Mariners Noon Number: .067

Seattle Mariners designated hitter Nelson Cruz is hitting .067 after his 0 for 3 performance in Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Houston Astros.

Cruz isn’t the only Mariners hitter off to a rough start, obviously. Mitch Haniger, who homered in the win and went 2 for 4, is hitting .188. So is Robinson Cano. Kyle Seager is at .167. And Danny Valencia is hitting a robust .125.

Those numbers are hard to look at.

But one has to wonder about Cruz and Cano in particular. They are the heart of the M’s offense and any noticeable slip in their play is going to raise red flags.

They both participated in the World Baseball Classic instead of getting their reps in with the rest of the team in Arizona, then upon return they both also came down with the galloping crud that went around the clubhouse late in the spring, further hampering their efforts to get ready for the season.

The Mariners have to hope this is just a period where the pitchers are still slightly ahead of the bats of their sluggers and they will round into shape sooner rather than later. Maybe it’ll come over the weekend against the back end of the Los Angeles Angels’ staff. Maybe it’ll coincide with the home opener on Monday.

Either way, it can’t come soon enough for M’s fans.