SEATTLE – The vibes have certainly shifted at T-Mobile Park the past two nights.

After taking a commanding 2-0 lead in their first American League Championships Series in 24 years, the Seattle Mariners now find themselves knotted up at 2-2 with the Toronto Blue Jays following an 8-2 loss Thursday night in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series.

Rough third inning hurts Seattle Mariners again in Game 4 loss

Now they’re staring down the possibility of heading back to Toronto only one loss away from their season ending painfully close to their first-ever World Series berth.

Both of Seattle’s losses at home in this series have been laughers, with Toronto outscoring the Mariners 21-6 in total, and there were some noticeable commonalities in each loss. Here’s a look at three that stand out.

The guys who can’t beat you are

The Blue Jays have one of baseball’s best offenses, and it starts at the top with perennial All-Star-caliber players George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk. All three are capable of changing games with their prowess at the plate, especially with the power Springer and Guerrero can provide. Add in breakout bats like lefties Nathan Lukes and Daulton Varsho, and it makes for a daunting task for any pitcher.

Inevitably, the Blue Jays are going to score some runs.

When facing a lineup like that, it’s even more important for pitchers to take advantage of the bottom of the order. Instead, it was the bottom of the Blue Jays’ order taking advantage of Mariners pitching in Games 3 and 4.

Toronto’s eight and nine hitters have gone a combined 9 for 16 with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs and six runs scored over the past two games. Even worse, two of the players doing damage are bench players who are only starting because of injuries.

Glove-first shortstop Andrés Giménez, who posted a measly .598 OPS this season, has five hits and six RBIs in Toronto’s wins, including hitting two-run home runs in each game that erased Mariners leads. He is in the lineup because of the absence of Bo Bichette, a much better hitter but far worse defender. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, who was inserted into the lineup Thursday after to an injury to Anthony Santander, had two hits in Game 4, including a double, and scored two runs.

One could argue it isn’t just the hitters who shouldn’t be beating the Mariners that are causing problems.

Blue Jays Game 4 starter Max Scherzer posted a career-worst 5.19 ERA this season and hadn’t pitched since Sept. 24 before holding Seattle to two runs over 5 2/3 innings.

This certainly isn’t a recipe for success for the Mariners.

No answers for Blue Jays’ answers

Applying pressure is a term players and coaches use often in baseball.

The Mariners have been good at applying pressure early in games during the postseason, scoring first in all but one of their nine games. That includes the back-to-back losses against Toronto, as the Blue Jays have answered back each time with big third innings, and the M’s have shown no counterpunch afterwards.

After Seattle scored two runs in the first inning of Game 3, the Blue Jays rallied for five runs in the third and went on to put up 12 straight before Seattle finally scored again in the eighth.

In Game 4, the Mariners got on the board with one run in the second, only for Toronto to score three in the third and two more in the fourth. Seattle didn’t score again until the sixth inning, and Toronto immediately got that run back in the seventh.

It’s been those pesky bats at the bottom of the order that have gotten Toronto’s third-inning rallies started, too, with Giménez hitting both of his home runs in the third.

The Mariners showed an ability to fight back late in games throughout this season, going way back to when they rallied from down 5-0 in the eighth to beat the Astros back in early April. Seattle needs to find that version of itself again.

Costly miscues

The past two games have gone about as bad as imaginable for the M’s, and they are very much a reason for that.

The Blue Jays have played a clean brand of baseball since arriving in Seattle. The Mariners have not.

The M’s mistakes weren’t nearly as glaring Wednesday while they were getting blown out. But the ones they made Thursday very much stood out.

Seattle walked in a run and let another score on a wild pitch with two outs. And Josh Naylor got himself thrown out at third base trying to go from first to third on a single for the final out of the sixth inning, ending his team’s best chance to make a rally with the tying run about to step up to the plate.

Playoff series don’t always come down to who was the better team. Sometimes they’re decided by who makes the least mistakes, which isn’t the Mariners right now.

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