When Salvador Pérez walked up to the plate with a trebuchet, stuffed Joe Smith in its sling, and launched him into the bullpen, we should have known all was not well.
Seattle’s disappointing, unnecessary 6-4 loss on their self-styled “South of France” promotion night was a somewhat rare One That Got Away. For the club that seemingly has two settings - nail-biting win or laugher loss - it was an unwelcome expansion of horizons, as the M’s completely unraveled what looked like a promising early cruiser into an evening disaster.