Despite taking series off Astros, Mariners still struggling with bats
Even with a victory and a rare series win against their American League West nemesis, the Houston Astros, the celebratory vibe was somewhat tempered for the Mariners following Sunday’s 3-1 victory.
The frustration concerning an offense that has produced more starts, stops and irritation than rush-hour traffic around Puget Sound can still be felt.
The Mariners racked up 11 hits, worked four walks, had a batter hit by a pitch and another reach by an error and still only had three runs to show for it. They were an abysmal 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 runners on base.
While they only struck out six times, which is far less than usual, three came with runners in scoring position.
“We did some good things, offensively,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We created a ton of traffic out there. Unfortunately, getting those guys in has been a struggle. We’ve got some work to do.”
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After Sunday’s game, the Mariners have 338 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, producing 107 runs with a .246/.362/.402 slash line, a 14.4% walk rate while striking out 23.4% of the time.
They have scored 148 runs in 34 games and are averaging 4.4 runs per game. But 39 of those runs have come in four games, meaning they are averaging 3.5 runs in the other 31 games.
The Mariners have struck out 329 times, which is third most in MLB behind the Giants (344) and Twins (336) and have a .226/.306/.379 slash line as a team.
“We have to get better,” Servais said. “We can’t strike out this much and survive and get to where we ultimately want to go here by the end of the year. It’s a constant grind, working in the cage, talking to guys, trying to slow them down, ease the effort of what we’re putting into [a swing]. Still guys get away from themselves at times, but we’re moving in the right direction there.”
Julio Rodriguez has been one of those guys trying to get going in the right direction. He hit a mammoth solo homer in his second at-bat of the game to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead. It was his first homer since April 26.
Admittedly, this hasn’t been the start he wanted to his season either.
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He now has a .216/.286/.410 slash line with six doubles, a triple, six homers, 15 RBI, 11 walks and 40 strikeouts on the season.
“I just feel like we’re not playing good,” he said. “We’re playing head-to-head with pretty much everybody, but we’re still not playing our best baseball. All of the guys in the clubhouse know it. As the season keeps going by, we’re going to start seeing what the Mariners are really capable of.”
Rodriguez has been frustrated with his own performance. He expects more from himself.
“I feel like everybody got to hold themself to a higher standard because if we’re losing, if we’re not doing good and we keep doing the same thing, we’re going to keep losing if we don’t have a good process,” he said. “Everybody in that clubhouse holds themselves to a higher standard when things are not going our way. We have to stay committed to our plan and just know that we’re putting in the right effort into what matters.”
Caballero causes a confrontation
Benches cleared in the fourth inning when Jose Caballero and Astros catcher Martin Maldonado exchanged pleasantries at home plate. It was mostly jawing with no punches thrown. But the animosity between the two teams is real.
Caballero took exception to starter Brandon Bielak coming to the set position from the stretch before he looked up at the pitcher, which is a pitch-clock violation. Bielak and Maldonado didn’t like how Caballero waited right until the eight second deadline to look up, allowing a pitcher to throw.
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“I told him to get the [expletive] back in the box,” Maldonado told Houston reporters.
Much to Servais’ delight, Caballero didn’t back down from the veteran catcher, whose nickname is Machete.
“Cabby is really savvy on how to use the clock,” Servais said. “He doesn’t like the pitcher out there holding the ball on him. He likes to slow it down. Per the rule, you’ve got to have your head up at eight seconds or earlier, but Cabby doesn’t usually lift his head up right away. He’ll be in the box, but his head is down until he gets to about 10 or nine on the clock, which is perfectly legal. It’s different. The Astros didn’t like it. Whatever. I love it. Since Cabby showed up here, he’s played with some edge. He plays the game his way. It’s perfectly legal. It’s just different. And I had no problem with it, others did. But I love the way he’s playing right now.”
Wong’s wrist is hurting
Kolten Wong was removed from Saturday night’s win because of a sore left wrist. The incident happened in the fifth inning when he made a diving stop on a ground ball off the bat of Mauricio Dubon.
When Wong’s glove hit the ground, he rolled over the top of it and felt his wrist “stretch” and it go numb.
He finished the inning and struck out in the bottom of the fifth with the wrist clearly bothering him.
Wong said he would be ready to go with a few days of treatment and strong tape job on the wrist.
It’s a disappointing delay for the Mariners since Wong was starting to produce at the plate thanks to getting rid of his high front-leg kick on his swing and simplifying it. Over his last eight games, Wong has a .385/.429/.462 slash line with 10 hits in 28 plate appearances.
Source: The Seattle Times
