SEATTLE -- Who needs slug when you can single your way to victory?
The Mariners’ boom-or-bust lineup put together arguably its most productive night at the plate of the season -- at least in the context of consistently creating traffic, cashing in much of it and not relying at all on the long ball.
In an 8-3 win over the Angels on Tuesday, Seattle strung together 13 hits, all but one of which were singles.
It was the club's largest run output in a game all season -- win or loss -- without hitting a homer, passing a 6-1 victory over the Astros on April 12. Beyond 2026, however, it was their most runs in a game without clearing the fence since plating 12 at Kansas City on Sept. 25, 2022.
“I don't think I've ever seen that,” said Colt Emerson, who had a team-high three hits with -- you guessed it -- all singles.
And much of the Mariners' production was manufactured in a five-run sixth inning that broke a scoreless tie. That one frame alone represented their most runs in a single inning without a homer since the fourth inning of a Sept. 14 game against these Angels last season.
This all might sound quirky, and maybe it is. But considering that Seattle’s lineup -- which has scuffled mightily in June -- has leaned so heavily on homers, it was a promising development.
Entering Tuesday, the Mariners not only had scored more runs via homers than any other team -- they were also the sport’s only team to score more than half their runs by clearing the fence.
Highest % of runs scored via HR, 2026
- Mariners: 50.9%
- Phillies: 47.7%
- White Sox: 47.2%
- Yankees: 46.5%
- Reds: 46.5%
Just as telling is that the Mariners entered play 6-22 in games in which they did not homer -- a number that illustrates even more how susceptible they can be when relying on slug.
“The homers are great, no question,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Two- and three-run numbers are awesome. But I do think that to be consistently productive offensively, you need to be able to score in multi-dimensional ways. And tonight, we went a different route.”
The sixth inning jumpstarted with three straight knocks from Julio Rodríguez, Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena that put the Mariners on the board -- but that was merely the beginning.
Cal Raleigh then loaded the bases on a full-count walk that was initially ruled a called strike three before he ignited a successful ABS challenge. Then, Cole Young followed with an RBI single that moved everybody up and Colt Emerson drew a wild pitch that allowed Arozarena to basically walk home before the Halos recorded their first out.
The biggest knock of the frame, though, was from newcomer Weston Wilson, who sliced a 2-2 single past the outstretched glove of first baseman Nolan Schanuel and scored the final two runners remaining, who were both in scoring position.
Wilson was making just his fourth start with Seattle and the rare first in right field, with both Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley nursing injuries.
“The last game in Cleveland is actually what I felt like was our best start to a game in a long time,” said Bryan Woo, who turned in another gem by twirling 6 1/3 innings and not surrendering a run while he was on the mound.
“Just like the energy that we brought to that game, the approach, the gamesmanship, just like how together the bench felt. Obviously, the game didn't end the way that we wanted it to, but that's what I really wanted to build off of.”
To Woo’s point, yes -- this trend actually started on Sunday at Progressive Field, where the Mariners also had 12 singles and did not homer. But they stranded 14 baserunners and only came away with four runs, which became all the more exacerbated by a disastrous bullpen meltdown, yielding one of their worst losses of the season.
Before Sunday, then Tuesday, they’d only had more singles in one other game all season, when they ripped a season-high 19 hits in an 11-9 win on April 25 in St. Louis.
“That's what makes baseball so hard," Emerson said. "You can hit 110 [mph] right at the center fielder, but at the end of the day, it's still an out. So that's where you can't get down on yourself. Just going out there and being consistent and staying convicted.”
Sure, the Mariners would love to be slugging more. But there are outlying nights when an onslaught of stingy singles can get the job done, too.