Mariners lifeless offense and poor start by Logan Gilbert result in frustrating series loss to Nationals
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – As we approach the All-Star week that Seattle is hosting, heading into single digits today, the Mariners continue to flail on offense and as a team with today’s rubber match loss to the Washington Nationals. Fans and players alike showed irritation and frustration throughout and after the loss, as Mariners players' body language showed their anger with their play and Seattle fans booed the team once the Nationals ended the game. It isn’t as though the anger and frustration from the fanbase is unwarranted, as the Mariners looked completely abysmal at the plate in this ballgame and generally disappointed fans from the jump as Washington got after Seattle starter Logan Gilbert early with four straight base hits to generate four runs in the first inning.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert allowed four runs through six innings pitched (Photos by Bryan Saldana)
No Walter, only Logan
Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert had a tough start to his outing against the Nationals, a bumpy and tough start to a game that you could argue Seattle needed to win. Gilbert was able to pitch six innings, giving the Mariners some needed length from their starter, but the runs against were not ideally and especially how early they came into his outing. The first four batters that Logan faced recorded base hits, two singles to begin the game before a double drove a run in to get the scoring started. Keibert Ruiz, in the designated hitter spot for the Nationals, hit a single to make it the fourth hit in a row and to drive in the two runners on base. Although Gilbert settled in for a bit, allowing a fourth run in his final inning (the sixth), those four runs proved to be too much of a mountain to climb for the Mariners offense.
Seattle Mariners star centerfielder Julio Rodriguez continues to struggle at the plate (Photo by Bryan Saldana)
Lifeless display at the plate
Following yesterday’s rough offensive performance, Seattle followed up that clunker with an even worse day at the plate. The Mariners batters looked largely uncompetitive throughout the rubber match against Washington, with the exceptions of Tom Murphy and Jose Caballero who recorded multi-hit games. The Mariners sent the minimum number of hitters to the plate in six of the nine innings of this ballgame, and squandered the two opportunities that they had in the second and fifth inning to drive in runners in scoring position, in both cases where Seattle batters had recorded two singles in the frame. It’s continued disappointing showing after disappointing showing for the Mariners, with no real hope in sight that they can turn these issues around unless it’s done internally as one singular trade acquisition can’t sway the pendulum in the other direction.
The two exceptions to this poor, nearly put you to sleep worthy game on offense for the Mariners were catcher Tom Murphy and second baseman Jose Caballero. Murphy, who gets sparse playing time with Cal Raleigh taking the lion's share of games, recorded a three-hit game for Seattle as arguably their most productive offensive weapon in terms of quantity. It’s nice to see Murphy have this sort of ballgame, considering how he’s largely struggled at the plate this year after having a very strong start last year in the batter's box before an injury ended his 2022 season. Caballero, who’s gotten less gametime in since the last road trip when Kolten Wong had some positive momentum, was responsible for the only run that Seattle pushed across the plate thanks to a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Seattle Mariners second baseman Jose Caballero was responsible for the only run the team recorded, with his solo homer (Photo by Bryan Saldana)
'Pen report
After the poor start that Logan Gilbert had, you would’ve thought that Seattle was going to have to dip into their bullpen to stop the bleeding of how the day began. Thanks to Gilbert being able to lock in and last for six innings, the Mariners only had to use two relievers in the loss, Ty Adcock and Tayler Saucedo. Adcock continues to impress after he was called up from the AA Arkansas Travelers, similar to teammates Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, and has yet to allow a run of his own. Saucedo, after the tough outing in his last appearance that saw him load the bases before Paul Sewald slammed the door shut, also got through his game cleanly to give Seattle some shot at winning this ballgame, but the offense obviously did not do their part.
Quick notes
Seattle fell to the Nationals 4-1 in today’s game.
Seattle falls to 3 games below .500 for the first time since May 2, when they were 13-16.
The Mariners are now 4-7 in series rubber games this season.
Seattle now has a 10-15-1 series record at T-Mobile Park this season.
The Mariners scored their first run in the 8th inning after José Caballero hit a leadoff home run…this was Caballero’s 3rd home run of the season.
Nationals pitcher Amos Willingham is the first to surrender a home run to the first career batter he faced, against the Mariners, since Brandon Workman for the Red Sox on July 10, 2013 (Brendan Ryan HR).
In his last 19 games (4/27-c) Tom Murphy is batting .339 (20x59) with 8 runs, 8 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 RBI and 5 walks.
Murphy was 3-for-3 in today’s game with 3 singles.
This was Murphy’s 7th multi-hit game and his 1st 3-hit game this season.
Today marked his 6th career 3-hit game…his last 3-hit game came on August 8, 2019 at Tampa Bay.
With his single in the 2nd inning Eugenio Suárez has now hit safely in 6 of his last 7 games…during that stretch he is batting .360 (9x25) with 4 doubles, 1 home run, 8 RBI and 2 walks.
Starting pitcher Logan Gilbert pitched 6.0 innings and allowed 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts on 100 pitches, 65 strikes.
Gilbert now has 395 career strikeouts which ranks 18th in Mariners franchise history.
Mariners relievers Ty Adcock and Tayler Saucedo combined for 3.0 innings pitched and allowed 2 walks while striking out 2.
Adcock has begun his Major League career with 7 scoreless appearances (9.1 IP, 6/12-c)...the 7-game streak is 5th-longest in Mariners history to begin a career.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez was ejected in the 6th inning by home plate umpire Derek Thomas.
The ejection stemmed from arguing a play at the plate in which Keibert Ruiz was ruled as running out of the base line at home plate, trying to score from first base on a Dominic Smith double in the 6th inning.
What’s next?
Following this incredibly disappointing series loss to the Nationals, the Mariners will have a day off on Thursday before the six-game homestand continues Friday, June 30th when the best team in all of baseball comes to town. The Tampa Bay Rays begin a three-game set with the slumping Seattle Mariners when the teams meet for a first pitch time of 7:10PM PST. Seattle will be wearing their city connect jerseys for the fourth time ever, while also having a “patriotic” fireworks night to follow afterwards. Friday is the start of three days of Patriotic themed promotions at the ballpark, as the Mariners will attempt to turn things around against the team with the most wins in baseball.