Mariners pregame too hard, lose 5-4

Ok, you guessed it, we lost.

It was another one of those games. A small glimpse of hope around the middle innings, then a slow decline. Another game leaving us feeling uncertain. As I sat in Blue Jays’ territory streaming the M’s game, I wondered how I was going to write this recap about yet another mediocre game. But I knew the recap had to be about Edgar. With a pre-game ceremony like that, and of course, Edgar being Edgar, how could I not. So I present to you, my first recap:

Last night was a night to celebrate Edgar, and our future. Rarely do we get the chance to properly acknowledge one of the all-time greats in Mariners history. The pre-game event was very well done, with Seattle legends Steve Largent. Michelle Akers, Apolo Ohno, and many more surrounding Edgar as he delivered yet another humble and endearing speech.

“Playing in front of you has been the highlight of my life,” said Edgar, to a packed stadium chanting his name. He praised the fanbase multiple times for their support at his Cooperstown induction and throughout his career.

So what do we make of Edgar’s inspirational remarks and the reality of today’s Mariners? Perhaps the message is to stay with it, despite adversity, which is what our Seattle Mariners are doing every day, even if the record doesn’t show it. And look no further than our farm system, full of young ball players who make the most of every opportunity and are constantly showcasing their talents.

“Keep grinding. You will come out stronger at the end,” said Edgar, reminding fans that success in baseball doesn’t happen overnight. And hopefully, like Edgar, there will be a time in the not-so-distant future when all this hard work will pay off and the M’s once again will taste the postseason.

We have now reached the part of the recap where I actually talk about the game itself. I figured it’d be better to focus on a few bright moments from this somewhat average game.

Let’s start it off with the bottom of the second, where Seager did the unthinkable. He bunted. Kyle Seager layed down a successful bunt and didn’t stop smiling until he got back to the dugout after being driven home by a Tim Lopes sac-fly. How’s that for a bright moment!

Vogelbach followed Seager’s beautiful bunt with an infield single off of a jammed breaking ball, another rare occurrence.

In the top of the 5th inning, our old pal Mike Zunino hit a 3-run blast in his first start back at T-Mobile.

And capping off our bright moments for tonight, we have a beautiful Omar Narvaez homer in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Now, we all know how this game ended. This would be the part of the recap where I tell you that everything is going to be ok, we’ll get ‘em next time. Instead, let me tell you why the turnout of this game wasn’t actually so bad. Yes, we lost, there’s that. But, in some ways, this was a fitting tribute to Edgar. While we didn’t win, we fought hard, came close, and had moments that will position this team for the future. Edgar reminds us that success takes patience, hard work, dedication, and perseverance. And no one is a better model for that than ‘Gar.