Manager Scott Servais learned of his Mariners firing in brutal way

Scott Servais was officially fired by the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, and the manager learned of the news in a rough way.

A report earlier on Thursday circulated saying that the Mariners were expected to fire Servais and replace him at manager with Dan Wilson.

It wasn’t until a few hours later that Servais was scheduled to meet with Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto to officially learn of his firing.

Learning through a media report that you have been fired rather than from the team is always tough. But sometimes the story leaks to the media first.

The Mariners had the day off Thursday, which made it a convenient day to make the managerial change. The team is 64-64, which had them five games behind Houston for first in the AL West entering the day.

The Mariners had spent much of the year — and the whole month of June — in first place. But losing eight of their last nine may have contributed to the decision to make a change.