Seattle Mariners Squander 11-2 Lead, Fall 13-12 to Royals in Slugfest

The Seattle Mariners led Sunday's game in Kansas City 11-2 entering the bottom of the sixth inning. An eleven-run bottom half from the Royals would spoil the Mariners' lead, as well as their weekend, as the Royals took two of three from the Mariners. The Mariners are currently in sole possession of the third and final American League Wild Card spot.

Kansas City and Seattle fans that chose to watch their cities' baseball teams Sunday afternoon instead of their football teams, may not have stuck around to watch the whole Mariners-Royals game.

The Mariners hung eight runs on the Royals in the top of the fifth, giving them a 9-2 lead. This was the time that most fans may have flipped back over to watching their favorite football team, or the NFL Red Zone channel.

The Chiefs and Seahawks each played Sunday afternoon, and both teams lost.

Meanwhile, the Royals fans that stuck around to watch Sunday's game were in for a treat, watching an instant classic that they will never forget.

The Mariners scored two more runs in the top of the sixth, increasing their lead to 11-2. Then, the tables shockingly turned.

The newly-extended Luis Castillo, who had been excellent in his first nine starts with his new club, ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth. After striking out the lead-off man, Castillo walked Edward Olivares, then gave up a two-run homer to Michael Massey. Castillo walked Ryan O'Hearn, and Mariners manager Scott Servais had seen enough, with Mariners leading 11-4.

The Mariners would use three different relievers to get the inning's two final outs, as nine more runs would cross home plate, giving the Royals a 13-11 lead. The Royals would do almost all of their damage on base-knocks, with Massey's home run being the only long ball.

The Mariners would score one more run off a Luis Torrens sacrifice fly, but the club was unable to match the Royals' offensive outpouring, falling 13-12 and dropping two of three to the Royals.

The Mariners (83-69) are now in sole possession of the third and final American League Wild Card spot, up four games on the Baltimore Orioles (79-73). The Tampa Bay Rays (84-69) are 0.5 games up on the Mariners, with the Toronto Blue Jays (86-67) two games in front of the Rays, for the top AL Wild Card spot.

If the season ended Sunday, the Mariners would travel to Cleveland for a three-game Wild Card Series against the Guardians, as part of the new Major League Baseball playoff format.

The Mariners took six of seven from the Guardians this season.