Scott Servais Had Some Comments About the Mariners' Offense That Should Excite You
Heading into Tuesday's game against the Oakland Athletics, the Seattle Mariners have won six of their last seven games. They are also coming off a sweep of the division-rival Los Angeles Angels in which the usually tepid offense scored 19 runs and only struck out 18 times.
After Sunday's 5-1 win, manager Scott Servais made a comment about the team's approach that should have fans excited.
Per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times on social media:
M’s scored 19 runs in the three games after the firing of a hitting coach.
Scott Servais: “Up and down the lineup, guys are just more on the attack. Let’s be the hunter instead of the hunted. And that’s what it looks like to me in the last few days.”
M’s scored 19 runs in the three games after the firing of a hitting coach.
— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) June 3, 2024
Scott Servais: “Up and down the lineup, guys are just more on the attack. Let’s be the hunter instead of the hunted. And that’s what it looks like to me in the last few days.” https://t.co/VEC12wapZ8
Look, we take no joy in the Mariners' firing offensive coordinator Brant Brown before last Friday's game, and some of these numbers likely have to do with the opponent rather than some new breakthrough, but it's nice to hear Sevais talk like this.
For far too long this season, the M's didn't seem to have an offensive approach. Maybe the approach was to "work counts" or "work opposing starters and get them out of the game early," but all that really led to was the M's constantly being dictated to.
It's hard to win games when you are constantly down in counts 0-1, 1-2. Sure, you can drive up a pitch count, but if the starter fans 10 over six innings, what was really the point? The M's lead the world in strikeouts and that's not an offensive philosophy that you should want any part of.
The Mariners should be on the hunt for early-count fastballs or early-count mistakes. Sure, a maybe starter will throw less pitches if you're more aggressive, but if you can do damage, that's all that really matters. You can't swing at everything and you can't get yourself out - you still need to control the zone - but the data is clear that getting into advantageous counts is just that.
This is from this season, American league-wide, thanks to Baseball Reference:
Count | Batting Average |
|---|---|
First pitch | .319 |
1-0 | .320 |
2-0 | .344 |
3-0 | .400 |
1-1 | .305 |
2-1 | .306 |
3-1 | .326 |
0-1 | .329 |
0-2 | .156 |
1-2 | .162 |
2-2 | .163 |
3-2 | .198 |
If the new Mariners' approach causes less two-strike counts, that's clearly a win for the offense.
The M's take on the Athletics on Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m. PT.
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