In another crazy series at Kauffman Stadium that was filled with wild twists and turns, the Seattle Mariners escaped Kansas City with an extra-inning win on Sunday to avoid getting swept for the first time this season.

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The Mariners suffered their most demoralizing loss of the year on Friday night, blowing an eight-run lead in a 10-9 walkoff defeat. They lost again Saturday night and then blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning Sunday afternoon, but rebounded with three runs in the 10th and held on for a 6-5 extra-inning victory. Through 20 series this season, Seattle still has not been swept.

The Mariners remain atop the AL West at 37-30, sitting five games ahead of the Texas Rangers and 6.5 games in front of the Houston Astros. As the M’s return to T-Mobile Park for a seven-game homestand against the MLB-worst Chicago White Sox and the AL West rival Rangers, here are three things that stand out.

More Kauffman craziness

The Mariners seemed well on their way to a comfortable win in Friday’s series opener after scoring seven runs in the first inning and stretching their lead to 8-0 in the fourth. But as they’ve found in recent years, nothing comes easy at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals stormed all the way back and won on a ninth-inning walkoff to hand Seattle a stunning 10-9 loss.

It was a bit of déjà vu from a late-September game in 2022, when the Mariners held an 11-2 lead over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium before surrendering 11 runs in the sixth inning and falling 13-12. More chaos ensued in Seattle’s trip to Kansas City last year, when both teams blew big leads in the first two games of the series. The Royals blew a 5-0 lead in the series opener before winning 7-6 on a walkoff bunt single, and then the Mariners blew a 7-0 lead the following night before winning 10-8 in extra innings.

In fact, of the last nine games between these two teams at Kauffman Stadium, six have been decided by one run and two more have been decided by two runs. Seven of those nine games had a go-ahead run scored in the eighth inning or later, including five games with a go-ahead run in the ninth or later. With both teams firmly in the AL playoff picture right now, just imagine if these two teams were to meet in a postseason series at Kauffman Stadium.

Rough series on the hill

Even the best pitching staffs go through rough patches over the course of a 162-game season. For the Mariners, this weekend was certainly one of those times. Seattle gave up 23 runs in the three-game set, which was the most it had allowed in any three-game series this season.

The Royals average 4.98 runs per game, which ranks third in the American League behind the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Guardians. And according to Statcast, Kauffman Stadium has the third-highest park factor in the majors, meaning its one of the game’s most hitter-friendly parks. So, if the Mariners were going to have a rough series on the mound at some point, it makes sense that it happened in this particular series.

Bryce Miller was scoreless through the first three innings of Friday’s opener, but gave up a three-run homer in the fourth and yielded a season-high seven runs in five-plus innings. After opening the season with a sparkling 2.04 ERA through his first six starts, Miller has a 5.36 ERA over his past seven outings. On Saturday, Luis Castillo surrendered a season-high five runs in five innings, ending an impressive streak of 10 consecutive starts of allowing two earned runs or fewer. George Kirby then stabilized things for Seattle’s rotation on Sunday, tossing seven strong innings of one-run ball.

The bullpen had a nightmarish series. Seattle’s relievers blew a pair of saves and allowed a combined nine earned runs, 11 hits and seven walks in 9 2/3 innings. The Mariners’ bullpen has been decimated by injuries, with Matt Brash out for the season, Gregory Santos out until at least July, Gabe Speier on the 15-day injured list and Andrés Muñoz recently missing a few days after aggravating a lower-back issue in a collision at home plate. On top of that, Seattle is entering the final week of a grueling stretch of 43 games in 45 days. The Mariners’ bullpen has held up admirably for most of the year, but it’s possible the injuries and lack of off days could finally be taking their toll.

The good news, however, is that Muñoz returned to pitch a one-two-three eighth inning on Sunday. With their bullpen’s depth already being significantly tested, the Mariners can ill-afford an IL stint from their standout closer. His return was undoubtedly the best sign of the weekend.

France heads to IL just as he was finding a groove

Heading into the season, there was optimism that Ty France could rebound from a rough 2023 campaign and recapture his All-Star-level production from the first half of 2022. France spent this past offseason honing his swing at the renowned Driveline training facility in Kent, the same place that helped Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford break out last year for the best season of his career. And after a strong spring training, it appeared the work was paying dividends.

France got off to a rough start once the regular season came around, batting just .235/.292/.326 with two homers, six doubles and a .618 OPS through his first 37 games. But around mid-May, he turned a corner. Over his past 24 games, France is hitting .279/.387/.532 with five homers, five doubles and an .919 OPS. However, in the first inning of Friday’s game, France got hit by a pitch on his right heel. He stayed in the game and went 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI, but was scratched from the lineup Saturday and then placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday after it was revealed that he’d suffered a hairline fracture. It’s a tough break for a hitter who seemed to have finally rediscovered his groove.

For the Mariners, the good news is that their most MLB-ready hitting prospect happened to be a first baseman. So, with France headed to the IL, they promoted highly regarded 23-year-old slugger Tyler Locklear and started him at first base for Sunday’s series finale. Locklear, who had a strong start to the season in Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma, made an immediate impact, delivering a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning of Seattle’s extra-inning win.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Watch: Mariners’ J.P. Crawford hits leadoff HR in 2nd straight game
• Seattle Mariners place Ty France on IL amid flurry of roster moves
• Why Seattle Mariners ‘have to nail’ trade deadline deals
• Alonso, Robert or Guerrero? Keith Law on each as M’s trade targets
• Video: Ryan Bliss’ first HR caps Seattle Mariners’ seven-run inning

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With OTAs wrapping up across the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC in just under two months, officially ushering in the first season under new coach Mike Macdonald.

In preparation for the new incoming season, we’ll be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, diving into scheme fits, exploring best- and worst-case scenarios and predicting what to expect from each player entering the 2024 campaign.

Entering his third season with Seattle in 2024, will Artie Burns maintain his role in the Seahawks defense despite an injection of young talent?

A four-star recruit out of the football factory at Miami Northwestern Senior High School, Burns stayed local for college and signed with Miami, which was only about 12 miles away from where he played prep ball. Playing three seasons with the Hurricanes, Burns broke out in 2015 when he started all 13 games and piled up 36 total tackles, six interceptions, and five passes defensed. After earning All-ACC honors, he was drafted 25th overall in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Steelers and was solid in his first two seasons, starting 25 games and posting 119 total tackles, four interceptions, 26 passes defensed and four tackles for loss. In 2018, Burns started just six games with no interceptions and Pittsburgh did not pick up his fifth-year option, allowing him to sign with the Bears ahead of the 2020 campaign. He suffered a torn ACL in the preseason and missed the season before returning to play in 11 games in 2021. Burns signed with Seattle in March 2022 and has regularly moved between the practice squad and active roster since while also missing time due to groin and hamstring injuries.

Throughout his eight years in the NFL, Burns has been a serviceable outside and slot corner at 6-0, 187 pounds, adding nickel to his repertoire in 2023. Last season, in Pete Carroll’s defense, Burns played 232 defensive snaps with 87 percent of those coming as the nickel corner, per Pro Football Focus. He was also a regular contributor on punt and kick coverage. Burns is a willing run stopper from the slot corner position and has good speed and quickness to keep up with the dynamic receivers he is often matched up against.

Outplaying rookie sixth-round pick DJ James and third-year defensive back Coby Bryant in training camp and the preseason, Burns maintains his backup slot corner role into the regular season and sees a similar number of snaps to last season behind Devon Witherspoon on the depth chart while continuing to contribute on special teams.

With ample younger prospects now on Seattle’s roster, Burns, 29, shows the least upside and has his role filled by a combination of James and Bryant. Since Bryant can also play safety in the Seahawks defense, Burns is cut at the end of the preseason and brought back on the practice squad as an emergency veteran option.

Burns’ extensive NFL experience gives him an edge over Bryant and James from a reliability standpoint, but his age could be a deterrent to a new coaching staff that may want to get its younger players game snaps early on. It’s also possible that Bryant’s versatile status in the defense has him competing mostly for a role at safety, which would leave the backup nickel role to a two-man race between Burns and James — both of whom would be quality options to be on the field at the same time in a dime package.

When it comes down to it, Burns, Bryant, and James are all likely to stick around with the Seahawks as slot corner and special teams coverage options, with one or two making the active roster. If Bryant’s role becomes more defined, that situation will be more clear. Unless Burns is outplayed by other young corners further out on the roster bubble, he should at least have a practice squad spot reserved. Regardless, it will be a fun competition to watch as Burns tries to play a third season with one team for the second time in his career.

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