SEATTLE -- The pendulum swung swiftly for the Mariners in the span of 24 hours, which included an eight-plus-hour game in Cleveland, accounting for a rain delay, and late-night travel from the Eastern Time Zone immediately afterward.

One day later, a combination of a rejuvenated Lance Lynn and a 3 a.m. PT arrival time at T-Mobile Park culminated in a 3-2 loss to the White Sox that snapped a seven-game win streak. Yet despite just three hits through their first 8 2/3 innings and a mostly quiet day at the plate, Monday’s game came down to the final pitch.

Seattle entered the ninth inning trailing by two yet put the tying run on third base and the winning run on second only to come up just short when pinch-hitter Adam Frazier struck out against All-Star closer Liam Hendriks on three pitches. That moment followed what was shaping up to be more Chaos Ball -- the brand of late-innings Mariners magic that is the club’s specialty -- but it came just short.

“It’s really fun to win every game,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I guess that’s why it’s fun, because it’s not easy. We’ve had quite a run here the last week or so.”

Moments before Frazier was punched out, J.P. Crawford blooped an RBI single into shallow right field that plated Mitch Haniger, who led off the ninth with a base hit. Sam Haggerty, who was pinch-running for Eugenio Suárez, was held up while rounding third in what would’ve been an incredibly close play at the plate.

Seattle also had a rally brewing in the eighth, when Julio Rodríguez chopped a 107.2 mph single up the middle, but Ty France’s sky-high fly ball that followed landed at the left-field warning track for the third out.

The Mariners dropped into a tie with Tampa Bay for the top AL Wild Card spot, and they remain only a half-game ahead of Toronto for the final spot. In a tight playoff race, results matter above all -- but effort, albeit intangible, is also critical.

“It’s not hard to see,” Marco Gonzales said of the Mariners’ late-innings push. “I mean, guys got in at 3 a.m. last night and came out, the energy was still the same today. I didn't really notice a difference in our guys, which says a lot about the character here to go out and just fight against a good team like that. It says a lot about who we are.”

Hendriks needed 30 pitches to escape the jam, and he was aided in a big way by the starting pitcher who preceded him. Lynn turned in arguably his best start of an up-and-down season, retiring 17 in a row to finish the outing while striking out a season-high 11.

Lynn utilized an elevated fastball early in counts that was easily aided by shadows between the mound and home plate thanks to the 3:40 p.m. PT Labor Day start time. The heater then set up the curveball that he largely used for an out pitch, and in total, he generated 25 swings and misses.

"The shadows were ugly early, so that helps the pitchers, for sure,” Lynn said. “I knew that they were going to have trouble seeing the ball, so I just went on attack and it worked out well."

Gonzales also utilized the environment over seven strong innings, which helped the bullpen one day after Servais used 10 pitchers in Cleveland. The lefty turned heavily to his cutter earlier in counts to keep the White Sox off balance, but he paid on a pair of mistake pitches -- a middle-low changeup that A.J. Pollock turned into a solo homer in the second, and a middle-high fastball that Elvis Andrus punched for a two-run homer in the third. Andrus’ ball caromed off Mitch Haniger’s glove and over the fence in what would’ve been an epic home run robbery.

Andrus, who was released by Oakland on Aug. 17 then signed with the White Sox, now has 11 homers this year -- five of which have come at T-Mobile Park.

“Mitch came really close, and I thought he made an unbelievable catch,” Gonzales said. “I think everybody did and then it squeaked out, but you know, I’ve faced Elvis a ton and every time it seems like it's like an 11 [or] 12-pitch battle. So I mean, hat’s off to him. He's a great hitter.”

All winning streaks come to an end, but this one didn’t necessarily have the sting or sour taste.