the fifth, meaning the Mariners would need to cover five full innings in the bullpen. They would be trying to cover those five innings, with seven guys, but the problem? It wasn't really seven guys.

3) Carlos Vargas is a guy that can throw multiple innings in relief. The problem? He missed the entire season and only just came back from the injured list on Friday. He threw 31 pitches in his season debut on Saturday. He was clearly unavailable and that number of seven relievers shrunk to six.

4) Michael Rucker, also capable of throwing multiple innings, had to throw 40 pitches on Thursday in covering for George Kirby, and he threw 14 more on Saturday. While we eventually saw him in this game, it was evident going in that the team would want to avoid him - at least for the amount of time that this game required to be covered.

5) So that means that really the M's had five guys for five innings, and oh, by the way, Seranthony Dominguez had thrown in three of the last four games, so the team would have wanted to stay away from him too. That means four guys for five innings.

As a result, you were left with Jose Ferrer and Eduard Bazardo that were forced to pitch, and Ferrer had to throw more than a full inning (24 pitches) to help get through the afternoon.

We can all complain that Wilson stayed with Miller too long, and we can all complain that leverage arms were burned in non-leverage situations, but when you look at all the factors, what was he really supposed to do? Frankly, "hoping" that Miller got through it was about as good as any other option.

Because Miller couldn't get through it, here's the situation heading into Monday's showdown with the Phillies:

1) Rucker will clearly be down, if he even survives pregame roster moves. He is out of options and can only be designated for assignment. 

2) Vargas is still probably down.

3) Ferrer and Bazardo both pitched, but might be available.

4) Andres Munoz, Gabe Speier and Dominguez are likely good, but that leaves Wilson thin once again. He better hope that Logan Gilbert provides some real length.

1) The Mariners can stick with the six-man rotation and hope that they can get enough length from their starters to cover up bullpen holes. Remember, Sept. 1 is when rosters expand, so Seattle can bring up another bullpen arm at that point. Can they make it a week in their current state? Perhaps then, Cooper Criswell can come back and help provide some length. He just started his rehab assignment at Triple-A on Saturday.

2) Would the M's put Bryan Woo on the injured list for 10 days to help bring up another bullpen arm?

3) Could they do the same with Miller, who has been ineffective for his last nine starts, dating back to early July? He revealed on Sunday that he's had a small lat issue since late July.

4) If the M's are confident in Woo's health, they can put Miller in the bullpen to help raise his effectiveness. The problem? He threw more than pitches on Sunday. He probably won't be available to help in the bullpen until at least Friday, leaving the M's underfunded in the 'pen for at least three more games.