Here's why the Mariners are off to a frustrating start

SEATTLE -- Two outs, bases loaded and extra innings is the kind of theater that the Mariners have thrived in, especially with Julio Rodríguez at the plate. Yet each passing chapter in such circumstances in 2023 has proven more challenging to deliver, the latest yielding a 6-5 loss in 11 innings on Tuesday at T-Mobile Park.

Rodríguez hit into a game-ending forceout after J.P. Crawford drew a pinch-hit walk to load the bases, capping a night that was equally odd as it was frustrating.

Some reasons why:

• The Mariners scored five runs for the ninth time in 18 games, a mark that’s typically been good enough to win. They were 115-20 when plating at least that many from 2021-22.
• They dropped to 0-8 when their opponents have scored at least four runs, accounting for all but two of their losses.
• They fell to 2-5 in one-run games after leading MLB in the category with 34 wins last year and 33 the year prior.
• They’re now 0-4 in extra innings after racking up 25 wins beyond the ninth the past two seasons combined, an MLB best and four more than the next team.

“I wish I had a special magic potion to throw everybody when it turns into extra innings,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We've been really good at finding a way to move the runners along or getting the big hit in those games. And so far early this year, we've struggled to do that.”

Rodríguez’s chance in the 11th was among many that the Mariners had to put Milwaukee away. Their best probably came in the 10th, when Ty France tied the game with a sacrifice fly, then Eugenio Suárez and Cal Raleigh each singled with two outs. But Teoscar Hernández struck out on three pitches to halt the rally.

Yet, before Suárez’s knock in that moment, the Mariners had just three baserunners since the third inning -- via two walks and the automatic runner -- a span of 22 plate appearances without a hit.

The first bookend of that stretch was a run-scoring single by Tommy La Stella, which capped a four-spot in the third, when they retook the lead after Logan Gilbert surrendered three runs early. La Stella’s knock represented the Mariners’ first RBI from the designated hitter spot all season. They entered Monday hitting .085/.156/.153 (.309 OPS), by far MLB’s worst slash line at the position, over 64 plate appearances, underscoring more underlying offensive struggles.

Team-wise, the Mariners are hitting .228/.306/.372 for a .678 OPS that ranks seventh worst. Their 17 homers are tied for ninth-fewest, and playing in Seattle’s chilly conditions on this homestand certainly hasn't helped their cause, notably with Hernández flying out to the warning track twice and Wong once. Wong is in a particularly brutal stretch, beginning the year 5-for-51 following an 0-for-4 night.

“The consistency, offensively, hasn't been there,” Servais said. “We've had a certain game here or there where we'll put something together and get a couple guys going good. But you know it wasn't there tonight.”

To be sure, Milwaukee boasts MLB’s best bullpen ERA (1.91) and threw an army of gnarly arms, including Devin Williams and Matt Bush, who each struck out the side.

“They made the big pitches,” Servais said. “They situationally pitched very well, just well enough to win it."

Yet for as familiar as this lineup looks -- the only changes from 2022 were the subtractions of Mitch Haniger and Adam Frazier and additions of Hernández and Wong -- if the Mariners learned anything from last season, it’s that the prior year’s personality doesn’t necessarily correlate to the current year’s team.

Seattle went from being surprise darlings in ‘21 to a team with heightened expectations in ‘22, looking to end a 20-year playoff drought. Yet it took until mid-June for things to click.

“I remember last year at this time there was kind of a panic,” Gilbert said. “It might have been May, but it just seemed like we weren't playing well. But even at that time, I don't know what it was but I was super confident in the team and I knew it wasn't far off. ... I think we're really close to playing good ball and I think it's going to come around here.”