Mariners have no answers in 6-0 loss to Tigers

George Kirby has one of his worst outings of 2023 and Mariners are limited to three hits, as they lose series to Tigers with a game to spare.

Things were looking so good for the Mariners a an fterimpressive run of results versus the Rays, Giants and Astros. They entered the All-Star Break in a decent position, finally appearing ready to start winning more consistently.

With the duel boost of three All-Stars selections and the Midsummer Classic being held in Seattle, the Mariners were in a good place. Coming out of the break with a three-game series versus the Tigers, now was the time for them to strike.

So of course, the Mariners did what they have done repeatedly throughout their history. With everything set up for them to succeed, they failed.

Losing one game against a poor opponent – it happens. However, you shouldn’t be losing a series versus this Tigers team, especially not if you’re serious about challenging for the playoffs.

Yet that’s exactly what has happened with a game to spare, as the Mariners were blanked 6-0 by the Tigers on Saturday evening. Seattle yet again falls below .500 — this time at 45-46 — and find themselves 5.0 games out of the final wild card spot in the AL.

Mariners manager Scott Servais tried to be his usual positive self postgame, but some of his comments were tough to agree with. He said:

“We just lost two in a row. At some point in the second half, we’re going to lose two in a row. Our team has a history of responding, coming back and fighting. That’s what we have to do tomorrow. We played two bad games. At another point down the road in August or September, we’re probably going to play two bad games again. It happens.”

The thing is, at some point losing two games in a row should not include right at the start of the second half of the season. Plus, if the Mariners are putting two consecutive bad performances together come crunch time, this would be alarming for a team fighting for their playoff lives.

Kirby just not at the races

There was plenty of blame to go around in Saturday’s game, a true team effort, but not in the way fans would hope. It started with George Kirby, who had one of his poorest outings of the season.

Kirby appeared out of sorts from the get-go. And yet, as bad as it was, it seemed like he was going to escape the fifth trailing just 2-0.

With two outs however, the 25-year-old gave up a rare walks. This was quickly followed by a single to make it 3-0 to Detroit, but it still wasn’t over.

Kerry Carpenter hammered what was effectively the final nail into the coffin, with a three-run blast. At 6-0 down after five, this signaled the end of Kirby’s day.

The righty finished with eight hits and six earned runs, which were the second-most he’d allowed all season. He also only managed four strikeouts.

Clearly this wasn’t what Kirby or the Mariners expected, coming off his first ever All-Star appearance. In addition, his past two outings had been masterpieces, versus the Rays and Astros respectively.

The Rye, New York native was under no illusion about how poorly he pitched. He said:

“I just didn’t think I really executed well tonight. I kind of left a lot of things down the middle. My two-strike execution wasn’t great.”

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Mariners match a season-low on offense

As mentioned already, there was plenty of blame to go around. As too often has been the case this season, the bats struggled.

In fact, at one point the Mariners were being no-hit by the Tigers, who recently achieved this versus a Blue Jays team with a more potent offense. Fortunately for the team, they were finally able to get a hit by Jarred Kelenic in the bottom of the fifth.

Not that this opened the floodgates or anything of that nature. Although the Mariners did manufacture six walks on the night, they only managed another two hits after Kelenic’s single.

A crestfallen Servais unusually didn’t even attempt to look for a silver lining, with the three hits matching a season-low. He said:

“We’re not swinging the bat – it’s as simple as that. You’ve got to have more competitive at-bats, and we just got nothing going tonight.”

Essentially the only unit which deserved any credit was the bullpen, which didn’t allow any more runs. Justin Topa, Tayler Saucedo and Isaiah Campbell combined to pitch 4.0 innings, giving up just one hit and a walk in the process.

The epitome of a .500 ballclub

Servais was frustrated about the team’s continued inability to put together more consistency. He said:

“We just can’t sustain it. I thought the break was coming actually at a good time. I thought it gave (the players) a chance to kind of recharge and get back at it. Obviously (though), we have not come back after anything.”

As much as Kirby struggled one night after Luis Castillo’s own issues, overall the Mariners’ pitching and defense is not the issue. They’ve allowed the fourth-fewest runs in the Majors, while the offense is tied just 17th in scoring.

A playoff spot is still within reasonable touching-distance. It won’t matter however, if the Mariners continue to hover around the .500 mark.

Pure and simply, the Mariners have got to get their act together soon. Starting with avoiding the sweep on Sunday afternoon, when they send out Bryce Miller, who has just been activated from the injured list.

Admittedly a recurring question, but where is your confidence level at with the Mariners? Do you still see them genuinely competing for a playoff spot, or are they destined to remain a .500 team all season? Let us know in the comments section below.