SEATTLE - The Seattle Mariners tried a new mix of names Tuesday night, but the result sounded painfully familiar.
A lineup that had just watched Rob Refsnyder and Mitch Garver get released still couldn’t find any rhythm, and a defense that wobbled at the wrong moments helped turn a solid start from Emerson Hancock into an 8-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a three-game series at T-Mobile Park.
Seattle managed only four hits in 30 at-bats, and every one of them was a single. Against starter Troy Melton, the Mariners mustered just three hits and never put together anything that threatened to change the night.
“Just kind of didn’t allow a lot of solid contact,” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson, whose club fell to 55-59 in front of an announced crowd of 35,752. “You know, wasn’t a lot of wasn’t a lot of strikeouts.
We did draw a couple walks. We did have a little bit of traffic here and there, but nothing sustained and nothing consistent.
And he just kept us off the barrel all night long.”
The latest roster shakeup didn’t produce an immediate spark. Taylor Ward, acquired Monday from Baltimore in a trade for three relief pitchers, struck out on three pitches in his first at-bat as a Mariner and went 0-for-3 as the designated hitter.
Then came the ninth, when Seranthony Dominguez - brought in as part of the deal that sent Luis Castillo to the Chicago White Sox - was tagged for the kind of inning that buried Seattle for good. Gleyber Torres launched a three-run homer, and Dillon Dingler followed with a solo shot.
Dominguez gave up four earned runs on four hits and two walks while recording just one out in his Mariners debut. Cole Wilcox finished the inning by striking out Spencer Torkelson and Max Clark to leave two Tigers on base.
For Hancock, the outing had enough good work to keep Seattle close early, but not enough support to matter. He went six innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and two walks over 94 pitches, while striking out six.
Detroit opened the scoring in the third on a play that mixed bad luck with a costly throw. Riley Greene reached on what was ruled an infield single with runners on first and second, and Mariners shortstop Colt Emerson fielded the ball before throwing well wide of first baseman Josh Naylor. That let Torres score for a 1-0 lead, and Colt Keith followed with a two-RBI line drive to make it 3-0.
“Tough play there by Colt,” Wilson said. “He makes that play nine times out 10, and just like he looked like he just kind of pulled it up the line today, and kind of opened the door there for that big inning in the third.”
Greene’s bat shattered on the play, sending the barrel near Hancock on the mound. Hancock said the sequence was difficult to read in real time.
“It’s a broken bat, and sometimes it’s hard to see where the ball is going,” Hancock said. “And it’s an off-balance throw.
It’s just a hard play, and he’s really good. I mean, he knows.
Just kind of seeing his reaction, he wants it. He’s a competitor.”
Greene added to Detroit’s lead in the fifth, drilling his 16th home run into the J-Rod Squad section in center field.
Seattle did have one brief chance to shift the tone in the fourth. Randy Arozarena singled, Julio Rodriguez walked, and the Mariners had runners on with one out. But Naylor and Cal Raleigh both struck out, and the inning fizzled.
Raleigh later delivered Seattle’s third hit of the night in the seventh, but the offense never got moving. Brendan Donovan, appearing in his first Major League game since May 15, ended his night 0-for-4 with a soft liner back to Melton. The game closed on a challenge from Dingler that changed a ball call to strike three.
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