Mariners searching for a boost after being swept in Los Angeles

2) Offense reverts to previous struggles

There was some encouragement for the Mariners’ bats in the previous series against the Rangers, despite losing two of the three games. With 18 combined runs, it appeared the offense might be finally headed in the right direction.

Unfortunately for Seattle, the hitting woes which have plagued them most of the season returned with a vengeance in Los Angeles. The four runs in the first game came on just four hits, while they managed only two hits and one run on Wednesday.

We appreciate some credit must go to the two Dodgers starts, with Walker Buehler and Julio Urias both delivering fine performances. However, it’s still tough not to be concerned about how lackluster the Mariners’ offense has been overall through 37 games.

Whichever metric you decide to use, the chances are it makes for grim reading. Entering Thursday’s action, Seattle is dead last in the Majors with a team batting average of .204. (The Indians are second-worst, at .209.)

The Mariners are also ranked 30th with a .281 OBP. (The Detroit Tigers are next at .285.) Their slugging percentage isn’t quite as dire at .364 (24th), although this does little to help their OPS, which ranks 29th at .645.

For the ball club as a whole this has resulted in a -23 run differential, which is seventh-worst in the Majors. When you consider the Mariners’ overall record of 18-19, this speaks to the efforts of the pitching and defense.

As is often the case with baseball, these things even themselves out over the course of a season. However, whereas some fans fear this means the offense could become even worse, we believe the opposite will occur.

Understandably, there is genuine hope Kelenic will provide a spark with his bat. When adding him to the current lineup, there is every reason for optimism about what is conceivable.

We recently wrote about J.P. Crawford’s improvement as this season has progressed. In addition, Kyle Lewis continues to return to form after recovering from the injury which caused him to miss the start of this year.

Kyle Seager is traditionally a slow starter, but has bucked this trend in 2021; all the Mariners need now is for him to be as good as he usually is later on in the season. As for Ty France, it is clear to everyone that he can just plain hit

The most consistent/best hitter on the Mariners however, has been Mitch Hainger. Following Wednesday’s games, he leads the ball club in hits, batting average, home runs and RBIs.

Due to Haniger’s play so far this season, there has been talk about moving him before the trade deadline. However, this should not be a forgone conclusion, with him highlighting his importance to Seattle in the first game against the Dodgers.

Yes, the Mariners ultimately lost 6-4, but only after the 30-year-old put them in position to win on a day when most of the other bats struggled. He accounted for half of the ball club’s four hits, while his two home runs tied him for first in the American League at 10 (one behind the overall lead).

The effort represented the third multi-homer game of Haniger’s career. Servais discussed the outfielder’s play with the media after the game:

“[Mitch] looks great. Working his tail off and looks like he always had (prior to his injury), so really excited about the start he’s had to our season.”

We appreciate the Mariners do still need to see more from others — such as Evan White — but there is enough talent in the lineup. It’s now just a case of following Haniger’s lead and showing more consistency.

NEXT: ENCOURAGING START QUICKLY GOES AWRY