The Seattle Mariners attempted to retool their offense in the offseason to cut down on strikeouts.
So far, it hasn’t worked.
Entering the opener of a three-game home series against the American League West rival Oakland Athletics on Friday night, the Mariners have struck out a major-league-worst 399 times, 30 more than any other team.
Seattle matched its season high with 15 strikeouts on Thursday in an 11-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis. It was the 26th time in 38 games they struck out 10 times or more.
“It’s been inconsistent,” right fielder Mitch Haniger said of Seattle’s offense. “And I think for every guy, it’s a little bit different than trying to bucket the entire offense into one category.
“I think one through nine (in the lineup), there’s only a couple of guys that would tell you that they’re really happy with how things have gone for them this year. Unfortunately for over a month now, the majority of the lineup has struggled together. That’s why runs have been at a premium for us.
“I think it’s only a matter of time before we get going, but at the same time, it’s not an excuse. We need to pick it up.”
The Mariners won six straight series to move atop the American League West before losing three of four at Minnesota to cap a 3-4 trip and drop 1 1/2 games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers.
“We didn’t deserve to even be in the game,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said of the series finale on Thursday. “We didn’t play a good game, obviously. Really, it was all series. The Twins outplayed us. They did. They swung the bat better, they pitched better, they executed better. Not much to say, other than they beat us bad.”
The A’s, who lost more than 100 games each of the past two seasons, have remained close to .500 and sit third in the division.
“Guys are confident,” Oakland pitcher Alex Wood said. “I think down to each guy, there’s just really, I think they were sick of going through what they went through last year.
“There’s really a strong will to go out there and play well and try and win every night, and you can see it in every guy out there. And I think the cool thing about this group is we’re a super young group but a lot of these guys have been together for a while.”
Spending a final, lame-duck season in Oakland before a projected three-year stint in Sacramento en route to their new ballpark in Las Vegas, the A’s have played in front of sparse home crowds. They drew a season-low 2,895 Monday against Texas and are averaging 6,222 fans through 22 home games — less than half the next-lowest average in the majors.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay praised the players for keeping their focus on the field.
“That’s the World Series champions over there,” Kotsay said after Oakland dropped three of four to Texas. “We showed up and gave them everything we can give them. I couldn’t be more proud of the team. The way we fought, there’s just no quit in this group.”
A’s right-hander Paul Blackburn (3-1, 3.00 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday against Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo, who has yet to pitch this season because of right elbow inflammation.
Blackburn is 2-4 with a 4.91 ERA in eight career starts against Seattle.
Woo is 2-0 and hasn’t allowed a run in two starts vs. Oakland, both last year. He fanned 11 and walked five in 11 innings.
–Field Level Media
