Mariners Swept by Tigers, Fall Below .500

The Mariners lost all 4 games to Detroit this past series and fall below .500 in the process.

Game 1 was an extra inning loss that ended with a Justin Upton walkoff home run off of Vidal Nuno to give the Tigers an 8-7 victory. Kyle Seager and Adam Lind each homered for the Mariners and Nathan Karns was once again unable to throw more than 5 innings as he allowed 5 runs over those 5 innings of work. Detroit was led by 2 home runs off the bat of Justin Upton, and a Miguel Cabrera blast that exited Comerica Park.

James Paxton got the starting nod for game number 2 and gave up 4 runs on 11 hits over 7 ⅓ innings pitched. Other than a Kyle Seager 2 run blast, the Mariners struggled with men on base, going 0-8 with runners in scoring position and getting only 10 baserunners the entire game. The final score was 4-2 in Detroit’s favor, led by 7 strong innings from Justin Verlander who gave up just the 2 runs.

Hisashi Iwakuma got roughed up early and often in game 3 of the series and was unable to get through the 5th inning before Scott Servais went to left Mike Montgomery for the remainder of the game. Iwakuma went 4 ⅔ innings and gave up 5 runs on 11 hits. Montgomery was very strong in long relief, going 3 ⅓ innings and giving up just 1 hit. Despite not getting a long outing from their starter, Detroit’s pitching was outstanding as they got 4 ⅔ innings from their bullpen who did not allow a baserunner. The Mariners got just 3 hits and 1 walk on the day, all off of Detroit’s starter Michael Fulmer. Detroit won 5-1 and got 2 home runs from Steven Moya.

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Trying to avoid the sweep, Scott Servais went to recent call up Adrian Sampson, who ended up being a late scratch due to elbow soreness, thus Vidal Nuno got the spot start and gave up all 4 of the Tiger’s runs in 3 ⅓ innings. The rest of the Seattle bullpen pitched well for the most part, giving up just 4 hits the remainder of the game, including Tom Wilhelmsen, who recently resigned with the club. The main hiccup was Steve Cishek, who walked 3 batters in his 1 ⅓ innings of work, and threw a wild pitch which allowed the winning run to score in the bottom of the 10th inning. The final score was 5-4 and all 4 of the Seattle runs were via solo home runs. Nelson Cruz hit 2 home runs, Chris Iannetta and Leonys Martin each added a solo shot of their own. Detroit got 2 of their runs from a 2 run shot by catcher James McCann in the 4th inning.

Looking forward, the Mariners have a tough weekend series as they host the St. Louis Cardinals. They have fallen below .500 after being 10 games over that mark at one point, and the injuries are piling up on the pitching end, and the offense did not have a great series when runners were in scoring position. They still have not won a series this month, and if the Mariners are going to end their playoff drought and make the playoffs for the first time since 2001, things better turn around quickly.

Other Notes:

The Mariners acquired veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc from Toronto, and with the injuries to the starting rotation, expect to see him pitching very soon.

As mentioned earlier, Tom Wilhelmsen resigned and is with the major league ball club after having a terrible start to his season in Texas.

Outfielder Boog Powell, one of the Mariners’ top prospects who has been playing for the AAA Tacoma Rainiers was suspended 80 games on Thursday by the MLB for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Next: Three Mariners Trade Targets

Question For The Readers:
The trade deadline will be here before we know it. Based on what you’ve seen, should the Mariners be buyers or sellers at the deadline? If they’re selling, who do you trade? And if they’re buyers, what position or positions are the priority to upgrade?

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