NEW YORK – Before Tuesday’s game, the Mariners had serious problems in the batter’s box. During its four-game losing streak, Seattle was outscored 20-4, and that all occurred at T-Mobile Park.
Now, Seattle is on the road, starting with a three-game series against the Yankees. On Tuesday night, it wasn’t any better.
The Mariners collected three hits and lost to New York, 4-1, at Yankee Stadium. Seattle is now a season-worst eight games under .500 (56-64).
“A tough one again tonight,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “… As we have talked about it before, we need to find that consistency on offense.”
The Mariners didn’t collect their second hit of the game until there was one out in the sixth, when Randy Arozarena hit a 2-2 pitch from left-hander Ryan Weathers over the right-field wall to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.
The last hit of the game for Seattle came against closer David Bednar in the ninth, when Dominic Canzone singled with one out. But Cole Young hit into a forceout, and Cal Raleigh struck out to end the game.
“The approach [as a team] is not there,” Raleigh said. “To me, it’s just off-balance swings. Late to the heater and early on the offspeed. I’m not pointing fingers. Ultimately, I’m the worst of the group right now. Putting your pride aside, baseball players can be stubborn. You have to put your pride aside.
“Maybe focus a little bit more on the team aspect – hitting the ball the other way, take singles and not try for the long ball every time. When you rely on the long ball, you are going to get a lot of off-balance swings and be a little out front. Ultimately, the pitchers here are really good. You have to take what they give you. We are just not doing that right now.”
The hitters are not the only ones at fault. Seattle’s bullpen couldn’t hold on to the slim lead.
After starter Bryan Woo tossed five scoreless innings and José A. Ferrer contributed a scoreless sixth, right-hander Michael Rucker had a tough time on the mound. Luis García Jr. doubled and Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled to open the seventh. After George Lombard Jr. struck out, Rucker walked Spencer Jones to load the bases.
Up stepped Ryan McMahon, who singled to left field to drive in two runs and give New York a one-run lead.
Rucker was taken out of the game in favor of Eduard Bazardo, who allowed a single to Austin Wells to reload the bases. Trent Grisham followed and singled to left field, scoring Jones and McMahon.
There was second-guessing after the game. Before the four runs scored, Rucker had already faced the three-batter minimum. After Lombard struck out, left-hander Gabe Speier would have been the ideal choice to face lefty-hitting Spencer Jones, but he wasn’t available because of back soreness.
Wilson could have left southpaw Ferrer in the game after he retired the Yankees in order in the sixth. But the skipper felt Rucker’s breaking ball could get groundball outs.
“We like the way Ruck matched up with those lefties. It just didn’t get to where we wanted to get to. We weren’t able to get through the inning and keep the game where it was,” Wilson said. “Those are the tough decisions you have to make. We decided to go with Ruck tonight.”
After the game, Raleigh didn’t mince words. The team is not in a good place, he said. The Mariners were a game away from going to the World Series last year, and Raleigh is the same guy who slugged 60 homers and finished second to Aaron Judge in the American League MVP voting.
Raleigh was not afraid to say that he needs to step it up a few notches. After all, he has a slash line of .159/.264/.299 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs.
“It starts with me. I’m awful. It is what it is,” Raleigh said. “I have to find a way to be better and help the guys along. We just have to play better, ultimately. We are playing very bad baseball in every facet of the game. We have to pick it up from the energy standpoint to the execution to help us win games. We are not doing that right now.
“We have to bring that edge every day. It’s tough. When things are not going your way, it’s hard. You feel everybody is against you. But you have to have a good attitude. Ultimately, bring that edge to play every single day because nothing is given to you. We have to go take it. Sometimes, when you are feeling bad for yourself, you get a little lackadaisical out there, maybe have a little less energy. That starts with me, and I have to do a better job of that each and every night – just being prepared and ready to go every single night.”