SEATTLE -- Logan Gilbert was as animated as he’s been all season, one-hopping off the mound while shouting toward the home dugout after escaping his only real jam on Tuesday night. The Mariners’ towering righty had just struck out his 10th batter to set a new season high while stranding a pair of runners to preserve a scoreless tie.

That moment was among the few in Seattle’s favor on a night when Gilbert’s offense went scoreless while he was on the mound, en route to an eventual 3-2 loss to the Rays at T-Mobile Park.

Tampa Bay pulled ahead after Gilbert departed by ambushing reliever JT Chargois for a single from Johnny DeLuca and a subsequent two-run homer from Jose Siri in the seventh. Both were with two strikes and two outs.

That quickly flipped the script on Seattle breaking a scoreless tie. Half an inning prior, Victor Robles ran wild, ripping a one-out single, then stealing second and third base and scoring on a throwing error by Rays catcher Alex Jackson. The Rays tacked on another homer in the eighth, a solo blast from Yandy Díaz off Collin Snider that essentially put the game out of reach.

After the Rays pulled ahead, the Mariners -- who had just four hits on the night -- had a rally brewing in the eighth when Cal Raleigh ripped an RBI single after Leo Rivas walked and Robles poked a bunt single to first base that left Díaz with nowhere to throw. But former Ray Randy Arozarena struck out on three pitches to end it there, perhaps Seattle’s costliest K among their 17, their second-most in a game this season.

“We just weren’t able to get anything barreled up,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

Seattle also missed an opportunity to close the gap in the American League West after the Astros lost in Philadelphia, marking the ninth time since the All-Star break in which Seattle failed to win when playing on a day that Houston lost.

Outside their three-game series vs. Houston at T-Mobile Park to begin the second half, the Mariners -- who trail the Astros by 3 1/2 games in the playoff race -- have only won five times on the same day that their division rivals lost. They have one remaining series against them this season, in Houston during the season’s final week.

The goal will be to keep the division title race within reach by that point, and Houston’s upcoming schedule -- against the likes of Arizona, San Diego, Cleveland and Kansas City, all of which occupy a playoff spot -- could play in Seattle’s favor.

But even so, if the Mariners can find their way into the playoffs, despite an all-world rotation featuring performances like Gilbert’s, their offense must find more traction -- because the caliber of pitching will skyrocket in October.

Gilbert registered the Mariners’ 87th game in which their starter cleared at least six innings -- but also the 31st in which they lost, the most in MLB within that criteria.

“You can't let up,” Gilbert said of pitching on a tightrope, “because one pitch can change the game. ... You can pitch great for two hours and leave a pitch over the middle and it changes the whole outing.”

Seattle’s shortcomings on Tuesday were at the hands of Rays starter Jeffrey Springs, who cleared only five innings due to limitations after returning from Tommy John surgery. Yet the left-hander struck out a season-high nine among 17 batters faced, all righties.

Springs suppressed Seattle most effectively with his changeup and slider combination, but he kept the Mariners honest by occasionally mixing in his fastball, even with just 33% usage.

“For me, I have to move the ball all around," Springs said. "With my stuff, go up and in, down and away, up and away, down and in. It’s just constant moving, so the slider was able to help open up, have them see something running in to them to where they can’t fully sit on the changeup down and away.”

The Mariners had just one hit off Springs, a broken-bat single by Arozarena in the fourth. But they had plenty of chances to pounce. Aside from 10 whiffs on the changeup and two on the slider, the Mariners struggled to square Springs up when he did come in the zone. They had 18 fouls vs. Springs -- nearly all of which were over the heart of the plate -- and only one hard-hit ball.