SEATTLE — The first homestand coming out of the All-Star break for the Mariners started with a dud and ended on a similar sour note.

And now comes the road trip that will help define what the final two months of the season will look like for a team expected by this point to well be in control of the AL West.

The M’s stumbled to a 5-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday afternoon, leaving a crowd of 38,236 flustered at the continued inconsistency of the ballclub.

The M’s put forth an embarrassing effort in a 7-0 loss to San Francisco to open the homestand last Friday, rebounded with three straight wins, only to fumble away the chance to head out on the road with some momentum by dropping the final two games to the only team in the NL Central below .500.

“They’re all big games at this point and this is a big road trip,” M’s manager Dan Wilson said.

After Thursday’s off day, the M’s will open a four-game series against the Rangers, who are guaranteed to be in first place entering that series thanks to the M’s stumble. Four in Texas will be followed by three games at Dodger Stadium against the team with a double-digit lead in the NL West.

That’s the kind of dominance the Mariners were expected to wield over the AL West this season. Instead, they are a 51-52 ballclub with seven critical games on the horizon, followed by the looming trade deadline on Aug. 3.

Calling it a big road trip feels like underselling the significance. Play well, and the M’s could be in control of the division by the time they return next week.

Play poorly and the urgency around the trade deadline will only be amplified.

“Every game down the stretch here is big and there’s a lot of baseball in front of us yet, and a chance for us to find that consistent stride. To find something that we can put up every single day and give ourselves a chance to win,” Wilson said.

Emerson Hancock pitched well enough to deserve a result, giving up two runs over six innings, with only one hiccup along the way.

But Eduard Bazardo faltered in the seventh, allowing the Nos. 8 and 9 batters in the Cincinnati order to reach with one out, and after retiring Elly De La Cruz for the second out, gave up a three-run homer to Sal Stewart that gave the Reds a 5-3 lead. The pitch wasn’t bad, but Stewart managed to drive the fastball at the top of the strike zone just beyond the top of the wall in right field.

It was the fourth home run allowed this season by Bazardo with two coming in his last four appearances. Bazardo allowed no homers and just three earned runs in his first 19 appearances this season, gave up two homers in four games, then went another 20 games before giving up another long ball.

“A guy going up there just looking for that first pitch heater, and got up one up in the zone and able to put his swing on it,” Wilson said. “That’s going to happen from time to time, we know that”

That one swing from Stewart was enough. Julio Rodríguez doubled with one out in the eighth, but he ended up stranded at third after a pair of ground balls back to the mound.

Cal Raleigh had an RBI single in the second inning and Luke Raley’s two-out, two-run single in the fourth gave the M’s a 3-2 lead. But the M’s had just three base runners over the final five innings.

The M’s have scored three runs or less 53 times this season, fourth most in baseball. The fact they are 15-38 in those games is a credit to their pitching.

The last time Hancock threw was 10 days ago and that start on the road against Tampa Bay lasted all of five outs after he attempted to field a comebacker with his barehand and was lifted in the second inning.

Other than a shaky fourth inning, Hancock didn’t seem bothered by the extended break. His pitch velocity and movement was in line with where it’s been for most of the season.

“When the X-rays came back negative, we were in a good spot. I just kind of gave it a couple days completely off,” Hancock said. “Moved my arm a little bit over the break. When I came back here, my throwing was smooth, like there was no problems at all with it.”

There were a few moments where he wasn’t the sharpest, like the 0-2 cutter to JJ Bleday that fluttered middle of the plate and was deposited into the right-field seats as part of that fourth inning. Hancock also gave up a two-out double to Tyler Stephenson, uncorked a wild pitch and allowed a two-out infield single to former M’s prospect Edwin Arroyo that gave Cincinnati a 2-1 lead.

But Hancock rebounded over his final two innings and needed just 21 pitches to record the final six outs. He desperately wanted a check-swing strikeout of Stephenson on an 0-2 sweeper, but when it was ruled he didn’t swing, Hancock settled for a weak ground out to cap his day.

Even though he isn’t slated to pitch during the Texas series, Hancock grasped the importance of it for his team.

“We have the off-day tomorrow, guys get to reset, and then you have a really big four-game against Texas where we’re ready,” he said. “We’re ready to go in there and compete and that’s where our mindset is right now.”

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