Seattle Mariners Extend Wild Season-Long Streak in Loss on Thursday

The Seattle Mariners were pummeled by the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon, 11-1, but they did extend an interesting streak that's lasted all season. But does the streak mean anything?

May 7, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez (44) singles / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Mariners lost to the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon, 11-1, punctuating a tough series for the team that saw them lose three of four.

Despite the loss, the M's are still 20-18 for the season as we near the quarter pole.

It's been a very interesting season for the Mariners so far, who are running out World Series-level starting pitching and a fairly solid bullpen despite getting almost nothing offensively from guys they expect to deliver.

It's May 10th and Julio Rodriguez still has just one home run. New acquisitions Mitch Garver and Jorge Polanco are both hitting under .200 and J.P. Crawford is on the injured list.

The M's lead baseball in strikeouts despite a stated goal of making better contact in 2024 as well, which is a great source of concern for M's fans on social media.

And then there's this odd streak, which the M's continued again on Thursday in the loss.

Per the Seattle Mariners on Tap account on "X:"

The weirdest streak in baseball…

The Mariners have now gone 38 straight games, aka every single game….

without the opposing starting pitcher finishing 7 innings.

Odd streak for the team leading the MLB in strikeouts, but an interesting streak.

The weirdest streak in baseball…

The Mariners have now gone 38 straight games, aka every single game….

without the opposing starting pitcher finishing 7 innings.

Odd streak for the team leading the MLB in strikeouts, but an interesting streak.

— Seattle Mariners ON Tap (@MarinersONTap) May 9, 2024

On one hand, it's theoretically a good thing that the M's are capable of driving up an opponent's pitch count and getting to a bullpen early. Getting to a bullpen early, especially early in a series, allows you to wear out a team's pen and set yourself up for offensive success later in the series.

However, it's also a bad thing when that high pitch count is attained through lack of contact. Seattle has become an incredibly easy lineup to pitch to and guys who are not household names are putting up career numbers against them.

Chris Paddack of the Twins had nine strikeouts through just four innings against Seattle this week, and the M's struck out 10 times or more in all four games against Minnesota.

The M's will play again on Friday night against the Oakland Athletics.

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