Seattle, WA

Seattle Mariners Breakdown: Storylines after 4th straight series loss

Published

6 months ago

June 30, 2024

Seattle Mariners Breakdown: Storylines after 4th straight series loss

After a rough East Coast road trip, the first-place Seattle Mariners were hoping a return to the friendly confines of T-Mobile Park would help them get back on track.

It didn’t work out that way.

MLB insider reports on Mariners’ trade pursuits

The Mariners dropped two of three to the Minnesota Twins this weekend and lost a series at home for the first time since mid-April. It ended a streak of nine consecutive series wins at T-Mobile Park, which was the second-longest such streak in franchise history.

Seattle benefited from some chaos ball in the series opener, rallying for a 3-2 walkoff win in 10 innings on Friday night. But the Mariners dropped the final two games, losing 5-1 on Saturday and 5-3 on Sunday.

Seattle (47-39) has now lost four consecutive series overall. The Mariners are 3-8 since rattling off a 17-5 stretch earlier this month.

Standings update

Less than two weeks ago, the Mariners held a commanding 10-game lead atop the AL West. It’s a much different story now.

Seattle’s lead has dwindled to just 3.5 games over the second-place Houston Astros (42-41), who have surged back into contention with nine wins in their past 10 games. One piece of good news: The Mariners are still 8.5 games ahead of the third-place Texas Rangers (37-46), who have lost six straight.

Hitting struggles continue

The Mariners’ hitting woes this season have been well-documented. They continued with another rough series at the plate this weekend, as Seattle mustered a total of just seven runs in the three-game set.

In some ways, the Mariners were fortunate even to scratch across that many runs. Their game-tying run on Friday night came on an error. Their game-winning run later that night came in extra innings, with the benefit of an automatic runner starting the frame at second base. And on Sunday, one of their runs came one batter after Minnesota center fielder Byron Buxton lost a fly ball in the sun.

Seattle’s offense continues to sit at or near the bottom of the majors in nearly every key statistical category. Through Saturday, the Mariners ranked 27th in runs per game (3.87), dead-last in batting average (.218), 25th in on-base percentage (.298), 26th in slugging percentage (.366) and 26th in OPS (.664). They also have the highest strikeout rate in the majors at 27.9%, which is 1.6% higher than the next-closest team.

Bullpen gives up game-changing homers

With the Mariners playing in so many low-scoring games, their bullpen consistently finds itself in high-stress situations. That pressure has only been amplified by a slew of injuries that have tested the group’s depth. So, it’s not surprising that the bullpen has been showing more and more cracks of late.

Seattle relievers combined for four scoreless innings in Friday’s extra-inning victory, but they surrendered game-changing homers the next two days. In the sixth inning on Saturday, right-hander Trent Thornton left a center-cut fastball over the plate that Buxton belted for a three-run homer, which stretched the Twins’ lead to 5-1. And in the eighth inning on Sunday, right-hander Ryne Stanek threw a splitter that caught too much of the plate. Trevor Larnach made him pay, hitting a tiebreaking two-run shot that proved to be the difference in the series.

Thornton has been great this season, posting a 0.97 WHIP that ranks among in the top 20 among AL relievers. Stanek entered Sunday with a 10-game scoreless streak. But overall, ever since a dominant first month of the season, Seattle’s bullpen has been trending downward. Since May 1, the Mariners’ ‘pen ranks 23rd in the majors in ERA (4.59) and 15th in WHIP (1.25).

Gilbert wraps up dominant June

After tossing eight scoreless innings in each of his previous two starts, Logan Gilbert took a shutout into the sixth inning Friday night to extend his scoreless streak to 21 frames. The streak ended on a two-run homer by Carlos Correa, but that was the lone blemish in another strong outing for Gilbert. The 27-year-old right-hander limited the Twins to just two runs over six innings, giving him his MLB-best 14th quality start.

It capped a dominant June for Gilbert, who posted a 1.51 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP in five starts this month, along with 31 strikeouts and only one walk. Gilbert leads the majors with a 0.88 WHIP this season and ranks fifth in opponents’ batting average (.195) and ninth in ERA (2.72). He has allowed one earned run or fewer in nine of his 17 starts and has surrendered more than four runs only once all season.

Up next

After an off day Monday, the Mariners continue their nine-game homestand with a three-game set against the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore (53-30) recently had a season-long five-game losing streak, but has since responded with four straight wins.

The Orioles’ heavy-hitting lineup averages an MLB-leading 5.25 runs per game and leads the majors in slugging percentage (.464), OPS (.781) and home runs (139). Baltimore has blasted a whopping 60 homers in June, which is 18 more than any other team. Power-hitting shortstop Gunnar Henderson is tied for second in the majors with 26 homers and outfielder Anthony Santander ranks fifth with 22 long balls, including an MLB-best 12 this month. Baltimore also has one of the top pitching staffs in baseball, ranking third in ERA (3.36) and fourth in WHIP (1.16).

The Mariners lost two of three to the Orioles at Camden Yards in mid-May. Henderson homered in all three games.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Rowland-Smith: What stands out about Mariners pitchers’ recent hiccups
• Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez putting in extra work to solve struggles
• Seattle Mariners Injury Update: Latest on Bryan Woo, Gabe Speier and more
• Seattle Mariners reliever Gregory Santos to begin rehab assignment
• Big Game Hunting: Two splashy potential Seattle Mariners trade targets

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Seattle, WA

State ferries: A better idea from Nordic countries

Published

3 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

State ferries: A better idea from Nordic countries

Re: “Diesel or hybrid ferries? How about simply reliable” (Jan. 7, Opinion): Gov. Jay Inslee, Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson and The Seattle Times editorial board are asking the wrong question: diesel or hybrid ferries? Inslee and the majority of Democrats support…

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Seattle, WA

Manhunt underway for Mason County shooting suspect

Published

12 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Manhunt underway for Mason County shooting suspect

Manuhunt underway for Mason County assault suspect

Mason County deputies are looking for a man wanted in a shooting in Belfair on Monday.

MASON COUNTY, Wash. – The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching for a convicted felon wanted in a recent shooting.

The sheriff’s office says Michael Allen Beyer is wanted for first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Deputies believe Beyer was involved in a shooting that happened in Belfair on January 6.

Beyer is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, do not approach him and call 911 immediately.

Anyone with information regarding Beyer’s whereabouts is asked to call Detective Helser at 360-427-9670 x657, or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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Seattle, WA

Two more Seattle restaurants close due to minimum wage hike

Published

20 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Two more Seattle restaurants close due to minimum wage hike

Two more Seattle restaurants are calling it quits thanks to the untenable minimum wage hike.

At the same time that the Seattle minimum wage rose from $19.97 an hour to $20.76 an hour, the city ended the tip credit of $2.72. Under the previous rules, restaurants were able to pay $17.25 hourly wage if their staff earned at least $2.72 in tips per hour. But as cost of business continues to skyrocket in Seattle, a minimum wage hike without a tip credit is simply untenable for many small businesses.

Jackson’s Catfish Corner in Seattle’s Central District closed its doors in this new year. In an interview with Converge Media, owner Terrell Jackson argued Seattle is too expensive to operate in.

“I know that the minimum wages went up to 20 bucks an hour … I know that’s hard for my business as a small Black business,” Jackson said. “I’m not Amazon or Walgreens or Walmart who can pay their employees that much.”

Jackson isn’t alone in his complaints.

More from Jason Rantz: Panic as Seattle restaurants may not survive massive minimum wage shift

A second West Seattle eatery closes, citing the minimum wage hike

Bel Gatto, a bakery and café, became the second West Seattle eatery to close its doors over the Seattle minimum wage hike. The owner posted a sign to the front door to thank supporters but said she can’t afford to stay open anymore.

“Our revenues, unfortunately, are not able to cover the close to 20% increase in mandated wages, salaries and payroll taxes put into effect by the Seattle City Council effective 1/1/25. This ruling has made the continuation of our bakery operations untenable,” the sign read.

The owner, Peter Levy, explained to the West Seattle Blog that, “we were approaching close to a break even status in the last quarter of 2024, but the requirement to absorb another $4,000 per month in payroll expenses with the new mandate by the city put a break even further from our grasp which is what led to the closure.”

Last week, a video by Corina Luckenbach, owner of Bebop Waffle Shop in West Seattle, went viral as she said the minimum wage hike was forcing her to close after 11 years. She said she didn’t have an extra $32,000 a year to pay her staff what the city mandates.

More from Jason Rantz: Democrats blame Los Angeles fires on climate change to deflect from their own complicity

Will more restaurants close?

Ahead of the minimum wage hike, restauranteurs offered many warnings over what’s to come.

Ethan Stowell operates a number of Seattle’s top restaurants, including How to Cook a Wolf, Staple and Fancy, and Tavolata. He warned this change would be exceptionally costly for businesses in an industry notorious for razor-thin margins. And restaurants can’t merely raise menu prices again.

“I know everybody wants to say, ‘Just raise things (on the menu) a dollar or two,’ and that’s what it’ll be. That’s very simplified math. I wish it was that easy, but it’s not. This is a large increase that’s probably large enough to be equal to or close to what most restaurants in Seattle profit,” Stowell told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Portage Bay Cafe co-owner Amy Fair Gunnar noted the minimum wage change will cost her about $45,000 more a month. She said restaurants will have to “seriously change what they’re doing or they’re going to close their doors.”

More from Jason Rantz: Here’s why Seattle residents vow to stop tipping in new year

Ignoring the warnings, mocking the business people

The warnings from restaurant owners were mostly ignored or mocked.

Efforts by the Seattle City Council to address the forthcoming crisis fell apart after activists said they didn’t want restaurants to get an exception. Council president Sara Nelson told “The Jason Rantz Show” they will take up the issue again this year but there’s no specific idea yet to forward for legislation. The Mayor of Seattle, Bruce Harrell, has been almost completely absent from the issue.

Left-wing voices, meanwhile, claim to not care. That if businesses “can’t afford to pay a living wage,” then they shouldn’t be in business.

One reporter with The Stranger mocked one of the closures, quipping on X, “Has anyone ever eaten at bebop waffle lol.” Left-wing Seattleites condemned the business for “creating a right wing media darling to complain about paying people a living wage.”

KING 5 reporter Maddie White helped elevate this talking point by citing the National Low Income Housing Coalition, claiming “the average renter needs to make upwards of $40 an hour to afford rent.” But she’s quoting a stat for two-bedrooms. Minimum wage jobs aren’t meant to cover the cost of a single person renting a two-bedroom home or apartment.

Ironically, as activists dismiss the concerns of small business owners, they fail to acknowledge the inevitable consequence: when those businesses shut down, people lose jobs. A $20.76 hourly minimum wage — even with a $2.72 tip credit — means nothing if you’re unemployed.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz

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