Grading the Seattle Mariners at the three-quarters mark

2B Robinson Cano Grade: A- It's gone unnoticed because the Mariners have been playing so well, but Robinson Cano has struggled since the All-Star Break. In 32 games since the Midsummer Classic, the second baseman began Sunday hitting .237 with five doubles, seven homers and 19 RBIs. Perhaps a drop-off was inevitable, given that he batted .313 with 21 homers and 58 RBIs over his first 89 games. Regardless, Cano's still been mostly great this season. Still, he'll need to get back on track if the Mariners are to break a playoff drought that dates back to 2001, the longest in Major League Baseball. less 2B Robinson Cano Grade: A- It's gone unnoticed because the Mariners have been playing so well, but Robinson Cano has struggled since the All-Star Break. In 32 games since the Midsummer Classic, the second baseman ... more Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Grading the Seattle Mariners at the three-quarters mark 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

After spending his first winter as Mariners general manager reworking the roster, Jerry Dipoto cheerily projected a 2016 win total more than two months before the start of the regular season.

"We'll start the season with the idea that we're going to get to the mid-80s (in wins)," Dipoto said in January at the club's pre-spring training luncheon. "We've built the roster with the idea of getting into the mid-80s. If you can get in that 85-86 win zone, and then let the chips fall where they may, it's amazing how frequently you're going to wind up winning a lot more games than that."

After blowing a three-run lead to the Brewers in the ninth inning of Sunday's 7-6 loss, the Mariners dropped to 14-6 in August. They had an opportune chance to move a season-high 11 games over .500, but they instead choked.

The ninth inning, among other gaffes, included an error from center fielder Leonys Martin, a misplayed fly ball in left field from Nori Aoki and a game-tying, two-run homer from Chris Carter off Tom Wilhelmsen, who failed to finish the inning. The Mariners still took two of three from the Brewers, but a home sweep seemed imminent.

We're just past the three-quarters mark of the 2016 season. And a loss as shocking as Sunday's was almost unfathomable given how well Seattle has played.

The Mariners are 21-13 since the All-Star break, which is tied for the second best record in the major leagues during that span.

Most importantly, they're one gams back of the second AL wild card spot, six games behind the first-place Texas Rangers and on pace to win 87 games. So Dipoto was apparently on to something.

Let's give out some grades before the Mariners enter the stretch run.

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