Mariners pay for mistakes vs. Twins

SEATTLE -- The line between rust and rest coming out of the All-Star break has been more muddled than the Mariners would like, and that imbalance continued on Tuesday with a 10-3 loss to the Twins at T-Mobile Park.

Seattle was seeking just its fifth win streak of three games all year but instead tumbled back to .500 for the 12th time since the start of June.

The headlining moments were successive baserunning sequences in the first inning, when Teoscar Hernández ran through a stop sign from Manny Acta, then Ty France was aggressively waved home by the third-base coach in the next at-bat -- with both moments yielding outs at the plate.

And despite Eugenio Suárez ripping a two-run homer on his 32nd birthday and France’s double cashing in one, not generating more in those moments loomed large, especially given that they tallied six hits in the opening frame against Twins starter Bailey Ober.

Hernández was trying to capitalize on the action and race home from first base, knowing that the Twins would need to make clean throws from the left-field wall and on the relay to the plate, then apply a clean tag.

Hernández went from first to home in 10.33 seconds and dialed his sprint speed up to 29.1 feet per second, well above the league average of 27, nearly sliding around the glove of Christian Vázquez. But Carlos Correa unleashed an 89.9 mph seed to Vázquez’s chest, and Minnesota’s backstop made a great tag.

France wasn’t as close and was thrown out by roughly four paces. But knowing that Twins right fielder Max Kepler ranked in the 73rd percentile in arm strength by Statcast, Acta rolled the dice. But Kepler wound up unloading an 85.2 mph throw that, coupled with France’s 24.4 ft/sec sprint speed, led to the out.

“From my vantage point, [Hernández] had his head down and he didn't see Manny having a stop sign until too late,” manager Scott Servais said. “He ran through it. ... Then with the two-out single to right field, you want to make them make a play, and they made a play. [Kepler] made a really good throw. So, again, making outs at home plate, it hurts.”

The Mariners became the second team this year on the wrong end of two outfield assists in one half-inning, but the only team where both outs were at home.

And aside from potentially leaving runs on the field with their baserunning shortcomings in the first, they also gave away another when catcher Cal Raleigh sailed a throw into center field with two outs in the third, which allowed a runner to walk home from third base and make it a 5-3 game.

A few other defensive plays also loomed.

On an up-the-middle single in the first, France was in place to cut off a 94.8 mph throw from Jarred Kelenic to the plate, looking to redirect and get the third out at third base, but the ball muffed off his glove.

And in the fourth, Kelenic slammed into the left-field wall as a fly ball caromed off his glove, allowing Alex Kirilloff to race for a one-out triple before scoring on an ensuing double from Kepler.

And with Bryan Woo experiencing his first hiccup since his MLB debut six weeks ago, culminating with a season-high seven runs allowed, Seattle played from behind virtually all night.

Woo pitched into the fourth despite regularly falling behind amid a pesky approach from Minnesota, which laid off most edge pitches and hit the rookie hard when he came into the strike zone. He also faced six lefties for the third time in his past four starts and again was left looking for answers, having entered the night with notable splits (a .247 OPS against righties and 1.149 against lefties).

“I was just kind of falling behind all night, putting myself in tough spots and having to climb back in counts,” Woo said. “When you fall behind, you're just putting yourself in a tough position to succeed.”

The Mariners might’ve spelled the rookie sooner, but they were operating with a thin bullpen that doesn’t carry a long reliever. Chris Flexen was in that role but was designated for assignment and traded to the Mets earlier this month.

It’s possible that the Mariners need to add a relief reinforcement on Wednesday with the bullpen having thrown 21 2/3 of the 45 innings on this homestand.