Mariners' Deadline needs on display in rough start to 2nd half

SEATTLE -- When the Mariners reported to T-Mobile Park on Friday, vibes were upbeat, players appeared refreshed and the All-Star break seemed like a just-what-the-doctor-ordered measure to reset from a subpar first half.

Then, the all-too-familiar frustrations of a brutal road trip leading into the break -- and really, the first half in general -- resurfaced in a 7-0 loss to the Giants. It was their largest margin of defeat in any of the nine times they’ve been shut out this season.

More so, this loss exposed their true needs within this Trade Deadline season, and the blunt reality that much of their second-half success will hinge on internal fixes.

“Obviously, you want to get off on that second half with a win,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “But we just weren't able to get anything going offensively.”

There were no timely hits on Friday because there were only two overall -- both singles -- and neither advanced past first base.

To that end, the Mariners’ struggles with runners in scoring position didn’t manifest because they didn’t reach scoring position until the ninth inning, when J.P. Crawford went home-to-first on a fielding error, first-to-second on a passed ball and second-to-third on a groundout, where he remained after Cal Raleigh popped out in a full count.

Even if Raleigh ambushed one for what would’ve been just his third homer since returning from the injured list on June 16, it would’ve still left Seattle with a five-run deficit.

The point being, they clearly need more offense -- and unlike last year’s Deadline, there aren’t obvious sellers possessing the sort of run-producing, right-handed bats that the Mariners are looking to procure.

“As we move forward here, trying to get good pitches to hit is what we're looking for,” Wilson said. “And pitches in the zone that we're able to drive and then put a good swing on it. And tonight, we just weren't able to get many balls squared up.”

To be sure, the Mariners are still missing Julio Rodríguez to a concussion but anticipate him returning as soon as Saturday, after the star center fielder went through a full pregame workout. Rodríguez was absent for their entire road trip through Florida, which included a five-game losing streak running through Miami and St. Petersburg.

They are also optimistic about Brendan Donovan’s status over the season’s final two months, after he played in his second rehab assignment game at Triple-A Tacoma on Friday, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

They’ve only played with their full-strength lineup nine times this season against a right-handed starter like San Francisco’s Landen Roupp on Friday, and not since May 12.

“Everybody has injuries,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said. “We did not have a great first half. We did not meet our own standards. Trying to sort of project forward, we think we're going to be better. We also think we're going to be healthier. But every team deals with injuries.

“That's 29 other teams, too, and we have to find a way to fight through that and do more than we've done, particularly over the last 45 days, offensively.”

Their more realistic upgrade avenue before the Aug. 3 Deadline would be with a proven reliever. But they also recognize that the bullpen market may not manifest until the 11th hour.

That leaves them more than two weeks to make do with what they’ve got, as Matt Brash, Cooper Criswell and Carlos Vargas are on the mend, but each is at least one month away.

Friday’s game featured a pocket where they could’ve really used Criswell or Vargas. Trailing by three entering the seventh, and as such, not wanting to go to his leverage arms, Wilson went to rookie Nick Davila. The rookie then surrendered a game-sealing grand slam to Willy Adames.

That was the Giants’ second homer, after Bryce Eldridge tagged Bryce Miller for a two-run shot in the fifth on an 0-1 splitter that was the right-hander’s only true mistake of the night.

“We wanted to come out and not start slow, obviously,” Miller said. “But I don’t know. We’ve got a game tomorrow. We need to go out and show up tomorrow, and win and flush this one.”

It was just one game, and because Texas took a 15-1 loss at Atlanta, the Mariners remained 1 1/2 games out of first place in the American League West. But for a team seeking a reset after the All-Star break, many of the same Mariners frustrations continued.