SEATTLE -- The Mariners came out of the All-Star break talking like a team ready to turn the page. Instead, Friday night at T-Mobile Park looked a lot like the same old script.
Seattle was blanked 7-0 by the Giants, and the loss laid bare exactly what this club is hunting for as the Trade Deadline approaches: offense, and probably a bullpen boost too. It was the Mariners’ biggest defeat in any of their nine shutouts this season.
There wasn’t much to debate on the offensive side. Seattle managed just two hits, both singles, and neither one moved past first base.
The Mariners didn’t even get a runner into scoring position until the ninth inning, when J.P. Crawford reached on a fielding error, moved up on a passed ball, advanced again on a groundout and then stayed put after Cal Raleigh popped out on a full count.
By then, the game was already out of reach. Even if Raleigh had turned on one and launched it for what would have been just his third homer since coming off the injured list on June 16, Seattle still would have trailed by five.
“Obviously, you want to get off on that second half with a win,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “But we just weren't able to get anything going offensively.”
That has been the story too often, and it’s why the Deadline conversation feels so pointed now. The Mariners need right-handed run production, but unlike last year, there doesn’t appear to be an obvious pool of sellers with that kind of bat available.
“As we move forward here, trying to get good pitches to hit is what we're looking for,” Wilson said. “And pitches in the zone that we're able to drive and then put a good swing on it. And tonight, we just weren't able to get many balls squared up.”
There is some help on the way, at least in theory. Julio Rodríguez missed the entire road trip through Florida because of a concussion, but the Mariners expect him back as soon as Saturday after he completed a full pregame workout.
That trip included a five-game losing streak in Miami and St. Petersburg.
Brendan Donovan is also moving forward, with the club hopeful about what he can provide over the final two months. He played his second rehab game with Triple-A Tacoma on Friday and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Even with those names in the mix, Seattle has rarely had its full group together against a right-handed starter like San Francisco’s Landen Roupp. Friday was only the ninth time all season the Mariners had their full-strength lineup available in that type of matchup, and it hasn’t happened since May 12.
“Everybody has injuries,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said. “We did not have a great first half.
We did not meet our own standards. Trying to sort of project forward, we think we're going to be better.
We also think we're going to be healthier. But every team deals with injuries.
“That's 29 other teams, too, and we have to find a way to fight through that and do more than we've done, particularly over the last 45 days, offensively.”
If Seattle makes a move before the Aug. 3 Deadline, the likeliest upgrade path is a proven reliever.
Even there, the market may not really open up until the final stretch. For now, the Mariners are waiting on Matt Brash, Cooper Criswell and Carlos Vargas, all of whom are at least a month away.
That shortage showed up in a decisive seventh inning. Trailing by three, Wilson didn’t want to burn his leverage arms, so he turned to rookie Nick Davila. The Giants made him pay, with Willy Adames crushing a grand slam to blow the game open.
San Francisco’s other homer came from Bryce Eldridge, who took Bryce Miller deep for a two-run shot in the fifth. Miller said the mistake came on an 0-1 splitter, and otherwise felt he had limited damage.
“We wanted to come out and not start slow, obviously,” Miller said. “But I don’t know.
We’ve got a game tomorrow. We need to go out and show up tomorrow, and win and flush this one.”
The Mariners at least didn’t lose ground in the division. Texas was routed 15-1 by Atlanta, leaving Seattle 1 1/2 games back in the American League West. But for a team looking for a clean reset after the break, Friday delivered a familiar kind of frustration instead.
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