Bats go quiet as M’s lose five of six in rough homestand

The Mariners offense, whose production exceeded expectations in the month of April, has seemingly come back down to Earth.

In a six-game homestand over the past week, the M’s lost both of their series, being swept by the Blue Jays and taking only one of three games from the Yankees afterwards.

The M’s struggled to get anything going over the weekend, while the Blue Jays pieced together maybe their best series in over a month. Toronto outscored Seattle 21-7 in a drubbing of a three-game set.

Following another blowout loss on Monday, the Mariners’ only win of the homestand came in a pitchers’ duel on Tuesday night, overcoming a five-inning stretch without a hit to win 2-1 in 11 innings. J.P. Crawford sliced a flare down the left field line to drive in the winning run. It was the first game started by Cy Young Award contender Max Fried that the Yankees have lost this season.

The Mariners had a chance to snag the series on Wednesday afternoon, holding a 2-1 lead into the late innings, though bullpen woes reared their ugly head once again. Relievers Gabe Speier and Carlos Vargas both surrendered solo homers in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, despite being neutralized by Mariners pitching for most of the series, smashed the latter, go-ahead homer which proved to be the decider. The Yankees held on for a 3-2 win.

Wednesday’s loss to the Yankees was the Mariners’ first loss in a rubber game this season. They are now 6-1 in such games.

So…what now?

The Mariners are currently clinging onto a half-game lead atop the AL West standings, with the four top teams in the division all within two games of each other.

Offensive regression has been the story of the last week, and you have to wonder if the Mariners lineup can any longer produce at a level necessary to keep chalking up wins. With the current injuries to the starting rotation (more on this in a minute), the M’s have grown reliant on run production that increasingly appears to be unsustainable.

From Opening Day through the month of April, the Mariners put up a 123 wRC+, good for fifth in baseball. However, since the beginning of May, this number has dropped in 94, which is 24th in baseball. Production at the bottom of the lineup has dropped off, with Ben Williamson’s hot start cooling off to a .234/.258/.309 slash line and Leody Taveras’ contributions being largely ineffective (-0.4 WAR since being claimed off waivers from Texas).

Infielder Donovan Solano, one of the largest free agent acquisitions made this offseason, has continued to provide essentially no offensive value in his platoon with Rowdy Tellez at first base. With only a single RBI through mid-May and an ice-cold -7 wRC+, you have to wonder how much longer Jerry Dipoto and company will let that situation play out.

In terms of the lineup, help may not be coming in the near term, though the front office ought to be seriously considering alternatives. Outfielders Luke Raley and Victor Robles not close to a return, and the trade market has yet to really open up this early in the season. Our newer, expanded playoff format, which keeps more teams in contention for longer, certainly doesn’t help matters, either.

Any additions in the immediate term are likely to come from within the organization or off the waiver wire. Recalling first baseman Tyler Locklear from Triple-A Tacoma could be an option for Solano’s spot on the roster. You also have to wonder if Dipoto will start to consider calling up prospect Cole Young to play second base and help take some heat off Williamson in the infield.

What’s the deal with the rotation?

Starting pitcher Bryce Miller was placed on the 15-day IL earlier this week with right elbow inflammation, exasperating the dire situation the Mariners currently face with rotation depth. Jhonathan Díaz was selected take his place on the roster.

The Mariners now have three of the five starting pitchers from what was the expected Opening Day roster on the injured list.

The good news, according to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer, is George Kirby appears to be poised to make his return to the starting rotation, with likely his final rehab start with the Rainiers scheduled tonight in Albuquerque. Logan Gilbert may not be too far behind, with him throwing a bullpen session this week with no issues. The Mariners also do not expect Miller to be on the injured list much longer than the required 15 days.

What’s on tap?

With the roster as it stands seemingly hanging on by a thread while still holding a slim lead in first place, the Mariners are firmly in damage control mode as they embark on a long 10-game roadtrip. This week, they travel to San Diego to face the Padres in this year’s Vedder Cup rivalry series, before headed to the southside of Chicago to face the White Sox.

Mariners fans can only hope that Chicago’s own Pope Leo XIV doesn’t channel any divine intervention for his favorite team in what appears to be a must-win series for the M’s in an otherwise brutal upcoming schedule.

Tonight’s game against the Padres is exclusively available on Apple TV as part of their presentation of Friday Night Baseball. Over the radio, tonight’s game will be on 710 AM Seattle Sports.

The following five games will be televised on Root Sports and broadcast over the radio on 710 AM Seattle Sports, as usual.

This is Rolling Roof Rundown’s weekly Mariners newsletter. You can follow James @johnstonsports.com on Bluesky and, if you haven’t already, subscribe to the newsletter for more news and commentary. Rolling Roof Rundown is now on Instagram and Threads as well.