Does Sunday's devastating loss serve as a galvanizing force or a crippling blow?
The next six games will tell us how the rest of the Seattle Mariners season will go, at least from this vantage point.
Entering play on Monday at 42-43, the Mariners are under .500 for the first time since May 27, and they are out of first place in the American League West at 0.5 games behind the Texas Rangers. They are only 0.5 games up on the Houston Astros for the final wild card spot at this rate.
They are coming off a devastating loss on Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians in which they led 4-1 in the eighth inning before ultimately losing 6-5. That loss gave them a losing road trip at 2-4 and has set them up for this make-or-break week, in my estimation.
The Mariners will host the Los Angeles Angels for three games beginning Monday night at T-Mobile Park. And though the Angels have won six of their last 10, they enter play at just 36-49, the second-fewest wins in the American League.
The Mariners also aren't currently scheduled to see any of the Angels left-handed starters, including probable All-Star Reid Detmers, which is a positive thing.
After the Halos? It's the Toronto Blue Jays who come to town. The reigning American League champions are 39-45 and were just swept by the Rangers. They have lost seven of their last 10. They'll take on the New York Mets before coming to Seattle, so we'll see how their momentum looks coming into the weekend, but it's clear that these are two series that the Mariners have to be able to win if they want to salvage things before the All-Star break.
If they rebound in these series, going 4-2 or better, then there can be some reasons for optimism. If Sunday's loss leads to the M's folding up shop, the final 75 games or so could go off the rails. That might sound like hyperbole, but it doesn't feel that way to me.
We've heard - and spoken - about the Mariners strong clubhouse culture for the last calendar year or so. This is a chance for the M's to prove how strong it really is. If it is strong, they'll use Sunday's loss as a rallying point. If it's not? They'll crack, go 1-5 or 2-4 and play out the string.
We're about to find out.
Of note
The most recent edition of 'Refuse to Lose Territory' is out, with thoughts on my visit to Pittsburgh, Bryan Woo's viral press conference and more. You can listen here, or you can watch below. A new edition of the podcast will be released on Tuesday following game one against the Angels.
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