THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Sometimes, you just have to shake your head about these Mariners

Yeah, I know.

It’s 162 games, and things should all even out.

But sometimes, just shaking your head and saying, “We’ll get the next one,” just doesn’t do it.

The hot and homesick Mariners lost a game Wednesday that — OK, for just a minute — felt like that playoff loss in Houston last fall, when Yordan Alvarez bombed a three-run homer off Robbie Ray in the bottom of the ninth.

This 5-4, 10-inning loss to the woebegone White Sox was maddening, frustrating and painful for completely different reasons.

Seattle is in a three-way battle with Texas and Houston for the AL West title, and the Mariners have played every bit well enough to think they can win it.

They just finished an 8-2 road trip that started with a bizarre late loss in Kansas City and wrapped up with the Sox getting the winning run when a throw bounced off Tim Anderson’s head.

Well, his helmet, but with Anderson — fresh off a five-game suspension for getting knocked out in a fight with Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez — it might not make any difference.

MAYBE we should have seen this nutty loss coming.

The Mariners have won 16 of their last 20 games, and of the four losses, three were in extra innings (including Wednesday in Chicago) and the other came in the bottom of the ninth against the Royals.

Oh, and the Mariners rallied from nowhere to take a 6-5 lead in the ninth that night in Kansas City — then rose again from the hot, soggy dead (99 humid degrees) to grab a lead with three in the ninth Wednesday, with Eugenio Suarez driving home the last two with a single for a 4-3 lead.

There must be some logical reason why the Mariners, who led the majors in one-run victories each of the past two years, are 18-23 in that category this season.

And despite that dominant bullpen, they’re 6-12 in extra innings.

How can it happen?

Well, after that amazing rally — after a day of helplessness against Sox pitchers whose combined ERAs might be larger than the gross national product of Belgium — the M’s left the bases loaded in the ninth.

They did it again in the 10th, with Julio Rodriguez (back after a day of stomach upset) getting a great pitch to hit and popping it up.

You can say that’s just crazy, but it’s also baseball.

I’ve been on some weird plane rides home with MLB teams (football and hoops, too), and I can’t even fathom how the Mariners felt on this one.

Hopefully, they were so exhausted from the heat that most of them slept all the way to Sea-Tac.

Happily, Scott Servais’ exhausted bunch gets a day off before entertaining those same pesky Royals on Friday night.

Kansas City comes to town with a record of 41-88, but they made life miserable for the Mariners a week ago despite losing three of four.

Not only that, but the Royals will open with ace Brady Singer, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning the last time the Mariners saw him.

After Seattle plays three with KC at what should be a rocking T-Mobile Park, Oakland (36-91) visits for three more.

THIS IS a stretch in which the Mariners had hoped to gain serious ground on Texas and Houston — and to be fair, they’ve certainly done that.

You want more weirdness?

Seattle has had TWO eight-game winning streaks in August.

That’s got to close a few gaps.

But my goodness, the ones that got away!

It was almost appropriate that the Sox scored the winner when catcher Cal Raleigh picked off “ghost runner” Anderson at second.

With no place else to go, Anderson took off for third.

J.P. Crawford’s throw should have racked up an easy out, but it tailed a little, conked Anderson on the coconut and bounced a few miles toward Lake Michigan.

Anderson, by the way, is so unpopular with his own teammates that there was only a modest celebration when he scored.

If you’re looking for any actual problems for the M’s here, the closest might be Anthony Munoz’ inability to close out the ninth with that one-run lead.

Andrew Benintendi’s sharp double tied the game, and frankly, you could sense what was coming after that.

The good news is that the Mariners are still within hailing distance of the Rangers and Astros.

Plus, thank heaven for off days.

And slightly cooler temps.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

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