Consistent Graveman key in shutdown 'pen

Entering Friday’s game against the Red Sox, the Mariners were tied with the Athletics for the best record in the American League.

Nobody expected the Mariners to be this good to start the season. They had a lot of question marks, especially in the bullpen. But it’s the bullpen that has carried the team to its winning ways.

Entering Friday’s action, the ‘pen was a combined 8-3 with a 2.62 ERA and seven saves. Reliever Kendall Graveman is leading the way. He hasn’t allowed a run in 8 2/3 innings and leads the team in WAR (0.9).

“Putting our bullpen together, we had some question marks,” manager Scott Servais said. “We didn’t know how that was going to come together and gel. The bullpen has stood out. It’s the reason we are in the position we are in. We played a lot of close games, and we have come out on the right side most times. Our bullpen gives us a chance. They have been very consistent, throwing strikes.”

Production needed from Seager
Even though they are tied with the Athletics for the best record in the American League, the Mariners surprisingly are tied for 29th in the Major Leagues with a .209 batting average, heading into Friday.

Servais believes the offense will get better, but he needs a player like third baseman Kyle Seager to pick it up at the plate. In his last nine games, Seager is 2-for-33 (.061) and has seen his batting average dip from .342 to .211. When he is hitting well, Seager is capable of driving in his share of runs.

“He is in one of those funks. … He is missing some pitches,” Servais said. “With [Seager], it’s often times when he is going well, he’s not fouling the ball off. He hits it in play. We’ve seen some really good swings. He is just underneath it. He is not quite on it. Timing-wise and everything is OK. He is not missing pitches when he is going well. He is missing a few right now.”

Injury report
Second baseman Shed Long Jr., who is on the injured list because of a stress fracture in his right shin, has had a setback, according to Servais. Long was running in more competitive games but had to be shut down. Servais does not know when Long will return to action.

“We want him to be 100 percent before we send him out there,” Servais said. “[When healthy], we expect him to go back-to-back days, really picking up his workload. He is not quite there health-wise.”

Worth noting
Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto announced several additions to the Mariners’ high performance staff: Rob Scheidegger as manager of high performance training, Sean Johnson as manager of athlete care, Kate Weiss as coordinator of sports sciences and Jameel Battle as athletic training fellow.

Scheidegger will manage the medical and athletic training staff throughout the organization, while Johnson will manage the team’s efforts in strength, conditioning, nutrition and performance.

Weiss will oversee the gathering and dissemination of all data relating to player health, readiness and performance, while Battle will spend the 2021 season as the fellow in the Mariners’ athletic training department.