Three things: Questions re-emerge after Mariners swept by Angels

The Mariners looked unstoppable midway through last week, sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays to claim a seventh series win over an eight-series stretch. A day off after their final win over the Rays appeared to do the red-hot M’s no favors, though, as they suddenly went ice cold and fell victim to a three-game sweep themselves to an Angels team that was struggling before arriving in Seattle.

Related: Mariners notebook: Scott Servais not panicking after tight losses

Now 21-16, the Mariners have fallen back behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West, and the questions about this team after its 2-6 start to the season are being revisited.

Here are three things to consider about the Mariners this week as they head back out on the road for three games apiece in Baltimore and Cincinnati:

1. We need to have a talk about the bullpen.

On Friday, it was a wake-up call. On Saturday, it was something much more alarming. The Mariners may have owned the best bullpen in baseball, statistically speaking, through last Thursday, but when set-up man Joel Peralta and Steve Cishek combined to give up nine runs over three innings of work in the losses Friday and Saturday, any illusions that Seattle could keep that up with its current cast went out the window. Peralta had been a nice surprise for Seattle, but this weekend he looked every bit the

Peralta had been a nice surprise for Seattle, but this weekend he looked every bit the 40-year-old that didn’t have a team until the Mariners gave him a minor-league deal in February. Cishek had also looked great before the Angels series, blowing just one of 12 save chances. After two more blown saves, though, I think it’s safe to say he’s already been a little overworked, having chalked up 20 1/3 innings over 18 appearances. The Mariners had a great fall-back plan for that heading into the season with Joaquin Benoit, who can close in a pinch, but he hasn’t been able to help while sitting on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. He should be back soon – perhaps even by Tuesday’s series opener in Baltimore – but that won’t magically save Seattle’s depth problems in the pen. Yes, Mike Montgomery, Nick

Yes, Mike Montgomery, Nick Vincent and Vidal Nuno have all been good to great. But after them, the Mariners are down to Cishek, Peralta, and a pair of Triple-A call-ups in Mayckol Guiape and Steve Johnson, and there’s still four more pitchers on the DL including Charlie Furbush and Tony Zych. You better believe general manager Jerry Dipoto is working on all the backup plans he can right now.

2. Is left-handed pitching going to be the offense’s Achilles heel?

Angels southpaw Hector Santiago had not made it through six innings of work or held an opponent to less than three runs in any of his three previous starts before taking the mound Sunday at Safeco Field. Yet the Mariners had no answer for him, managing just a pair of singles from catcher Chris Iannetta and the recently-recalled Shawn O’Malley (both former teammates of Santiago’s in Anaheim, coincidentally). It was a reminder that while Seattle’s offense has been on a roll, it doesn’t exactly excel against lefties. To be more specific, the Mariners have been feast-or-famine against southpaws – they lead the MLB with 19 homers vs. LHPs but also have the third-most strikeouts (100) and rank 16th in on-base percentage (.315). The story there is that Seattle needs more from Nelson Cruz (.267 vs LHPs), Franklin Gutierrez (.243, 17 strikeouts in 37 ABs), and yes, even Dae-Ho Lee (.219) when lefties take the mound, or they’ll be shopping for a right-handed bat or two before long.

3. Bringing up Shawn O’Malley is a good call.

Looking Landing raised the issue earlier in the week that the Mariners needed to do something about their 25th spot on the roster, and it turned out to be something that was addressed on Sunday, as they recalled Richland native O’Malley and sent down infielder Luis Sardinas to Triple-A. The 23-year-old Sardinas can really only provide relief at second, third and shortstop, and he was losing out on valuable development and playing time sitting behind Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager and Ketel Marte. O’Malley, on the other hand, is a true utility man, and his versatility came right into play Sunday as he gave Leonys Martin a spell in center field. He may not have much of an obvious impact for Seattle, but the 28-year-old O’Malley does make the Mariners a deeper team and allows them to get Sardinas some much-needed action in Tacoma that could end up making a big difference down the line.

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