Mariners enter All-Star break with plenty of cause for concern

The Mariners find themselves in a whole world or hurt, after losing three straight games and the series against the lowly Angels.

It was not even a month ago, when the Mariners went into Cleveland and took the first game of a series, versus one of the top ball clubs in the Majors. With a record of 44-31 and a 10.0 game lead at the top of the AL West, things couldn’t look much better for Seattle’s baseball team.

Then, it all started to go wrong, not that losing the next two games and the series to the Guardians in itself was particularly alarming. However, what followed was, as they somehow also lost a road series to a Miami Marlins team with the most home losses in the Majors.

The series losses continued with another in Tampa Bay, but there was some hope the Mariners would recover back at T-Mobile Park, where they were one of the strongest home teams in the Majors. No such luck.

It was bad enough losing to the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles, two ball clubs in playoff positions. However, they came the ignominy of losing a series to the Toronto Blue Jays, a ball club which was 10 games under .500 when they came to Seattle.

There seemed to be some hope, when the Mariners went to San Diego and swept a two-game series, followed by routing the Los Angeles Angels 11-0 in the first of four games in Anaheim. However, this proved to be a false dawn.

Another series loss to a poor team

Once more, versus a lowly team — this time one which could barely string together a starting rotation and minus Mike Trout — the Mariners lost three straight, and another series. We’re now past the point of this ball club being in serious trouble.

Yes, technically the Mariners still lead the AL West by one game entering the All-Star break, but they now have as many losses as the Houston Astros. Whereas the Mariners have gone 8-15 in their past 22 games — which includes losing seven of eight series — the Astros have gone 16-6 over the same period.

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There’s no denying where the problem lies with the Mariners, as the lineup has proved to be woeful so far in 2024. Even a just below average offense would have seen the Mariners taking at least five of the past eight series, if not more.

Clearly, getting rid of bench coach and offensive coordinator Brant Brown was not the solution, alluding to some deep-rooted issues with the offensive philosophy in Seattle. And one which extends over the past few seasons, not just this one.

It’s just that this is the season when it really has been a perfect storm and resulted in the Mariners being on course to have one of the worst offensive seasons in living memory. Everything which could go wrong, has.

Mariners offense truly offensive

At the All-Star break, the Mariners are ranked dead last in the Majors in batting average, as well as third-worst in slugging percentage and OPS. They lead the way with over 1,000 strikeouts and — most importantly of all — have scored the fourth-fewest runs.

On no level is this acceptable, when you have talent such as Julio Rodriguez, Mitch Garver, J.P. Crawford, Jorge Polanco and Cal Raleigh. The Mariners are wasting away the opportunity which comes with having one of the very best rotations in all of baseball.

Of course the Mariners aren’t doing this on purpose, but they shouldn’t be this poor with the bat. There is so much more potential than what is being shown right now, and yet this is a ball club desperately searching for a solution to turn it all around.

Servais makes no excuses

Mariners manager Scott Servais is painfully aware of where the issue is right now. Speaking to the media following Sunday’s series finale, he said:

“We lost three games by one run in this series. Consistent offense was an issue here the last couple of nights. We didn’t get much going there and you’ve got to do more offensively to win these series on the road, so I can’t fault our pitching.”

Leading 2-0 in the top of the eight, the Mariners loaded the bases and had the chance to put the game to bed. Instead they failed to score even once, and were made to pay when the Angels scored three runs in the bottom of the innings.

Servais lamented the lost opportunity. He said:

“We weren’t able to get the big hit. Instead of being up 2-0, you are looking at something bigger. But that happened throughout the entire series, creating opportunities (and not taking advantage of them). You need the big two-out hit and they got it. They got the two-out hits in the series and we didn’t.”

Now, the Mariners get four days to rest and think about where they go from here, obviously with a premium on how to improve their floundering offense. Whether this includes making a move before the trade deadline, remains to be seen.

What we do know though, is that the Mariners face an immediate test once they return to action, as they host the Houston Astros for three games beginning on Friday night. This could prove to be a pivotal series for the Mariners, either continuing their free fall, or providing an impetus to get the season back on track.

Where is your confidence level at, in respect of the Mariners and their playoffs chances at the All-Star break? High, medium, low, or something else entirely, and why? Let us know in the comments section below.