THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: The M's can do it, but will they at this rate?

Will the Mariners ever win again?

Sure, you say.

The worst is over.

The problem every year is that Eastern road trip, when they venture out into a different universe and wander around blindly — as you would if you just landed on a strange planet.

So, no surprise that they went 2-7 on the just-concluded death march to Baltimore, New York (Mets), and then Philadelphia.

They played a game at the Little League World Series, for heaven’s sake.

The same thing happened a year ago (without the 13-year-olds).

Last August, the M’s staggered through a 1-8 trip to those foreign lands, the horrible places with their heat and humidity. That slog was even more dramatic, since manager Scott Servais was fired at the end of it.

The Mariners went 2-7 on the 2024 trip and missed the playoffs by a single game.

If you’re a glass-half-full sort of person, you can feel some comfort that there’s no need to switch managers this time — although, current boss Dan Wilson has come in for criticism on how he handles the bullpen.

LET’S SEE, what else makes you feel this terrible dive can be halted without a crash?

The solid starting rotation, which now has all five members finally back together?

Ummm.

On their first turn through the order (on this recent trip), the fearsome five posted a combined ERA of 8.42 — and that includes an outing from Bryan Woo, who logged six innings with only one earned run.

In other words, everyone else got shelled.

They all got tagged with losses, including Woo (3-1 to the Mets).

During Wednesday’s awful 11-2 loss in Philadelphia, the Phillies had at least one runner in scoring position in every inning.

Yikes!

Know this: If the Mariners are going to avoid a complete late-season meltdown, the starters have to get their acts together.

Immediately.

By the way, if you’re basing your optimism on the fact that the horror trip back East is over, well, check the schedule.

The M’s host the Athletics and then the pennant-chasing Padres in a six-game homestand starting tonight.

But then, they’re off again on another nine-game brute of a trip to Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Atlanta.

Sorry, but they can’t hope to survive at T-Mobile Park and somehow make the playoffs while getting battered on the road.

I hear you saying that the competition isn’t very good, and the M’s don’t exactly have to be the ’27 Yankees to play in the postseason.

That much is true.

Houston leads the AL West by just two games, but the Astros — who were totally slapped around by Detroit over three straight days — have an annoying history of doing just what’s required to hang on near the finish line.

They’ve won the West seven of the past eight years.

Seattle’s won it, ahhh, not at all since 2001.

Winning and losing can both become team habits after a while — which means the Mariners have to bite and scratch their way into a new trend.

I WANT to feel confident.

Really, it would be fun to experience the playoffs again, especially after that second-round excitement of 2022.

Once a team gets that far, especially in this year’s American League (aka Detroit and the 14 dwarves), there’s no limit to how many rounds you can win.

Julio Rodriguez is white hot, which usually buys a few wins, and recent history tells us he’ll keep going.

The Mariners need Cal Raleigh to resume bashing — a bit of a worry because catchers wear out.

There’s a reason so many people have been in awe of Cal’s thunder. It’s tough to do it when you’re wearing the “Tools of Ignorance” in searing heat and clouds of dust every day.

Then you have the supporting cast, which is distinctly sub-par against left-handed pitching.

Donovan Solano, Mitch Garver and Dylan Moore do not frighten a soul as right-handed platoon players.

Still want to go glass half full?

You have to hope, then, that Seattle’s pitching stabilizes and the lineup is useful.

And that they don’t face too many stud lefties

If that’s the case and they can avoid drowning on the next Eastern trip, then the Mariners’ hopes of making the playoffs — winning the West, even — will likely come down to mid-September and a six-game trip to Kansas City and Houston.

The M’s are good enough to do this.

Or, maybe we should say, they WERE good enough.

Let’s see if they can come back to life.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On."