Seattle Mariners Outfielder On Upswing After Disappointing First Half of Season
Almost a month later — and it seems like the Los Angeles Angels sweep against the Seattle Mariners from July 22-24 can be viewed as the turning point of the season for the latter.
It was that series that spawned a passionate postgame interview from Scott Servais saying the Mariners "gifted" a game to the Angels, it was the series where three quality starts from the team's starting rotation went to waste.
Since then — Seattle has a 10-6 record in 16 games which has included two series sweeps against the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets, respectively.
There's been a couple reasons for the Mariners newfound success since the disappointing showing against Los Angeles. There's the trade acquisitions of outfielder Randy Arozarena, infielder Justin Turner and relievers Yimi Garcia and JT Chargois.
Those four have helped add much-needed experience to the offense and bullpen. And neither are glaring weaknesses they were before the trade deadline.
But trade acquisitions can only help so much. And a lot of players have taken steps to improve since the sweep.
One of those players is outfielder Mitch Haniger.
From the beginning of the season through the Angels series — Haniger was hitting .206 with nine home runs and 35 RBIs, according to Statmuse.
Since then — Haniger is hitting .220 (11-for-50) with two homers and eight RBIs in 15 games. That improvement may not seem drastic but Haniger has also been responsible for a couple of those 10 wins since the Los Angeles series.
He had two walk-offs (one a walk against the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 3 and the other a three-RBI double against the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 8). He set the franchise record for most walk-offs in team history with eight.
Mitch Haniger now has 8 walk-offs in his Mariners career…. The most in franchise history! #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/D3yz5mxbEH
— Kole Musgrove (@KoleMusgrove23) August 9, 2024
Haniger also had a four-game hit streak going into Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
Seattle manager Scott Servais commented during a pregame interview Aug. 4 about how Haniger has approached his swing and how that's improved over the last three weeks.
"Mitch has always been one of those guys that's going to make mechanical adjustments to how his body's feeling, how he's swinging the bat," Servais said. "He's going to make a lot of adjustments over the course of the year. He has a good understanding of his swing. ... I like where he's at right now. I'll give him a ton of credit — he's continued to grind through."
Haniger is hitting .209 this season with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Haniger has spent a combined six seasons with the Mariners. His name is high in the record book on several franchise stats. Based on how he's continued to improve as the season's progressed — he'll probably be further up those lists when all is said and done.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
HANIGER WALKS IT OFF: Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger hit a three-run double in the bottom of the ninth to down the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Aug. 8. CLICK HERE
WALK-OFF WALK SINKS PHILLIES: Mitch Haniger was walked in the bottom of the 10th with the bases loaded to give the Seattle Mariners a 6-5 win on Aug. 3 against the Philadelphia Phillies. CLICK HERE
TURNER ON A ROLL: Seattle Mariners first baseman Justin Turner has made a huge impact for the team during his first homestead since being acquired by the team. CLICK HERE
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