SEATTLE -- The Mariners are only three games into the regular season, so any all-encompassing assessments would be wildly premature. Yet for a lineup that looks almost identical to the one that was admittedly inconsistent for much of last year, the parallels from last year¡¯s struggles and those so far this weekend have been notable.
Even including their electric comeback in the eighth inning on Opening Day, the Mariners have simply struggled to manufacture runs against the up-and-coming A¡¯s, with Saturday night¡¯s 4-2 loss looking like many of those from 2024.
¡°A tough one tonight,¡± Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.
Seattle created plenty of traffic, with runners on base in all but the fourth and eighth innings, but the club couldn¡¯t consistently cash in, stranding nine runners and going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They¡¯ve stranded 23 runners this series and gone 2-for-19 with RISP in what is, again, an incredibly young season. Overall, they¡¯ve plated just six runs and were blanked in Friday¡¯s 7-0 loss.
The game¡¯s trajectory on Saturday might¡¯ve swung in a completely different direction had a tough-luck out in the first inning gone the other way.
With each of the Mariners¡¯ first three runners reaching, Randy Arozarena ripped a 105.8 mph lineout to Max Muncy that the A¡¯s second baseman was able to snare out of the air, which wound up being Seattle¡¯s hardest-hit ball of the night and carried a .940 expected batting average.
Julio Rodr¨ªguez, who had a 16.4-foot secondary lead, was doubled up on the play when taking off to third, though Muncy¡¯s positioning would¡¯ve allowed him to beat Rodr¨ªguez in time anyway. Had the ball dropped, the Mariners would¡¯ve given Bryce Miller a 2-0 lead and still had no outs, but Luke Raley then struck out and the rally was rapidly halted.
"That's a tough break, but early in the game,¡± Wilson said, ¡°We had plenty of chances after that.¡±
Rodr¨ªguez was also out at the plate when racing home on an infield dribbler to third baseman Luis Ur¨ªas -- after stealing second then third base following a leadoff walk in the third. He represented one of three leadoff runners that reached but didn¡¯t end up scoring.
That put the pitching staff on a tightrope, which was made tighter when reliever Collin Snider was charged an error on a fly ball that nicked his glove just in front of home plate and with catcher Cal Raleigh and third baseman Jorge Polanco both there, seemingly in position for either to make the play. The batter, Jacob Wilson, wound up reaching second base then scoring two at-bats later.
"When the crowd gets loud, it's hard to know who was calling for it,¡± Wilson said. ¡°But it's a tough break, obviously. That's fall that we want to catch. We've got to get that ironed out so that it doesn't happen.¡±
There was also an infield single in the eighth that manifested when Polanco¡¯s two-hop throw to first baseman Dylan Moore allowed the runner to reach, though no run ended up scoring. A run did however manufacture vs. Polanco in the seventh when Brent Rooker legged out a slow chopper that allowed the runner on third to score, though that play was far more challenging.
The bright spot on an otherwise quiet night was that Ryan Bliss continued to make defensive strides in the field, with seven putouts -- including a nifty double play with J.P. Crawford. The second baseman also showed off his wheels by stealing second base and inducing a throwing error from catcher Shea Langeliers, underscoring his value as a sparkplug.
Miller, too, despite not having his best stuff came one out shy of a quality start, and the lone runs against him were on well-executed pitches -- a high-and-in fastball outside the strike zone that Langeliers pulled for a two-run homer and a 1-2 curveball well below the zone that Miguel Andujar ripped for an RBI single that ended Miller¡¯s night.
"It was two pitches that got me, and both of them felt like good pitches,¡± Miller said.
The Mariners will quickly regroup for Sunday, hoping that the unfavorable familiarity to their offense can find new life against a team that they¡¯d won seven of their past eight series against.