Mariners offensive struggles loom large in 2-0 loss to Orioles

It just seems like no matter what the Seattle Mariners do, nothing has been able to improve their lineup production or lack thereof.

We’re at a stage now, where you can no longer say it’s still early, or that the Mariners lineup is just having a minor blip. Pure and simple, the offensive aspect of this ball club is being just that – offensive.

The decision to part company with Brant Brown as offensive coordinator and bench coach hasn’t helped. While there was a temporary jump in offensive production, it’s ultimately been proven the issue goes much deeper and is extremely concerning.

At the time of writing, the Mariners are ranked dead last in hits, doubles and batting average. They rank first for most strikeouts, an area which was worked on after similar struggles last year, and has actually gotten even worse.

The Mariners are also ranked tied 24th in OBP, tied 26th in slugging percentage and 27th in OPS. And most importantly of all, they are ranked just 27th in the Majors in scoring.

More of the same versus the Orioles

It doesn’t matter how good your pitching is — and we appreciate the Mariners rotation is one of the very best — if you can’t score any runs. This very issue reared its ugly head yet again on Tuesday night, versus a Baltimore Orioles ball club at the top of the AL East and leading the Majors in scoring.

The Mariners pitching more than did its job despite the size of the task at hand, in holding the Orioles to just two runs at T-Mobile Park. George Kirby excelled once more, and along with the bullpen they limited the visitors to nine hits, a couple of walks and the aforementioned two runs.

However, as has been the case far too often with the Mariners, their own lineup struggled mightily. All they could do was produce two hits and manufacture four walks, as they did not score a single run and subsequently lost 2-0.

Cal Raleigh, who to be fair is always as honest as he can be, didn’t try to hide the offensive issues when speaking to the media postgame. He said:

“I feel like it’s not a lack of trying or anything like that. It’s just frustrating and kind of lingering a little bit, but it’s how the season goes. We’ve just got to keep going. We can’t give up now. You’ve got to keep digging through it and fight your way out of it.”

Mariners manager Scott Servais was also at a struggle to explain the lack of offensive production. He said:

“Baltimore has got a good club, we know that. These games are going to be tight. We’ve got to figure out a way to get the big hit late, and that’s been a struggle for us lately.”

A shrinking advantage for the Mariners

As a result of the lineup returning to the norm after a brief improvement following Brown’s firing, the Mariners have lost nine of their past 12 ball games. This run of form has seen a 10.0 game lead at the top of the AL West shrink all the way down to 3.0 games as of Wednesday morning, not helped by a run of form by the Houston Astros that has seen them go 10-2 over the same period.

We’re now past the halfway point of the regular season, with the Mariners sitting at 47-40. There is no escaping the reality that whatever changes Jerry Dipoto made during the offseason, have not improved the offense.

In fact the lineup has become even worse, highlighted by Julio Rodríguez looking nothing like the superstar talent he’s meant to be. His productivity at the plate is down across the board, highlighted — or should that be lowlighted — by a .625 OPS.

However, it’s not just all on Rodríguez, with most players on the ball club struggling at the plate. Mitch Haniger is on course for the worst season of his Major League career, while the two key offseason signings of Mitch Garver and Jorge Polanco are both a shadow of what they were last year.

Everyone talks about how T-Mobile Park is a pitchers park, but that the offense always improves as the weather gets warmer. However, this doesn’t appear to be the case in 2024.

As part of the moves the Mariners made to try and improve the offensive production, this included getting rid of Jarred Kelenic, Teoscar Hernández and Eugenio Suárez. Perceived as all mistakes at the time, this only looks more the case now.

Kelenic has continued his development from last season, with the Atlanta Braves, while Hernández has continued to rake in Los Angeles with the Dodgers. Suárez is the only one of the trio struggling, but the fact remains he prospered during his time in Seattle.

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So what will it take to improve the lineup?

In fairness to Dipoto, Servais and the rest of the Mariners, if the likes of Rodríguez, Garver and Polanco were all playing even average, the situation would be better. In this respect, some of the blame has to be on the players themselves.

However, it doesn’t change the reality that the offensive issues have been a constant for the past few years. Something deep down is fundamentally wrong.

There’s still enough time for the Mariners to save this situation, but something has to change soon. One obvious solution is to find a bat before the trade deadline, but of course this will be easier said than done, with plenty of competition from other ball clubs.

There is also the question of how much the Mariners front office is willing to offer in exchange in the way of assets, to improve the lineup? At least we won’t have long to wait and find out, with the deadline now just under four weeks away.

This is an excellent roster in general, with a superior rotation, a solid bullpen and a lineup with plenty of potential. However, if the lineup doesn’t step up its production soon — whether or not it receives help via a trade — this season is in danger of going from one of great promise, to one of major disappointment and no excuses.

Do you believe a batting upgrade prior to the MLB trade deadline will help? Or is something else amiss for this Mariners lineup in general? Let us know in the comments section below.