Cal Raleigh didn’t hide from it after another Seattle Mariners loss Tuesday night. He put the spotlight right on himself.
The Mariners dropped their fifth straight game, falling 4-1 to the Yankees, and the slide has pushed them to a season-high 4 1/2 games back in the AL West. They’re also four games out of the third wild-card spot, with six teams sitting ahead of them. At this point, the division is the clearest path back to October.
Seattle’s offense has been stuck in neutral, then reverse. The club has scored 0, 1, 2, 1 and 1 runs over its last five games, and it remains the least productive lineup in baseball at 3.86 runs per game this season.
Since June 1, that number has dipped even further to 3.47, again worst in the majors. On Tuesday, the Mariners’ only run came on a Randy Arozarena solo homer.
After that, they managed just two singles and three walks the rest of the way.
Manager Dan Wilson didn’t dress it up after the loss.
"A tough one again tonight," Wilson said following Tuesday's loss (via MLB.com). "As we have talked about it before, we need to find that consistency on offense."
Raleigh, the reigning American League MVP runner-up, had another rough night at the plate, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. He ended the game by whiffing on three fastballs above the zone. His season line has sunk to .159/.264/.299, and among the 205 hitters with at least 300 plate appearances, he sits dead last in OPS.
Afterward, Raleigh didn’t try to separate himself from the mess. He owned it.
"We're not playing well. That starts with me.
I'm awful," Raleigh said (via The Athletic). "So it is what it is.
I've got to find a way to be better and to help bring the guys along, and we've just got to play better ... We just have to do -- I just have to do -- a better job of getting ready to go and be prepared and bringing that edge and that readiness each night at 7 o'clock."
He expanded on that thought when speaking to MLB.com.
"The approach (as a team) is not there. To me, it's just off-balance swings.
Late to the heater and early on the offspeed. I'm not pointing fingers.
Ultimately, I'm the worst of the group right now. Putting your pride aside, baseball players can be stubborn.
You have to put your pride aside."
Seattle did add Taylor Ward at the trade deadline, and Brendan Donovan recently came back from a long groin injury, but neither move has sparked the lineup. The bigger issue is that the players who have carried this group all season need to lift it now - Raleigh, Josh Naylor and Julio Rodríguez chief among them. The slump isn’t on one bat alone, but the stars have to drag the offense forward.
The Mariners head to Houston this weekend for a three-game set against the AL West-leading Astros, a series that could shape the race in a hurry. Seattle has a chance to make up serious ground. Houston has a chance to slam the door.
The broader trend is just as ugly. Tuesday was Seattle’s 20th loss in its last 29 games, and only the Athletics, at 6-24, have been worse since July 5. FanGraphs currently gives the Mariners 28.4% postseason odds.
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