Home should be a haven, yet for Seattle it never seems to be the case. The M's finished there recent homestand at 2-3, not great. After splitting a two game series with the Angels, the M's found a way to lose 2 of three to the A's. When I say found a way, I mean it.
VS Oakland 1-2 (6-5)
I feel like a broken record when I review the last three series. "Pitching was great, hitting was weaker than it should be. Missed opportunities, but at least Felix won." Unfortunately, that's how it seems again. Against the A's, Mariners pitching only gave up 10 runs. For those who don't love math, that's a little over 3 runs a game. THREE. Yet Seattle was only able to score 7, 6 of them coming in the first game. It really doesn't matter how well you pitch if you only score 1 run in two nights. Inexcusable for a team with the amount of raw talent that Seattle does. Silver lining? Oakland is the defending AL West champ, with many (including myself) pegging them to win it this year. The team needs to start hitting, plain and simple.
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| (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) |
"The season is young."
"The Mariners have a winning record."
"They are second in the AL West and only trail by .5 games."
"WHY should we be worried?!"
Well, you're right. This is the Mariners we are talking about, we should be excited they're doing well early on.
But I'm spoiled. I watched the once horrendous Seahawks turn into a dominating force these last two years. As fans, we shouldn't be content with horrible play year in and year out. So while I am very excited about the potential about this squad, here are a few statistics to bring you back down to earth.
- In 4 of their 5 losses, the Mariners have only given up 3 runs or fewer.
- Meaning, they couldn't score three runs in 4 games. Since going 3-0 and scoring 26 runs, the M's have only scored 15, being shut out twice. Yikes.
- While Robinson Cano is hitting a respectable .333, he has yet to hit a home run.
- Brad Miller has 17 Strikeouts (K) to only 1 Walk (BB).
- Mike Zunino has 12 Ks to NO BBs.
- Corey Hart has 9 Ks to 1 BB.
- Since starting the year 6-13, Justin Smoak has slumped to a 3-28.
- Kyle Seager is hitting .121.
ROADTRIP!
What's the best remedy to aid failing bats? Play against teams who have trouble pitching!
We start this trip for a 4 game series in Texas (Yes, I will be trying to get tickets to as many games as my empty wallet allows.) Normally a pretty daunting foe, the Rangers have started this year a meager 6-6. While on paper their offense is one of the best in baseball, Seattle has the pitching to deal with it. It sure doesn't hurt having Adrian Beltre on the 15-Day Disabled List, either. Pitching wise, however, Texas is weak. Minus Yu Darvish, who faces Felix on Wednesday, the Rangers have struggles. They currently rank 18th in ERA and 25th in BAA. Waking the bats up early could bode well for the M's.
After those four games, Seattle takes their talent down to South Beach to take on the Miami Marlins. At 5-8, the Marlins are one of those pesky teams with talent, yet can't do much with it. (Sound familiar?) The Marlins rank 17th in ERA and tie Texas for 25th in BAA. While they have a possible Cy Young candidate with Jose Fernandez, Seattle fortunately doesn't have to face him.
If Seattle can leave the road trip with a 5-2 record, we will finally be seeing this team playing the ball we know they can. 4-3 at an absolute minimum. Honestly, anything less will be disappointing. This team proved to us in the first series that they can pitch and hit. They then proceeded to show us that our pitching can win us games if out bats even pretend to show up.
But hey, they're still 2nd place, and that definitely means something...right?
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