Offensive inconsistency, late homer down Mariners in 3-1 loss to Nationals
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - In the second game of a two game series, the Seattle Mariners would get a stellar pitching performance out of George Kirby, but the ballclubs offensive inconsistency would doom them yet again as they only plated one run. With the loss, the Mariners tumble to the third overall Wild Card spot, trailing the Rays and Blue Jays currently. A rare second day game will follow this game, as the Mariners face a tough battle against the Cleveland Guardians for the first of four games. This second day game is due to a concert at Lumen Field being performed by “The Weeknd”
Julio Rodriguez’s solo homer was Seattle’s only run (Photo by Proof N the Play)
Kirby hits bump early, hits groove
Seattle rookie starter George Kirby hit a rough patch in the top of the first inning, allowing four hits and one run. That singular run would come off of former Mariners slugger Nelson Cruz, who would drive in a run off of a single. From that point on, Kirby would settle in. George Joseph Kirby would allow only four more hits total over the remaining six innings, and wouldn’t walk a single batter. The rookie right hander struck out nine to add to his totals, and overall had a stellar performance. You really cannot ask much more of Kirby in this outing, let alone what he has been able to do for this ballclub this season. This, considering the fact that it was not even known if he would touch the big leagues this season when we were in Spring Training.
This is where I may reflect on how Kirby’s outing was ruined by the blown save by Paul Sewald, but considering the sort of effort that the bullpen (nicknamed “Los Bomberos” yesterday") has given the Mariners this season, he gets a pass. The bullpen is bound to have its hiccups here and there, and to expect them to be completely lights out every single game isn’t possible. A tough look for the bullpen in this game yes, but they will rebound. I shade most of my blame to the offense, which we look at next.
Paul Sewald’s blown save gave the Nationals the lead (Photo by Proof N the Play)
Failing to produce yet again
Once again this season, the Mariners bats produced little to nothing offensively and it resulted in a loss. After giving up that initial run, starter George Kirby did his offense a big favor and worked seven innings. One run across seven innings is absolutely brilliant, and great by todays standards. What Seattle did across those seven innings was abysmal. Less than a handful of hits off of Anibal Sanchez, who tops out at a 90 mile an hour fastball and is far past his prime, is horrific. Hitters like Ty France, Mitch Haniger, Cal Raleigh, and JP Crawford failed to collect a hit and those kinds of performances hinder this teams hopes of making the playoffs. You need more consistency from this lineup, even if it’s one or two more batters upping their performance.
In looking at that group of four names that I just mentioned, center your attention primarily on France and Crawford. Haniger has been excellent from his return on the Injury List, so he gets a pass for this game. Cal Raleigh could use more hits rather than just primarily slugging power, but he has shown great improvement and is now your everyday catcher (let alone a switch hitter), so I can give him a break here as well. France and Crawford have been on a slump as of late, and that is downright bad. France makes up for it on the defensive end, which can usually be said for Crawford as well, but not this year. Crawford has been an average to mediocre shortstop this season, and his slump offensively for a bit has also hurt this team and also seen him drop in the batting order. The Mariners will need more from their first baseman and shortstop if they really do want to end this drought.
Julio Rodriguez became the 6th player in franchise history to join the 20/20 (Photo by Proof N the Play)
What it means
This loss is frustrating, and I choose to look at it in two different views. Firstly, it is baseball. Each team plays 162 games in the major league season, so there will be losses and series losses. They are bound to happen eventually, and unfortunately a decent bit of them will come against teams like Washington. On the other hand, the continued lack of consistent offense and even maintained small ball is frustrating and is an issue that has not really gotten better for Seattle. While yes, players like Jesse Winker are great at drawing walks and that certainly helps, again I reiterate that the Mariners are near the bottom of the league in singles. Singles in multiple situations for Seattle this season would swing the balance of a game and give you a few more wins. There needs to be a change offensively, especially when you only muster a few hits to such a poor pitching staff from the Nationals.
Quick notes
George Kirby threw 24 strikes to begin his day yesterday, the most consecutive strikes to start an MLB game since 1988
George Kirby became the third fastest Mariner in franchise history to hit 100 career strikeouts. He hit the mark in 18 appearances, while Michael Pineda hit it in 17, and Felix Hernandez hit it in 16.
Julio Rodriguez provided the only homer in the game for Seattle, joining the 20/20 club. The 20/20 club is 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
Julio becomes the sixth player in franchise history to join the club, and is the first since Mike Cameron back in 2002
Julio becomes the 12th rookie in baseball history to join the 20/20 club in a season
What’s next?
Following the series split with the Nationals, Seattle faces an important series ahead against the Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland is a team that the Mariners may need to worry about in the American League Wild Card race, considering that the Central division is so back and forth that various teams drop in and out of first place. This series (four games against the Guardians) is also huge due to the fact that Tampa Bay and Toronto have overtaken Seattle for the first and second spots in the Wild Card. The whole goal is to make the postseason, yes, but you still control your own destiny at this point in time. Get back to winning series (and sweeps help too), regain the highest overall Wild Card spot and do not look back. That all begins against Cleveland.
