LOS ANGELES — Coming off a dreadful stretch of baseball, and entering a daunting series on the road against the two-time reigning World Series champions, the Mariners came to historic Dodger Stadium approaching oh-boy, how-ugly-can-this-get territory.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Mariners, it appears, are ending their experiment with the piggyback pitching plan.

ARLINGTON, Texas – It was the worst time for George Kirby to have his worst start of the season.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Brendan Donovan, the Mariners’ opening-day leadoff hitter, is scheduled to meet with the club’s medical staff for a physical evaluation Monday in Seattle to determine next steps in his return from a groin strain.

ARLINGTON, Texas – What a swing.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Hands on his hips, Bryan Woo lingered in the middle of the pitcher’s mound, looking out toward center field with a stilted blank stare after allowing a fifth run early in Saturday’s game.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Not the offensive resurgence they’ve been desperately seeking.

SEATTLE – Hours before the 161st game of another unsatisfying season, Jerry Dipoto sat on a wooden bench in the first-base dugout at T-Mobile Park. It was Sept. 28, 2024, and the Mariners were set to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season. The club’s president of baseball operations acknowledged that “we’re having a tough time figuring out how to climb the wall from a good team to a very good team or a great team.”

SEATTLE – An offensive malaise that has defined the Mariners’ season has reached a nadir over the past month.

It came on the first pitch on the fifth plate appearance of the seventh inning. A 98-mph fastball from Eduard Bazardo that Reds first baseman Sal Stewart scorched over the wall in right center field.

The first homestand coming out of the All-Star break for the Mariners started with a dud and ended on a similar sour note.