Mariners fire manager Scott Servais amid AL West slide #marinersbaseball #mariners #firered #mlb

The Seattle Mariners, in desperate need of a spark with their season slipping away, fired longtime manager Scott Servais on Thursday. Dan Wilson, the longtime Mariners catcher who had been serving as a coordinator in the organization's minor league system, will replace him.

The decision was made by Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto -- a longtime friend of Servais -- in the wake of a three-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving the team eight losses in nine games. Seattle held a 10-game lead in the American League West as recently as June 18 and has since gone 20-33, falling five games behind the Houston Astros with only 34 remaining.

"Where we were in the middle of June and where we are today -- it's hard to believe, actually, how quickly it all dissolved for us," Dipoto said on a videoconference call.