THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: M's getting a dose of winning baseball, at their expense

Sometimes, it isn’t meant to be.

Scott Servais said if he faced THAT situation again, he wouldn’t let Yordan Alvarez beat him.

So, in a totally different situation …

Alvarez beat him anyway.

I swear this guy is the Ghost of Willie McCovey.

He looks like Mac, hits like him and even wears the same No. 44.

It was no shock to anyone when Alvarez, so far hitless against Luis Castillo — who was absolutely dealing — reached out for an up-and-away fastball with a man on and two gone in the sixth.

And hit it FAR up and away into the left field seats, erasing a 2-1 Seattle lead.

Irony: With Seattle still trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth, runner on first and two out, Servais at last did walk Alvarez intentionally.

Alex Bregman promptly whacked a run-scoring single off Andres Munoz to wrap up Houston’s 4-2 victory Thursday afternoon — and basically put the Mariners at the bottom of a deep, deep well heading into Saturday's Game 3 at T-Mobile Park.

At least the first playoff game in Seattle for 21 years should be fun, a loud and long celebration of a really fun team.

THESE TWO games at Minute Maid Park, though …

No fun.

Here’s how you know it’s not yet your year to dethrone the Astros.

The Mariners had two on and two out in the seventh, when Eugenio Suarez totally crushed a liner toward the left-field corner.

Unfortunately, Alvarez — who else? — made a racing, lunging catch that prevented a two-run double and Seattle going up 4-3.

Then in the ninth, it got worse.

Houston closer Ryan Pressly hadn’t pitched in 10 days, and he was rusty, walking Adam Frazier on four pitches to open the inning.

J.P. Crawford then hit a total bullet toward the right-field corner — which, oops, wound up in the glove of first baseman Yuli Gurriel for an easy double play.

Naturally, Julio Rodriguez followed with a double off the wall in left-center.

Naturally.

Likewise, naturally, Ty France next struck out on a slider that bounced on the plate to end the game.

Over these two demoralizing losses, the one recurring theme (besides Alvarez) was the Mariners’ inability to retire rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena when it really mattered.

In each case, it brought Alvarez to the plate with the chance to wreak two-out havoc.

In the ninth on Tuesday, Paul Sewald floated a two-strike slider to Pena, who could have been the game’s final out.

Instead, Pena served it gently to center — and we know what happened after that.

In the fateful sixth on Tuesday, Castillo had Pena fooled, but the kid reached out and pushed a looping single to center.

That set the table for Alvarez’ blast.

Even in the eighth, Munoz walked Pena with two out ahead of Alvarez, leading to the intentional walk and Bregman’s RBI single.

THE ODD thing was that perennial All-Star Jose Altuve, leading off ahead of Pena, was retired in every one of those situations.

I mean, if you can silence Altuve (Sewald struck him out with a high fastball), can nobody get Pena?

Maybe it’s his approach, which is beyond his years.

“I’m just trying to get the baton to the big man, and let him do his thing,” Pena said.

He did.

And Alvarez has.

There’s one more talking point from Game 2 that needs to be mentioned.

Look, I admire Julio as much as anyone, but he screwed up on Pena’s pop single to center that preceded the Alvarez bomb.

The ball stayed in the air so long that Frazier got near it after a long run from the infield.

Rodriguez was not playing deep, and he had TONS of time to hustle in and put that bloop away.

If he’d caught it, Seattle stays ahead 2-1 and Alvarez leads off the seventh.

But Julio pulled up on the play, perhaps thinking that Frazier would make it.

You learn in Little League that infielders go out until they hear an outfielder call them off.

Rodriguez had time, space and speed to call off Frazier and end the inning.

He didn’t, and the Astros made the Mariners pay.

This ALDS isn’t technically over, although the chance that the Mariners can beat a 106-win team three straight times is pretty dim.

If this ends as seems destined, however, the lesson is clear …

Seattle has closed the gap.

A lot.

But to take the next step, the Mariners have to convert these critical plays — the ones that Houston makes.

Meantime, let’s have a hoot at T-Mobile on Saturday.

Play ball.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”