HOUSTON — Paul Sewald approached Robbie Ray in the far corner of a quiet visitors’ clubhouse.
Ice wrapped around his right arm, Sewald drew closer to Ray, whose head hung down. The Mariners veteran closer tried to offer some encouraging words to Ray, the Mariners’ unexpected first-time closer.
What came out sounded more like an apology.
“He feels bad, and I feel bad that he even pitched,” Sewald told reporters inside the clubhouse a few moments later. “There’s not a lot to say in that situation. Everybody knows how everybody feels.”
The Mariners’ stunning 8-7 walkoff loss Tuesday to the rival Houston Astros in Game 1 of American League Division Series had to be the most devastating defeat in franchise history, outside a playoff elimination game anyway.
ALDS Game 1
Astros 8, Mariners 7
How, the Mariners were asked, do they come back from that?
“It’s not easy … but we’ve come back from tough losses before,” starting pitcher Logan Gilbert said. “I don’t think this changes anything about what our team is and what we can do.”
The Mariners have been a team of extremes this season, rallying for one unlikely win after another. Saturday’s series-clinching, wild-card victory at Toronto is the best example of that.
But they’ve also been on the wrong side of these heartbreaking comebacks — see the stunning 13-12 loss at Kansas City on Sept. 25 — and Tuesday’s late collapse will only serve to heighten concerns about a Seattle bullpen that appears to be running on fumes.
Andres Munoz, untouchable for most of the second half of the season, allowed a two-run home run to Alex Bregman in the eighth inning, cutting the Mariners’ lead to 7-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, Sewald got Houston’s first hitter, Christian Vazquez, to ground out for the first out. One of Sewald’s biggest mistakes of the inning was hitting rookie David Hensley, pinch-hitting in the No. 9 spot, with an inside fastball on a 3-2 count.
Sewald was able to strike out Jose Altuve on a high fastball but then allowed a single to Jeremy Pena on a 1-2 slider on the outside corner. That put two runners on base for Yordan Alvarez, one of baseball’s most imposing sluggers.
“I had Pena two strikes,” Sewald said, “and didn’t make the pitch.”
That was the last pitch Sewald threw. Manager Scott Servais called on Ray, the veteran left-handed starter. It was Ray’s first relief appearance of any kind in two years and the first save opportunity of his major-league career.
“Robbie never should have gone out there. That’s my job,” Sewald said. “That’s what I’ve been doing really well all season, and to not do it was disappointing. I felt like I let down the team. Just got to shake it and get back to work.”
These Mariners have embraced the idea that they’re a team that never gives up, and they tried to lean on that idea in the moments after the gut punch that was Alvarez’s walkoff homer off Ray at Minute Maid Park.
“It stings. It hurts. I think the main thing about this team is we don’t quit,” Gilbert said. “We have a ton of fight. That’s who we are. That’s our identity. We’ve proven that all year, so why stop now? We’re going to keep going. It’s a long series. It does hurt, but we’ll bounce back.”
It is a five-game series, and the Mariners do have their ace, Luis Castillo, ready and fully rested to start Game 2 here Thursday.
“Just gotta move on. That’s all you can do,” first baseman Ty France said. “It’s over with. That’s a good baseball team over there. On to the next.”
After a good day against Justin Verlander, that was a sentiment shared by many of the Mariners hitters afterward.
“To be honest, it’s all about turning the page and coming back on Thursday ready to go,” right fielder Mitch Haniger said. “It’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna be tough. But we were confident in here we can get the job done. … We know we can beat them. We’re right there. We’ll come back on Thursday ready to play.”
“It’s not how you want to start a series,” France added, “but what can you do now?”
That, indeed, is the question looming over this team.