MLB Notes: Disappointing road trip hurts Mariners’ postseason race
When the obituary for the 2016 Mariners’ season is written, this recent hope-shattering trip that started in Chicago and finished in the stifling heat of Texas will be remembered as the wound that may have ultimately led to their demise.
The seven-game foray was filled with missed opportunities and subpar pitching — five of their starters went five innings or less — and several moments that left manager Scott Servais rubbing his head in frustration.
Of the six losses in the seven-game trip, two were one-run heartbreakers, and the other four were not close. In their one win, the Mariners somehow beat Chris Sale despite striking out 14 times.
The overarching theme of the trip was simple: The Mariners didn’t play well.
“Obviously, it’s been a bad trip,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said after Wednesday’s demoralizing 14-1 loss to the Rangers. “This was not an easy week for us. Sometimes we faced a lot of tough pitching, and sometimes we were tough on ourselves. That’s what happens during a baseball season. You have your ebbs and your flows. This was definitely on the negative side.”
On Thursday — a needed off day — the Mariners had a 68-65 record and were four games out of the wild card with the Red Sox, Tigers, Orioles, Astros, Yankees and Royals before them.
Seattle’s wild card projections have plummeted to 4.8 percent on FanGraphs and 9.1 percent on Baseball Prospectus.
“Nobody’s happy,” Servais said. “We are really disappointed. There’s nothing you can do about it. Those games are over, and we have to put them behind us and look forward.”
Walker out for season
Mets second baseman Neil Walker will miss the rest of the season because of surgery for a herniated disk in his back, the latest in a series of severe injuries to strike the defending N.L. champions this year.
Walker made the announcement Thursday before the wild-card contenders played Miami.
“It just wasn’t getting better,” he said.
Had he continued to play, he estimated he would’ve been at “60 percent.” Or, as New York manager Terry Collins said Walker told him Wednesday night, “Not sure I can help.”
Minus Walker, the Mets will use Wilmer Flores and Kelly Johnson at second base. A recent push moved the Mets within 1 1/2 games of St. Louis for the second N.L. wild-card spot.
Trout uninjured from crash
Angels outfielder Mike Trout was involved in a traffic collision Wednesday evening in Orange County but was not injured, according to his agent.
The crash involved three vehicles and occurred about 9 p.m. along the southbound 55 Freeway near McFadden Avenue in Tustin, California, according to police. One person was injured in the crash and was hospitalized.
Clearing the bases
The Indians activated starting pitcher Danny Salazar from the paternity list, included OF Coco Crisp to the active roster after aquiring him on Wednesday in a trade with the Oakland A’s and recalled pitchers Cody Anderson and Joe Colon. Cleveland also promoted utility man Erik Gonzalez and catcher Adam Moore and designated OF Collin Cowgill for assignment. The Indians’ roster now stands at 31 players. … Boston minor league OF Chad Hardy (60 games) and two minor league free-agent pitchers, Julio Lugo (72 games) and Adolfi Telleria (72 games), were suspended for drug violations. … The Cubs expect starter John Lackey to return from a strained right shoulder this weekend. Reliever Hector Rondon (strained right triceps) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Saturday. Reliever Pedro Strop (left knee) tweaked his right groin in a workout on Wednesday and is expected to miss six weeks after initially projecting him to be out four to six following his injury on Aug. 10. The Cubs activated OF Chris Coghlan (ribs) and right-hander Joe Smith (hamstring) from the DL and called up righty Jake Buchanan from Iowa.