Mariners finally get the Rob Refsnyder they paid for with push into 1st place

The Seattle Mariners' 2026 season has reached peak absurdity. They swept the Athletics to climb into first place in the AL West despite being a game under .500, and it was none other than the worst hitter in MLB who put them there.

That's a judgment neither of Rob Refsnyder's character nor his track record. He seems like a good guy, and the Mariners are paying him $6.25 million because he's been one of the best right-on-left hitters in recent memory.

But facts are facts, and the fact coming into this week's three-gamer in Sacramento was that Refsnyder was batting .101 with a 4 wRC+. Both were low points among hitters with at least 70 plate appearances, and it was hard to separate all that from how Seattle was the worst team in the league against left-handed pitching.

So, go figure that Refsnyder's fingerprints are all over Seattle's back-to-back wins against lefty hurlers. He got on base three times for the first time all year in Tuesday's 4-1 win over Gage Wood. Then on Wednesday, he started a 9-1 romp over Jeffrey Springs with a three-run home run.

Mariners could be onto something if Rob Refsnyder turned a corner in the A's sweep

This is where there must be a pump of the brakes. Even after playing a starring role in the last two games, Refsnyder is still only hitting .122 with a 30 wRC+. Those are better numbers, but the league averages are .240 and 100, respectively. So, you know… context and whatnot.

Even so, the hope can be that this is merely Refsnyder starting to live up to the 155 wRC+ he had against lefties between 2022 and 2025. He indeed showed some good habits in this series, shortening up for an opposite-field single on an 0-2 count on Tuesday and taking some really tough pitches before jumping a fat 3-2 pitch for the homer on Wednesday,

Screw it, let's also at least wink at how Refsnyder's coming-out party seemed to be contagious.

The Mariners' other key platoon bats also had moments, after all. Mitch Garver was 2-for-4 with a run-scoring double on Tuesday. Victor Robles had a three-hit day on Tuesday, and then made a pair of nice catches on Wednesday. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, what Robles did is enough to make one wonder if the magic of 2024 is spent after all.

OK, another pump of the brakes. The Mariners are still only 28-29, and the list of things they need to figure out is long. Getting Cal Raleigh and Brendan Donovan healthy and hitting again. Making Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller somehow buy into the piggyback. Who's playing shortstop. And so on.

For now, though, first place is first place. And as hard as the Mariners made it look in getting there, all they really have to do now is dig in and defend.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow