Mariners’ offense has been improved, but not with runners on base

There’d been a hesitance to be too self-congratulatory or proclaim his team’s inconsistent offense was fixed. Scott Servais knew better than that based on the starts, stops and strikeouts he’s seen this season. At best, the Mariners’ manager was cautiously optimistic that a sustained change in his team’s approach at the plate was made.

In their previous nine games, Mariners’ hitters have tormented opposing starting pitchers, inflating their pitch counts and forcing them out of the games early. Only two starters — Michael Wacha of the Padres and Eury Perez of the Marlins — made it more than five innings.

While that was a good thing, Servais saw that the approach seemed to disappear when the Mariners had runners on base, particularly in close games. The seasonlong problem of a big moment generating a bigger-than-needed swing with the hope of the biggest results had produced nothing but inconsistency.

It came again Saturday afternoon in a disappointing 4-3 loss to the White Sox in 11 innings.

The Mariners forced Chicago starter Lucas Giolito out of the game after five innings of work and 105 pitches thrown. He’d allowed eight hits, walked three batters, was called for a pitch-clock violation and seemed visibly irritated with Mariners hitters.

What did that yield for the Mariners? Three runs with eight runners left on base.

That production was good compared to what would transpire the rest of the way. The Mariners wouldn’t get another hit with runners in scoring position despite having ample opportunities. They would finish 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position with both hits coming off Giolito. The White Sox bullpen held the Mariners hitless over the final six innings, including seven plate appearances with runners in scoring position.

“Early in the game, we’ve been doing exactly what we’ve been talking about doing, getting the pressure on the starter,” Servais said. “But ultimately, you got to have those quality at-bats with guys in scoring position.”

In two games vs. the White Sox, the Mariners are 4 for 29 with runners in scoring position and have stranded 23 runners on the bases. It’s been a consistent issue all season with Servais calling a meeting in San Diego to address the team’s approach with runners in scoring position.

“You go in streaks like that throughout the course of the season where you’re having good at-bats, you’re being productive and you’re executing in those spots,” Servais said.

Now is not one of those times.

The Mariners had a .256 batting average and .419 slugging percentage with runners in scoring position coming into the game, which is middle of the pack in MLB. But failures, including strikeouts, seem to come at crucial times. They had 128 plate appearances with a runner on third base and less than two outs and scored 54 runs. That 42.2% success rate is the third worst in MLB. By comparison, the Rays have had 149 plate appearances in that situation and scored 84 runs for a 56.4% success rate.

“We’re in a little bit of a funk with that right now,” he said. “I think every guy in that situation is a little bit different based on how they’re pitched. But trying to pull back and trying to really focus on staying in the middle of the field, staying to the big part of the field — when you do that, the situational hitting usually cleans up a little bit.”

This isn’t the first time he’s lamented players trying to do too much in those situations. It’s been a constant struggle this season to get Mariners’ hitters to stay within themselves in those situations instead of trying to be the hero.

“For whatever reason, in those spots, we haven’t done as well,” Servais said. “We’ve gotten away from our approach a little bit. We’ve got to stay in the middle and to the other (opposite) part of the field. It really does help hitters stay on the off-peed pitches lessens the load a little bit in trying to do too much up there.”

It’s a mindset that the players understand. But they’re human and fallible with the emotion of the moment.

“I think we just need to realize the pressure’s on the pitcher, not on the batter in the box,” J.P. Crawford said. “We’ve just got to wait for our pitch. Sometimes we get a little too antsy up there and swing at some bad pitches and end up getting ourselves out.”

Gott getting closer

Trevor Gott (back spasms) threw a 25-pitch bullpen before Friday’s game and will head out on a rehab assignment next week to make at least one appearance before returning to the Mariners bullpen.

Gott was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to June 5 and is eligible to return June 20. After resting his back and getting treatment for five days, Gott resumed playing catch on the homestand.

Prior to a rough outing in Texas where he pitched through some discomfort and gave up five earned runs on four hits before going on the IL, Gott had a 1.85 ERA in his 26 relief appearances with 30 strikeouts and six walks in 24 1/3 innings.