The Seattle Mariners can typically close out the game if they have a lead entering the eighth inning. That’s how reliable and dominant right-handers Alex Colome and Edwin Diaz have been and their combined 145 saves over the past two seasons.
Yes, 145 … Colome led the American League with 47 saves a season ago with the Tampa Bay Rays (12 combined this year) and Diaz leads this year with 52 plus the 34 he had last year.
But the Mariners issue continues to be the inconsistency of those middle-relief innings, and it’s not for lack of options.