Mariners complete impressive sweep of the Texas Rangers

3) Offense continues gradual improvement

Perspective can be a tricky thing at times, with the Mariners’ offense being a good example to portray this. By most measures, they are essentially as poor as they were just under three weeks ago.

At that time, after being swept in Los Angeles, Seattle ranked dead last for batting average (.204) and OBP (.281). They also ranked 24th for slugging percentage (.364) and 29th for OPS (.645).

Now compare this to the conclusion of the sweep of the Rangers, with the Mariners actually in a slightly worse overall position. As of Monday morning, they rank last for batting average (.205), OBP (.281) and OPS (.644); even their slugging percentage has gone down to 26th (.362).

Despite this, it genuinely feels as if the offense has improved of late, although this could well just be because Seattle has actually started winning regularly again. In addition, we appreciate the pitching has played a significant role over the course of the last seven games.

However, for all their lowly offensive rankings, a couple of areas where the Mariners haven’t been quite as bad are in drawing walks and — most importantly –actually scoring. In these two categories, they rank 16th and 21st respectively.

On a individual level during the Rangers series specifically, Mitch Haniger continued with the consistency he has shown all season. Interestingly though, it tells you how productive he’s been, when four combined hits and two RBI is almost considered an underachievement for him.

This is not meant to take anything away from what Haniger did do during the Texas series however, as he continued on his path to a likely All-Star selection. His best game came on Saturday, when he provided two key hits and his team-leading 14th home run of the year.

Kyle Lewis had a late beginning to his season, while recovering from a deep bone bruise on his right knee. As such, his slow start was not unexpected, going hitless in his first two games and ending April with a .161 batting average.

However, Lewis has been on fire since the calendar turned to May, hitting .275 with one day remaining in the month and seeing his overall batting average climb to .246. It’s fair to say his offense is now back close to last year’s level and still has room to improve further.

Against Texas, the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year totaled four hits and two RBI, including a couple of hits and a key home run on Saturday night. Barring injury, he will more than likely set new single-season highs in several categories, including home runs and RBI specifically.

As we’ve written time and time again, Ty France is the best natural hitter on the roster and he proved it once again versus the Rangers. In the four games combined he had five hits and four RBI, including two hits and three RBI in the series finale.

France has excelled since returning from injury, safely reaching base in all seven games. In the process his batting average has jumped from .229 to .252, while also leading the team with a .346 OBP.

Following Sunday’s game, France talked about the need for patience when it comes to the offense and the team in general. Speaking to the media, he said:

“It’s not the 60-game sprint we had last year. It’s a full 162 and there’s never any panic.

“We’ve got to just ride the waves. We had a little down stretch, but the pitchers are coming out doing a great job and the bats are coming alive.”

As much as we agree in general about being patient and not panicking, there is still some minor concern surrounding Jarred Kelenic. While he did draw two walks and score a run against the Rangers, he was hitless in the series.

Since producing three hits in his second game at the Major League level, Kelenic has seen his batting average drop all the way down to .123. As a result, he is now lowest in this category among regular starters on the team.

We appreciate it’s still extremely early in a career full of potential, but it’s possible the 21-year-old is feeling the pressure to perform, no matter how confident he is in himself. We would consider sitting him for a few games, just to rest and reset if nothing else.

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