Mariners 7, White Sox 6: Comeback can't bail out Jeff Samardzija

Here is a game designed to exhaust a White Sox fan's patience. You had:

*Jeff Samardzija falling behind 2-0 before recording an out thanks to a Kyle Seager homer, and 3-0 before the White Sox even had a chance to hit.

*Samardzija ultimately trailing 5-0, albeit one run scored thanks to a pop-up down the left field line that Melky Cabrera couldn't see, and Tyler Saladino couldn't catch despite his best efforts to track it at an odd angle.

*The White Sox struggling to capitalize against Hisashi Iwakuma, even though they had enough baserunners to leave the bases loaded twice.

*An Alexei Ramirez error on a routine grounder to a not-routine spot (the other side of second on a shift) allowing the Mariners' final run to cross in the top of the eighth, giving Seattle a 7-2 lead.

*That error coming back to bite the Sox, as they roared back with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 7-6 game.

*The Sox putting the tying run on base, only to see Alexei Ramirez pop out on a neck-high, 1-0 fastball, and Carlos Sanchez swing at ball four twice to strike out and end the game.

*Oh, and it took four hours and 16 minutes to play  a nine-inning game through an intermittent drizzle.

Those were the most frustrating aspects. Robin Ventura also sprinkled in a couple other things, although his biggest pregame sin -- batting Saladino second -- didn't hurt him the way it could. In fact, Saladino twice extended innings to Jose Abreu. He drew a walk to load the bases in the third inning with two outs in the third inning (Abreu flied out to deep center), and then he singled through the right side to score two runs in the eighth.

That time, Abreu also cashed in, scoring Adam Eaton on a blistered single to left to make it a 7-6 game. Then Ventura pulled Abreu for a pinch runner -- and Trayce Thompson, no less -- only to see Melky Cabrera bounce out to short to end the inning. So Abreu was out of the game, and one of their more dynamic bench bats was no longer avaiable at any time, all for a move that had little chance of making a difference. Fortunately (?) the lack of Abreu in the lineup or Thompson on the bench didn't bite the Sox either, unless Ventura was up for using Thompson against righty Tom Wilhelmsen (probably not).

Despite needing nearly 80 pitches to get through three innings, Samardzija somehow lasted 5⅔ innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out eight on 119 pitches. While it was good enough to save the bullpen a little, it wasn't enough to save him from dropping to 0-6 in August.

And it could've been worse had Avisail Garcia and Carlos Sanchez teamed up for a relay that cut down Seager at the plate with one out in the third inning. Robinson Cano hit a ringing double off the wall in right, and while Sanchez's throw home forced Tyler Flowers to jump, he was able to get the tag down quickly enough to get Seager, whose front foot bounced over the plate on his slide, but never on it. Home plate umpire Tim Timmons called him safe, but the White Sox won the review and took at least one run off the board.

The Mariners also won a review of their own in the ninth inning, which added to the length of the game.

Record: 60-68 | Box score | Play-by-play | Highlights