Notes: J.P.'s glove sizzles; Yacabonis added

Though his offense has tailed off a bit after a hot start, there’s been no let up in the outstanding defense by Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford this season and that continued with several more stellar plays in Tuesday’s 6-5 loss to the Giants.

Crawford has the strongest throwing arm of any Mariners defender -- though first baseman Evan White certainly belongs in that conversation as well -- but he didn’t even need that weapon to make a highlight reel play to get San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford in the fourth inning.

Lined up to the second-base side of the diamond in the shift, Crawford ranged far to his left on a slow grounder in the hole, made a diving stop and flipped the ball from his glove to White at first base all in one smooth motion.

It’s the kind of play that the 25-year-old has been making consistently this season, as he continues developing into one of the better defensive shortstops in the American League. The metrics are bearing that out as Crawford currently is tied for first in the AL in FanGraph’s Defensive Runs Saved with Detroit’s Niko Goodrum, Houston’s Carlos Correa and Tampa Bay’s Willy Adames.

He’s fourth among all MLB shortstops in FanGraph’s Defensive Wins Above Replacement rankings at 3.1, behind Colorado’s Trevor Story (3.8), Goodrum (3.3) and Minnesota’s Jorge Polanco (3.2).

“I know what my eye test tells me,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He’s just been spectacular all year long. Then you start to see the metrics line up with that, which makes me feel really good because he’s been all over the field. We do a lot of shifting. He’s throwing from different parts of the field. The instinctive plays that J.P. makes have been fantastic and last night’s play was a prime example.”

As for the offense, Crawford got off to a sizzling start this season and put up a .293/.398/.360 line through 20 games, but he's hit just .184/.284/.329 in his past 20. But Servais has stuck with Crawford in the leadoff role, and he delivered a three-run double on Tuesday and has contributed six RBIs and five runs in his last five games.

Crawford has cut his strikeout rate from 21.0% to 16.5% this season while hiking his walk percent from 10.9% to 12.5%, both favorable trends.

“Hitting in that leadoff spot is not easy, and he’s done a really nice job there,” Servais said. “The thing about J.P., he’s continuing to make adjustments with his swing and you can see that. He has not come close to reaching his ceiling offensively yet. There’s still plenty of growth there and that will continue as he gets stronger and understands his swing a little more.

“One of the reasons I love J.P. in the leadoff spot is how competitive he is. You often see it with runners in scoring position or leading off an inning late in the game when he knows he needs to get on base. You’re going to get a good at-bat. The numbers may be off a little in the second half of this season, but I appreciate the competitiveness of what he brings.”

Yacabonis added to bullpen
After taxing their bullpen on Tuesday when starter Ljay Newsome was knocked out of the game by a line drive in the second inning, the Mariners added reliever Jimmy Yacabonis from their alternate training site on Wednesday.

Yacabonis, 28, has been a long reliever and occasional starter with the Orioles over the past three seasons and was acquired from the Padres in a cash trade on Aug. 19. He was with the team on its current road trip as part of the traveling taxi squad, along with utility man Donovan Walton and catcher Brian O’Keefe.

Rookie right-hander Brady Lail, who allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings in relief of Newsome on Tuesday, was optioned to the alternate training site and will remain with the club on the remainder of the trip on the taxi squad.

Pitching plans
Newsome’s sore right hand was feeling better on Wednesday and while he won’t start playing catch again until Friday, Servais said the rookie right-hander appears on track to make his next start Tuesday against the Giants back in Seattle.

The Mariners have a makeup doubleheader against the A’s on Monday at T-Mobile Park to start that final 10-game homestand. Servais said Marco Gonzales would likely start the first game of the 2:10 p.m. PT twin bill, with a likely bullpen outing in the second seven-inning contest rather than pushing Newsome up a day to pitch in that game.