Mariners head home looking to spark offense after tough road stretch

SAN DIEGO -- About the only positive development that came out of the Mariners’ 5-2 loss to the Padres on Thursday night is that this brief road trip is over.

They were swept in this three-gamer at Petco Park. They are now 1-8 on the road. And they saw the momentum winds from their four-game sweep over the Astros last weekend taken completely out of their sails.

Maybe that’ll turn when the Mariners voyage back to T-Mobile Park, where they’re 7-4. But they won’t have much time to catch their breath, with a 1 a.m. PT expected arrival early Friday, followed by a 6:40 p.m. first pitch vs. Texas -- the club that swept them last week in Arlington -- to begin a six-game homestand with no off-days.

“You've just got to play baseball, man,” Julio Rodríguez said. “Obviously, when you're on the road, they will always have the advantage of walking it off or whatever. But I feel like if you play good baseball, you can win at home, on the road -- everywhere.”

The Mariners never led in Thursday’s finale, but instead coughed up three unearned runs (four total) in a fateful second inning that was marred by unexecuted pitches and a few defensive lapses.

They were the types of miscues that good teams -- like the Padres, who’ve won an MLB-best eight straight -- take advantage of. And the types that become insurmountable for teams when they don’t have everything else clicking in unison, like the Mariners.

That’s not to say that Seattle hasn’t put together better at-bats over the past week, which was evident throughout last weekend and in Wednesday’s game, before the doors blew open on Andres Muñoz.

Yet, therein lies what’s been a troubling trend -- the Mariners haven’t been able to consistently string together offense, starting pitching, bullpen and defense, night in and out. And that’s been especially true on the road.

Mariners offensive splits

Home: .235/.345/.403 (.748 OPS), 5.1 runs/game
Road: .177/.282/.249 (.531 OPS), 2.4 runs/game

“We've shown flashes, but I feel like we're going to be in a good spot,” Rodríguez said. “There is nothing else to say.”

Rodríguez’s inside-out single in the sixth cut the Padres’ lead to 4-2 and mounted momentum, as there were no outs and two on. After their first out, they loaded the bases and had San Diego on the ropes, but then the Padres turned to lefty linchpin Adrian Morejon, which in turn prompted manager Dan Wilson to pinch-hit Connor Joe for red-hot Luke Raley.

Joe struck out on three pitches, then J.P. Crawford grounded out. Joe’s spot again came up in the eighth, against right-handed setup man Jason Adam, and with two on -- precisely the pocket in which Raley has thrived. And while Joe did sting a 107 mph liner into the left-field corner that had a .600 expected batting average, Ramón Laureano corralled it for the third out.

“Morejon is tough. He's tough, certainly on lefties,” Wilson said, explaining the decision. “And CJ, what we saw from him all spring were solid [at-bats]. And what we saw with him against Adam there in the eighth was another great at-bat. But Morejon is tough [against] righties and lefties.”

And that was essentially the game, as Mason Miller came, saw and conquered his way through a 1-2-3 ninth -- all outs via strikeouts, all looking. Miller has now thrown 30 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to Aug. 5, including the postseason.

Of the Mariners’ seven losses on the road, six have come in games that they scored two runs or fewer. But they also paid for those free outs on the basepaths.

Back to the second, Luis Castillo gave up three straight one-out hits that put the Padres on the board, then he was charged an error after attempting a putout on a comebacker that hit him on the back of his right leg, though it was Josh Naylor at first base who dropped the ball.

Naylor then bobbled a 97.4 mph chopper on a would-be double play attempt and had to instead settle for the putout at first, which would’ve been the third out sans the error. The double play, too, would’ve ended the inning. But that brought Fernando Tatis Jr. to the plate, who ripped a 105.2 mph single to center for two more runs to cap a four-spot for the frame.

“You can't give those guys extra baserunners in those innings, and they were able to capitalize,” Wilson said.