Mariners Progress Report: Treading Water
By Nick Lee
The Mariners had an abbreviated week with two off days and just five games. Seattle went 2-3 in those games that featured the MLB-worst Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Angels who are treading water just like the Mariners seem to be doing.
Seattle is now 41-42, and 1 1/2 games out of the Wild Card race. The spots are currently occupied by the Yankees and Rays, just so you know who to root against.
Let’s review this week in Mariners baseball.
Hitting: B-
The Mariners averaged 4.2 runs per game this week, a big step back from the averages of the last few weeks when they were around six. This week started badly with two grueling losses to the worst team in baseball, the Phillies. Seattle managed six runs in those two games. They were also shut out in Saturday’s loss to the Angels when they managed a meager three hits.
Jean Segura seems to have come back into form. He hit .409 with a 1.071 OPS during these five games. He homered in Tuesday’s 8-2 loss to Philadelphia.
Robinson Cano seems to be returning to Cano-form has he hit four home runs this week, tied for the most in that time. He also hit .350 with a 1.331 OPS. During the 10-0 win in Anaheim on Friday, Cano blasted two home runs. Ben Gamel was four-for-five with two runs and two RBI. He is currently the American League leader in hitting with a .336 average.
Kyle Seager has awoken from his slumber, hitting .300 in these five games with two home runs.
The Mariners struggled to take advantage of some key situations in their three losses. Danny Valencia struck out 8 times this week while hitting just .222. He did hit a monstrous home run in Wednesday’s loss, however. Nelson Cruz has been nagged by injury and hit just .214 with one extra base hit.
Mitch Haniger has disappeared, amounting just two hits in 19 at-bats with six strikeouts.
Pitching: B
Seattle posted a 3.20 ERA during the five games. James Paxton made two starts, allowing a total of four runs in 13 1/3 innings and 12 strikeouts. His batting average against was .143 in those two outings as he seems to be returning to his pre-DL form.
Felix Hernandez made his second start since coming off of the disabled list. He went six innings in Wednesday’s loss to the Phillies. He allowed three runs and struck out five and was in line for the win before an Edwin Diaz meltdown in the ninth.
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Sam Gaviglio continues to hold down the fort, going 6 1/3 innings in the shutout loss to the Angels on Saturday. He allowed three runs and made his fourth quality start.
Ariel Miranda once again proved reliable as he threw seven innings of shutout, two-hit ball in Friday’s win. He leads all Mariners starters with seven quality starts.
The bullpen was less than stellar this week. Diaz blew a 4-3 lead in Wednesday’s loss to Philly. He allowed six total runs and two homers in three appearance. Nick Vincent allowed two earned runs in two outings along with four hits, as hitters batted .571 against him. The bright spots in the ‘pen were a steady James Pazos and the young Max Povse. Povse pitched two scoreless innings in his lone outing this week.
Defense/Baserunning: C+
The Mariners committed two errors this week. They both just happened to come in the 8-2 breakdown against Philadelphia. Those errors by Mitch Haniger and Diaz cost the M’s four runs. They are now at +4 Defensive Runs Saved, sitting at 14th in baseball. The M’s also stole just two bases in three tries as Jarrod Dyson and Segura swiped bags. Seattle comes in at 9th in all of baseball with 50 steals.
Next: Mariners Mid-Season Awards