Ace Felix Hernandez has another of those 'you're-the-ace, fix-this' starts tonight.

The Mariners have not only lost three consecutive games, they've had their egos blown up in the process. Tonight, Hernandez goes for more than his 12th win - his job is to snap that Seattle losing streak.

To do that, he's going to have to pitch well, since his offense is a bit diminished without Jose Lopez or Russell Branyan in the lineup.

Both have stiff backs.

In their places: Chris Woodward and Chris Shelton, with Ken Griffey Jr. in the third spot as designated hitter.

It's Felix vs. Ricky Romero, Seattle vs. Toronto.

Toronto scores first

With a contingent of Blue Jays fans chanting their support, Toronto got a first-inning run by playing little ball.

Marco Scutaro blooped a single and Aaron Hill rolled a perfectly placed hit-and-run single into right field behind him.

Scott Rolen flied out, and the Blue Jays grabbed a lead.

In the first: Blue Jays 1, Mariners 0

Small ball all around

Mariners struck back in typical fashion: singles by Ichiro and Franklin Gutierrez, ground balls by Junior and Shelton got the run home.

Nice execution, we're tied.

After one: Mariners 1, Blue Jays 1

Long ball

Lyle Overbay got a 2-0 fastball about thigh high and hit it over the center field wall, with Felix turning to watch it go.

Probably only a double if they were playing in the Polo Grounds.

In the second: Blue Jays 2, Mariners 1

They're even

Junior singled, Shelton singled and, with one out, Rob Johnson singled home the tying run.

Johnson may never be the hitter fans thought Jeff Clement would be, but he's got up over .210 - which took quite a climb - and he's got 21 RBI. He's no longer an automatic out. Sort of a semi-automatic, now.

After four: Mariners 2, Blue Jays 2

Long Ball II

Rod Barajas this time, to left field, his ninth of the year.

If you're counting, that's 13 home runs for the opposition this home stand, zero for the Mariners.

Ouch.

In the fifth: Blue Jays 3, Mariners 2

Those scrappy Mariners

Rookie Michael Saunders opened the fifth wih a perfectly dropped bunt, went to second on an Ichiro single and scored on a Gutierrez single that tied the game.

With two outs, Shelton - yes, the guy who never gets to play - singled for his second RBI tonight.

A lead for Felix after five innings? The Mariners would take their chances on this one every night the rest of the year.

After five: Mariners 4, Blue Jays 3

Two outs, so what?

Felix got two quick outs, then gave up consecutive singles to Vernon Wells, Overbay and Alex Rios for a run that got Toronto even.

From left field, Saunders strong throw got to the plate with the runner, but Johnson couldn't hold it. Worse, it allowed the runners to move up a base.

Barajas bounced a ball past third, and shortstop Ronny Cedeno had no play, so the go-ahead run jogged in.

A fifth hitter, .167-batting Joe

Inglett, rolled a single into right field for another run. A bad-hop single by Scutaro off third baseman Hannahan meant another run - and Hernandez was gone.

Two outs, no one on, then six consecutive hits. Hernandez leaves, trailing by three.

In the sixth: Blue Jays 7, Mariners 4

Yikes!

Long fly to center field. Gutierrez gets to the wall, waits for it - and watches it bang off his glove for a three-base error.

Naturally, a fly ball got him home. Just a failure to focus, one of the few mental mistakes Gutierrez has made in the field all year.

In the seventh: Blue Jays 8, Mariners 4

Ugly, ugly, ugly

This is four consecutive losses, during which Seattle has been out-scored, 42-10.

They haven't played four worse games all year.

It's a final: Blue Jays 11, Mariners 4

As of this moment, Jarrod Washburn remains a Mariner, and general manager Jack Zduriencik is down on the field talking to - no, not another GM - a radio host from Toronto.

Washburn, talking about 90 minutes ago, said he was open to a contract extensiond and wouldn't speculate on trade rumors.

Look we know the Mariners need a shorstop, unless some of you want to see Ronny Cedeno and his .174 batting average back in a Seattle uniform next season. The Mariners have few legitimate shortstop prospects in the minor leagues. Their best prospect Carlos Triunfel has missed most of the season with a broken leg and there was some speculation before the season that Triunfel might be projected as a third baseman or second baseman in the big leagues.

But what I'm wondering is whether they have to use Washburn as the trade bait to get a shortstop prospect or an established shortstop.

We've heard that the Mariners and Brewers are discussing a deal for Washburn, and the Mariners want SS prospect Alcides Escobar in return. But in all previous trade talks this season, Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin intimated that Escobar was off limits in trades. It was rumored to be a sticking point in the Roy Halladay trade talks.

Fox Sports' J.P. Morosi is saying that Escobar could possibly be available for Washburn AND Brandon Morrow. Which really would basically be swapping prospect for prospect since Washburn is a free agent.

Still, my gut feeling is the Brewers are still finding ways to avoid giving up Escobar - their top prospect according to Baseball America - for Washburn. Milwaukee doesn't seem to inclined to sign JJ Hardy to an extension. And giving up Escobar would then leave them without a shortstop after next season. The Mariners ostensibly could take Hardy instead of Escobar and use him as a rent-a-player for this season and next, and then either try to sign him, trade him before next season's trade deadline or even pick up the draft picks for when he leaves as a free agent.

The Mariners need a shortstop and the Brewers have two. It makes sense. But maybe Jack Zduriencik also has his eye on other players in the system, after all, he knows plenty about them. Their system took a bit of a hit when they traded 1B/OF Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson and Michael Brantley to the Indians for CC Sabathia.

But they do have Escobar, 3B Mat Gamel rated No. 2 by Baseball America, who was also deemed off limits in most trade talks. There is also catcher/3B - but really just left-handed hitter - Brett Lawrie (pictured above), who played in the Futures Game and is the younger brother of UW standout fastpitch pitcher Danielle Lawrie and is their No. 3 prospect. There's infielder Taylor Green, who is listed as third baseman, but projects more as a second baseman. The Brewers also have a couple decent pitching prospects and outfield prospects out there as well, so perhaps a package of two prospects not including Escobar could be easier to get done.

I'm not saying the Mariners aren't asking for Escobar. I'm sure they are. But he may be off the table. Of course, Zduriencik is in the power position. Washburn has drawn interest from the Brewers, Phillies, Yankees and other teams that view Washburn as a fallback if they can't get Halladay or Cliff Lee. So Big Z can take his business elsewhere if he's not liking what he's hearing from the Brewers.

The only thing we also must remember is that the trade chips have dwindled to Washburn at this point. Bedard won't get much interest, Beltre is hurt as well - perhaps they could be dealt before the waiver trade deadline ends in August. And of course, Miguel Batista, another free agent, isn't worth a bag of used baseballs and a free haircut from Supercuts.