SEATTLE — Even if they were somehow able to keep Mike Trout from hitting another home run against them, the Seattle Mariners have still allowed him to almost single-handedly win the five-game series.
Even if they were actually able to generate more than a random hit with runners in scoring position to score at least four runs or more — their seemingly magic number to even hope for victory — it won’t mean this broken offense has been fixed by a duct-tape performance.
Even if the Mariners were somehow to do those two things — that have seemingly felt impossible at times — and pull out a victory Sunday, this homestand should and will still be considered an abysmal failure with consequences coming in the days ahead.
It’s not just that the Mariners got swept by the Angels in Saturday’s split doubleheader at T-Mobile Park, which was bad in so many ways, including sinking them to seven games back of the third wild card with a 29-38 record that’s only better than three teams in the American League.
It’s how they lost those two games: barely showing a pulse on offense, allowing Trout the opportunity to torment them again and playing nothing like they had less than 24 hour before in a win.
Only a masochistic fan or a Mariners manager might try to analyze which of Saturday’s defeats was actually worse.
Was it the 4-2 extra innings loss in the afternoon when after holding Trout hitless with three strikeouts, he was able to get a pitch to handle in the 10th inning with two outs and only a runner on third base? Of course, Trout crushed a two-run homer off Diego Castillo to dead center that proved to be the difference.
Or was it the listless 3-0 loss in the nightcap where Trout’s solo homer in the third inning would’ve been enough run support since minor league call-up Jose Suarez, the extra player added for the doubleheader, and two relievers held the Mariners scoreless?
Would you prefer running out of gas or a flat tire at rush hour in I-5?
Trout’s performance on the day, whether it should’ve occurred or not, and his dominance of the Mariners over this series and his brilliant career can’t be overlooked.
With his two homers on the day and four in the series, he now has hit 51 homers in 171 games against the Mariners since debuting in 2011. Only Rafael Palmeiro, who has 52 homers against Seattle has hit more. The two homers on Saturday give Trout 32 homers at T-Mobile Park — the most of any opposing player. He’s also passed several former Mariners.
His game-winning homer in the opener will be the most talked about.
With a runner on third and two outs in the top of the 10th, Mariners manager Scott Servais elected to let to Castillo pitch to Trout.
“It’s a tough decision,” Servais said. “Diego has been our best relief pitcher here probably in the last 10 or 12 outings. I don’t think he’s been scored upon and has thrown the ball great. I went with Diego and it didn’t work out.”
No, it didn’t.
And the cries to walk Trout and make someone else, even reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani, beat them instead, exploded.
“Again, I went with our hottest pitcher, our best pitcher, so to speak, and it’s Mike Trout,” Servais said. “He certainly got us a bunch in the past. It’s a tough decision. Last year’s MVP is in the on-deck circle so that weighs into the decision as well and where you want to go there. From the numbers standpoint, as crazy it sounds, you like the right-hander against Trout versus the right-hander against Ohtani. Those are decisions you have to make. I get paid to make those decisions. I need to be right more than I’m wrong. Today, give him credit. He hit the ball out of the ballpark. He just didn’t get a hit.”
Servais hoped his team would bounce back in the three hours before the next game. It didn’t.
Normally a key set-up man, reliever Penn Murfee started in the nightcap of the doubleheader as an opener with veteran lefty Tommy Milone, whose minor league contract was selected in between games, was scheduled to pitch after him in the bulk role.
Murfee did his job, posting two scoreless innings. Milone, who was signed to a minor league deal late in spring training and in his second stint with the Mariners, was solid. He pitched four innings, allowing just one run on two hits with a no walks and two strikeouts.
The one run and both hits allowed of course came off the bat of Trout.
With a 2-2 count in the third inning of a 0-0 game, Milone threw a changeup about four inches off the outside corner of the plate, hoping to get Trout to chase at it and hit a weak groundball or even swing an miss. Instead, Trout stayed on the pitch like he knew it was coming, extending his arms and muscling the ball over the wall in center field for his second homer of the day and fourth of this series.
Down 1-0, Servais turned veteran reliever Sergio Romo to pitch the seventh inning with the Mariners still down 1-0. Romo gave up single to Luis Rengifo and then served up a two-run dinger to pinch-hitter Jared Walsh.
Down three runs, the Mariners were done.
