Durable Suárez's injury could pose problems for Mariners

ANAHEIM -- The grimace on Eugenio Suárez’s face was an all-encapsulating representation of the pain that the Mariners’ most durable player felt after suffering an injury to his right index finger on Friday -- and the distress that his potential absence could cause if he’s sidelined for an extended period.

Suárez’s exit in the fifth inning made the frustration of an 8-7 loss to the Angels sting even more -- especially given that, separate from his situation, the defeat largely came at the hands of defense and pitching, which have been Seattle’s best attributes.

Suárez sustained the injury on a chopping groundout to end the fourth inning, then the issue became more pronounced when swinging during a four-pitch at-bat in the fifth, which culminated in an inning-ending popout. He showed visible discomfort when taking a swing-for-the-fences, first-pitch hack with two runners on, then he grabbed his right wrist in pain while running to first base on the flyout.

Suárez attempted to continue, but the pain became too significant moments after when taking infield grounders, at which point he shouted in frustration and shortstop J.P. Crawford called for athletic trainers.

X-rays were “inconclusive,” per manager Scott Servais, and Suárez will undergo more imaging on Saturday.

“Obviously, I feel uncomfortable. ... I couldn’t grip my bat 100 percent, so when I took my first swing, that bothered me a lot,” Suárez said. “That’s why I had to get taken out of the game, because we wanted to see what happened. That’s all I have right now. I tried to make that throw, but it was bothering me. The swelling doesn’t make me throw very comfortably, so that’s why I came out of the game.”

The Mariners fell one game behind Toronto (with whom they hold a tiebreaker) for the second AL Wild Card spot and are a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay, which holds the third and final spot (and the tiebreaker with Seattle). Big picture, the Mariners are still in great shape to reach the postseason, but their health status is far from ideal -- especially with the schedule dwindling now the potential loss of Suárez, who’s been one of MLB’s hottest hitters the past six weeks.

In 40 games since Aug. 1, Suárez has hit .246/.352/.616 (.968 OPS) with 15 homers, tied with AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge -- who is having a historic homer season -- for MLB’s most in that stretch. They’ve been huge, season-swinging blasts, too, none more than last weekend’s walk-off over the defending champion Braves, underscoring how valuable Suárez is in the middle of the order.

“It is concerning, no doubt,” Servais said. “Geno has been so huge for us, on both sides of the ball.”

Making matters worse is that the veteran and clubhouse leader is arguably the player that the Mariners can least afford to lose. His vastly improved defense has made him one of Seattle’s most dependable players, and playing in a club-high 142 of the team’s 143 games has made him one of the most reliable.

“It is frustrating,” Suárez said. “I want to be there helping my team and help the guys that believe in me. I just want to play every day. But this thing, I don’t have any control. This thing happened during the game, and hopefully I’ll be back soon.”

Servais and Suárez didn’t want to speak conclusively on the issue until after more testing was done, but Servais did say that the club will add a taxi squad from Triple-A Tacoma, which is playing in nearby Las Vegas. There could be multiple players taxied in to account for catcher Cal Raleigh (who has a sore left thumb injury after sliding into first base on a groundout on Wednesday) and Mitch Haniger (who took early BP and ran the bases Friday but missed his second straight game with lower back soreness).

If Suárez misses time, Jake Lamb, who went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts while playing right field for Haniger on Friday, is their first backup at third, as it is the veteran’s original position. But utility man Dylan Moore went 1-for-4 to begin a rehab assignment with Tacoma on Friday and could be a candidate if healthy.

If there’s an overall roster trickle down, Jarred Kelenic and Kyle Lewis could be options. Catcher Luis Torrens was a late scratch for Tacoma in what was likely a just-in-case decision on Raleigh’s status.

Either way, a Mariners club that, for most of the first half, struggled in large part due to injuries suddenly has more health concerns than it’d like -- especially with just 19 games to play.