Lifeless Bats, Pitching Woes Lead Mariners to 7-1 Loss Against Angels
SEATTLE — With Mitch Haniger (ankle) back in the lineup for the first time since late April, the Mariners felt their offense would be given a much-needed boost. Instead, for the third night in a row, Seattle's lineup struggled to piece anything together against Angels starter Reid Detmers.
Detmers fired seven innings of one-run ball, with the lone blemish coming in the form of a solo home run by backup catcher Luis Torrens in the fifth. Notably, this was Torrens' first homer of the season after hitting 15 a year ago.
Sam Haggerty tallied two base hits, checking in with a single and a double for Seattle while playing stellar defense in center field.
Chris Flexen struggled with command early and disaster soon followed. After getting through 5.2 innings with three runs allowed, manager Scott Servais allowed Flexen to push his pitch count over 100.
The right-hander proceeded to give up a two-run blast to David Fletcher before retiring the next hitter to get out of the sixth. Matt Brash came in to spell Flexen in the seventh inning, posting a dominant frame against the top of the Angels' order.
Outside of Haggerty, Torrens and a couple well-struck balls from Ty France, the Mariners' offense remained lifeless all night. While the team continues to get men on base, they are struggling mightily to drive them in—especially against left-handed pitching.
Seventh- and eighth-inning rally attempts were halted scoreless and the Angels eventually slammed the door shut. Brennan Bernadino, called up as the "27th man" for Saturday's doubleheader, threw the final two frames on the Seattle side following Brash.
The bottom line is: Seattle needs to find offense fast. With a crowded wild-card race tightening by the day, the Mariners need to take advantage of the weaker parts of their schedule.
With the loss, the Mariners fall to 58-51 on the season and will look to salvage a series split tomorrow with Marco Gonzales on the hill.
