The Mariners beat the Angels 4-3 Wednesday night to extend their excellent August record to 12-4. I’m glad to see that team doing well. They put together a good squad, but for some reason their success seems to depend on Felix Hernandez being on the roster, even though he’s not have a typical King season. Through May 27th, Hernandez’s last game before going on the disabled list, the Mariners starters owned a 3.60 ERA and an 18-15 record, 28-19 overall. While Hernandez was on the disabled list, the starters ERA shot up to 4.93, with a 16-17 record, and a 19-28 record overall. There were other pitching injuries in there as well, as Mike Montgomery, Wade Le Blanc, and James Paxton filled in. With the King back, the starters own a 3.88 ERA in 25 starts, an 11-4 record, and overall a 17-8 record. It looks to me like the injuries to the starters put a lot of pressure on the bullpen, that was losing games they used to win. The Mariners are now just two games out of the second wild card slot. If the pitching can stay healthy the rest of the way, they have a shot at the playoffs. That put up to five teams in the post-season that have never won a World Series or haven’t done so in a very long time.