Day one in what Mariners manager Scott Servais characterized as "the critical point in our season" couldn’t have gone much worse.
The Mariners rolled over weakly against one of their former farmhands, Oakland right-hander Paul Blackburn, before stirring late in a 7-4 loss Thursday night at Safeco Field.
"We’ve got to start playing better baseball," Servais said. "A tough start tonight to the game. A tough start (Wednesday) night to the game (in a loss to Kansas City).
"We’ve got to pick it up. Everybody. Players, coaches, myself. We’ve got to get it going in the right direction.