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Seattle Mariners

Dee Gordon helps Mariners subdue Angels for 5-0 victory

Seattle’s Kyle Seager is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring on a single by Dee Gordon during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday in Anaheim, Calif. (Mark J. Terrill / AP)
Seattle’s Kyle Seager is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring on a single by Dee Gordon during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday in Anaheim, Calif. (Mark J. Terrill / AP)
By Ryan Divish Seattle Times

ANAHEIM, Calif. – By multiple measures – statistics, performance and comfort – the 2018 season has been anything but normal for Dee Gordon. His batting average has fallen to around .260-270, his on-base percentage is below .300, he’s been playing hurt for most of the season while never being quite sure which position will be next to his name on the lineup card.

Acquired before the season and asked to convert from second base, where he was an All-Star and Gold Glove winner with the Marlins, to center field, Gordon embraced it despite the unfamiliarity.

When Robinson Cano accepted an 80-game suspension in mid-May, Gordon was asked to move back to second despite not working at his old position once during spring.

When Cano came back, Gordon was asked to play second base, center field and shortstop, all while dealing with a broken toe that he suffered May 9 and wouldn’t completely heal until he stops playing in games.

But as the 2018 season nears its end, Gordon is still out there playing hard and trying to salvage a strong finish to the marathon much like his team. It was evident in the Mariners’ 5-0 win over the Angels on Friday night.

With the win, Seattle improves to 81-66 on the season. Another win and the Mariners will have a winning season, which is a forgettable tradeoff for failing to make the postseason.

Besides making a possible highlight reel catch against the wall in center field, Gordon also had a key two-run single to push a close game into a comfortable win.

With Gordon under contract for the next two seasons and earning more than $13 million in each of them, the Mariners are committed to him as an investment, unless general manager Jerry Dipoto plans to trade him with his value at its lowest. So getting Gordon back to his career numbers in 2019 and perhaps some level of stability in the field is paramount.

After being held hitless against Matt Shoemaker for the first three innings, the Mariners broke though in the fourth. Mitch Haniger led off with a single and advanced to second on a wayward pickoff throw from Shoemaker. Jean Segura singled to move Haniger to third and Cano followed with a crisp single to drive in the first run of the game.

Later in the inning with two outs and runners on second and third, Ryon Healy pulled a ground ball through the left side to score both runners, giving Seattle a 3-0 lead.

The Mariners saved a run in the bottom of the inning when Gordon, playing in the 45th game of his career in center field, made an awkward but effective leaping catch up against the wall, taking away a possible homer or extra-base hit from Mike Trout.

For the brief period early in the season when Gordon was a full-time center fielder, he struggled with making catches near or against the wall. His past frustrations and failures at that inability was evident as he sat on the warning track with the ball in his glove, saying, “I did it,” and doing a little happy dance.

Seattle pushed the lead to 5-0 in the seventh. Healy drew a leadoff walk, Kyle Seager hammered a double into the right-field corner and Gordon scored them both with a crisp single into to left off hard-throwing reliever Hansel Robles.