TORONTO -- The Seattle Mariners suffered another difficult loss in a season full of them on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 4-3 contest against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

The Mariners led the game 3-0 in the fifth inning, but weren't able to hold it, falling to 64-72 in the process.

With 26 games left in the season, the Mariners remain 4.0 games back in the mediocre American League West. And though they have an easy September schedule on deck, nothing has come easy for this team this season.

Rookie left-hander Kade Anderson made his second career start in the game, taking a no-decision. He threw 4.1 innings, giving up two earned runs that only scored after he departed the game. He gave up three hits and three walks while striking out three.

I had seen Anderson pitch at spring training and was very impressed, but this was my first time seeing him since the start of the season, so here's three impressions from the experience.

It was readily apparent on the backfields of spring training and it was readily apparent here. Anderson isn't afraid of the lineup he's facing, or the venue he's pitching in. He attacked hitters with a varied arsenal, throwing 63 percent first-pitch strikes and 64 percent total strikes (64/85). 

While a few long at-bats undid his pitch count and forced him out early, he continues to show that he's not afraid to throw the ball over the plate and pitch to contact.

In an era of max velocity, it's nice to see someone who simply pitches, building at-bats off location and sequencing.

In order to preserve Anderson's arm for the stretch run at the big league level, the Mariners didn't let him throw more than 80 pitches at any minor league start this season.

And while that was done in an effort to protect him - and worked - it's also readily apparent that he's not capable of going above that mark, with consistent success, just yet.

Anderson gave up home runs on pitches 80 and 81 in his debut, and he struggled in this one beyond pitch 73, giving up a single to a Myles Straw and a walk to Brett Bateman before being removed.

Manager Dan Wilson said he's going to stay in the 75-80 pitch range moving forward, and that's clearly smart, because that's his limit at this point. Secondarily, Anderson says he doesn't start thinking about his pitch count and doesn't let the pitch count infiltrate his thinking, but it would be hard to not have that in the back of your mind.

Speaking before the game on Saturday, Wilson said he expected Anderson's changeup to be a big weapon against the Jays' right-handed lineup. Well, he threw 13 changeups (15 percent), but he actually threw more sliders (26 percent).

Based on what Wilson said, you have to imagine that Anderson simply felt he had a better feel for his slider and started to rely on that.

This is a good thing. Why? Because A) His arsenal is deep enough to adjust in this way. And B) it shows an awareness of what is playing well in that particular game.

He was asked about the slider vs. changeup usage, and what he likes about his slider recently, in the video below. It's the last question.