What We Learned: Mariners Fall to 2-8 after Series Loss to Houston

A lot hasn’t gone the Mariners way so far, and now they are in a 2-8 hole to start the season. Let’s take a look at what we learned from the most recent end game in a series in this young Mariners season.

After a rough road trip, the Mariners had a just as rough opening home series. Here are some things we learned that can be taken away from it.

Giving Up Walks Is Bad

This is pretty obvious, but it has been apparent in the past couple games. Walks can come back to bite a pitcher, especially against a lineup the Astros have.

Tuesday night, Ariel Miranda was coasting through 5.2 innings pitched before giving up back-to-back two-out walks to Brian McCann and Marwin Gonzalez.

Scott Servais opted to go to the bullpen to get James Pazos who went on to allow four runs in the frame to give up the valuable 3-2 lead the Mariners once had.

Wednesday night after the offense gave Yovani Gallardo an early 5-0 lead, he gave up back-to-back leadoff walks to start the top of the fourth inning.

Related Story: Paxton Moves Up

That led to the Astros scoring a pair of runs that opened the door to them scoring 10 unanswered points the rest of the game to win 10-5.

Mitch Haniger for ROY

This guy is off to a hot start and is currently sitting on a seven-game hit streak after going 1-for-5 last night with a stolen base. On the season, he is hitting .250 with three home runs, six RBIs, and three doubles.

During his hit streak, Haniger is hitting .321 with six walks to nine strikeouts. After Jean Segura went down and besides what Taylor Motter and Mike Freeman have shown in a smaller sample size, Haniger is tied with Robinson Cano with a .250 batting average for the team lead. His three home runs also leads the club.

More from SoDo Mojo

• 2023 Steamer Projections: Teoscar Hernandez could see a drop in Seattle
• Could the Mariners Acquire AL Batting Champion, Luis Arraez?
• Steamer Projections: Julio Rodriguez to enter rarified air in 2023
• What if the Mariners traded FOR Tyler O’Neill this time?
• Mariners starting pitching is being overlooked by MLB

There’s no telling how long this success will last. If he can keep hitting the whole season of if the league will adjust to him. But for now, he has been fun to watch, within a team that hasn’t been so fun.

Dipoto’s Depth is Showing

After the team battled several injuries over the course of last season, Jerry Dipoto went out and created a larger pool of depth in the organization to pick and choose from should the team need to.

Well, less than two weeks into the season and the need for depth became present and has now been filled.

Segura went down on Monday, April 10th with a strained hamstring and was placed on the 10-day disabled list. Motter and Freeman have been called on to fill in during his absence, and have been doing so quite nicely.

Since having to fill in, Motter has been on fire, going 5-11 with a home run, four doubles, and two RBIs. Freeman has only had five plate appearances but has made the most of them, going 2-4 last night with his first Major League home run.

These are just the types of players a team needs to have success when a key player falls to injury. The team already has made due after the Drew Smyly injury by bringing Miranda back into the rotation. The Mariners just need to find a way to stay healthy and consistent on the field.

Next: Sodo Mojo's Mariners In-Game Twitter Poll

Next up for the Mariners is a three-game weekend series against the Texas Rangers to continue the home stand. This team needs to turn things around, and fast. Hopefully, the M’s can get a sweep or at least something to get the momentum to switch towards a winning mindset.