Strikeouts pile up, runs don’t as Mariners split opening series with Red Sox
SEATTLE – The missed call didn’t cost the Mariners the game. No, their continued refusal to stop swinging at breaking pitches out of the strike zone and their series-long inability to hit breaking balls in the zone were larger issues in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Red Sox at a sunny, but chilly T-Mobile Park.
While a slew of offseason moves, including the additions of Mitch Garver and Jorge Polanco and the reacquisition of Mitch Haniger, were theoretically supposed to improve a Mariners offense that was far too prone to strikeout and struggled to hit breaking pitches, the first four games provided little evidence to suggest it is better.
“Offensively, we just haven’t gotten going yet,” manager Scott Servais said. “Again, it’s four games into the season, but we need to be more consistent with what we’re doing, and we will be. We have a good offense. We just didn’t get it going here in this series. We need to do a better job of handling the off-speed pitches. We have been chasing them little bit more than normal and haven’t gotten the ball in play like I thought we would.”
A year ago, Seattle went 1-3 in the season-opening series at T-Mobile Park, posting a .197./254/.318 slash line with 12 runs scored, 26 hits (10 doubles, two homers), eight walks and 35 strikeouts in 142 plate appearances.
In each of their last three games, they have scored only one run after nine innings of play. After splitting the four-game series with Boston, the Mariners have a .178/.226/.271 slash line with 10 runs scored (third fewest in MLB) on 23 hits (three doubles, three homers), six walks and 45 strikeouts. Only the Dodgers, who have played five games and the Pirates have struck out more times.
Servais was giddy with his team’s overall approach and results in the final weeks of spring training. But that success hasn’t carried over to the regular season.
“No, it hasn’t,” he said. “It’s something that we need to get better at. We’ve talked about getting better at. We tried to reshape our club in the offseason, and we will be better at it. We are just off to a slow start. There’s no excuse for it. It’s just where we’re at, and we need to make some adjustments. It’s about shrinking about the strike zone and not expanding it. And we are expanding it too much right now.”
The Mariners had just four hits in the game with Ty France collecting two of them. Their lone run scored came in the second inning off Red Sox starter Garrett Whitlock, who pitched as a reliever last season.
Mitch Haniger led off with a double to the gap in right-center and France followed with a hard line drive single to center. Whitlock came back to strike out Dominic Canzone and Josh Raley. But Josh Rojas was able to squeeze a ground ball through the middle of the infield for a run-scoring single that tied the game at 1-1. They wouldn’t do much else.
“We’re just settling in and it’s only been four games,” France said. “We split the series so we are not too worried about it yet. Guys are going to get rolling again. It’s baseball. It goes in waves. So hopefully we get back on a hot streak.”
Making his first start of the season, Bryce Miller looked dominant early, striking out three of the first four hitters he faced. He gave up a solo homer to Tyler O’Neill on 97-mph fastball at the top of the zone in the second inning, but came back with a 1-2-3 third innings.
But one call in the fourth inning likely impacted the success rate of Enmanuel Valdez’s critical plate appearance, the outcome of Miller’s start and the overall trajectory of the game.
When Miller got Wilyer Abreu to wave at a splitter for a swinging strike three and the second out of the inning, it looked as if he might escape a self-created jam strand Triston Casas at third base and Tyler O’Neill at second base and keep the game tied at 1.
All he needed to do was retire Valdez.
After falling behind 2-1, Miller fired a 94-mph fastball above the strike zone. Valdez started to offer at the pitch and then appeared to unsuccessfully check his swing. Home plate umpire Chris Segal called the pitch a ball. Catcher Seby Zavala asked for an appeal on the check swing. Segal pointed to third base umpire Quinn Wolcott, who signaled that Valdez did not go around, much to the dismay of Zavala, Miller and Mariners dugout.
Replays showed that Valdez did indeed break the plane of the plate.
It should’ve been ruled a strike. However, checks swings are not reviewable.
Instead of Miller having the advantage with a 2-2 count, Valdez had the upper hand at 3-1.
How much of an advantage?
Looking at MLB data from the 2023 season, it was a major advantage.
On 2-2 counts: .177/.184/.285 slash line with a 45 percent strikeout rate.
After 2-2 counts: .182/.293/.299 slash line with 39 percent strikeout rate.
On 3-1 counts: .343/.715/.637 slash line
After 3-1 counts: .250/.591/.445 slash line with 14 percent strike out rate.
“Obviously, a 3-1 count vs. a 2-2 count is a huge difference,” Miller said. “I still threw a ball in the 2-1 count. It looked like he went, but it was still a ball. I still have to make a better pitch and throw a strike then we get a different result.”
Not wanting to issue another walk, Miller came back with another fastball on the 3-1 pitch that caught too much of the plate.
Valdez took a massive hack at the pitch, sending the ball through wind into seats in right field for three-run homer. Miller could only shake his head in frustration. It was a mistake made in a situation he shouldn’t have been in.
“Every game comes down to three critical pitches where the count could sway either way,” Servais said. “The check swing: Did he go? Did he not go? It’s up for debate. You don’t get the call and then we made a mistake on a 3-1 pitch. It does swing the game in a big way, but you have to execute. At the end of the day, we were behind in the count. And then that whole inning started with the leadoff walk. If you’re continually playing with fire, you’re going get burned. And that’s what happened.”
If it had been 2-2, he would’ve likely thrown his new splitter that generated six whiffs and two foul balls on the 10 times that hitters swung at the pitch.
Instead, the Mariners trailed 4-1 and that three-run deficit might as well have been 30 runs. Miller was more irritated about the pitches that put him in the 2-1 count and leadoff walk to Casas to start the inning.
“I’ve got to make better pitches early to get ahead instead of trying to climb back into counts,” Miller said.
He pitched five innings, allowing the four runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts.