Seattle’s slumping offense on historic pace for strikeouts
SEATTLE – For a moment, a breakthrough looked possible for the Mariners’ offense.
Remember that last week? The Mariners salvaged the final game of their series against the New York Yankees with a 10-run outburst, and then scored 13 runs the next night to open a series in Baltimore.
Feels like ages ago now, doesn’t it?
The Mariners lost their final two games in Baltimore, then came home to lose two of three to the lowly Washington Nationals.
The past week is representative of the season at large.
Two steps forward, three steps back.
One step forward, one step back into a bottomless abyss.
They’re 38-41 and staring straight ahead at the most daunting portion of their schedule, with three games against the Tampa Bay Rays (56-28), three at the San Francisco Giants (45-35) and four at the Houston Astros (43-37) to close out the first half of the season.
“We need to turn it. What’s going to turn it? That’s the question, right? That’s the magical question,” manager Scott Servais said after the 4-1 loss to the Nationals on Wednesday. “How do you get it going back in the right direction? And it’s really coming in, doing your job, competing your tail off and finding a way.”
Over the past few weeks, Servais had been pushing his hitters to make a more concerted effort to cut down on strikeouts, to chase fewer pitches out of the zone, to put the ball in play more, to take a few more walks.
There were times when it looked like the new approach was starting to click. Baby steps, at least.
But the final two games against the Nationals were a significant regression. The Mariners, most notably, struck out 11 times and didn’t take a single walk against a starting pitcher (Patrick Corbin) who has been among the worst in baseball the past three seasons.
The Mariners are on pace to set a franchise record for strikeouts. Their 771 strikeouts through 79 games rank more than a full-season total of five teams in club history.
At the rate they’re going, they’ll surpass the 1,581 strikeouts from the 2019 Mariners.
Only the Twins (27.1%) have struck out more often this season than the Mariners (25.8%).
While Servais had seen some encouraging signs of progress the past few weeks, the Mariners are actually striking out at a higher rate in June (26.4%).
Teoscar Hernandez, even during a torrid June, continues to lead MLB in strikeouts (with 107 entering Friday).
Jarred Kelenic (100), Eugenio Suarez (95) and Julio Rodriguez (91) all rank in the top 12 in the majors.
Stat of the week
The top four hitters in the lineup on Wednesday combined to go 0 for 16 with six strikeouts.
Prospect watch
Gabriel Gonzalez, a 19-year-old outfielder from Venezuela, has a .343/.394/.490 (.884 OPS) slash line in 251 at-bats for Class A Modesto, with five home runs, 18 doubles, two triples, 42 RBIs and seven steals (in seven tries). Gonzalez is ranked as the Mariners’ No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Who’s hot
Rookie Ty Adcock has pitched 9⅓ scoreless innings out of the M’s bullpen since making his MLB debut on June 12. In seven appearances, he has allowed just three hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
Who’s not
Kelenic has struck out in 33 of 72 plate appearance this month, with a .167/.307/.278 (.585 OPS) slash line, one home run, three doubles, one triple and nine RBIs.