'It's one series': Gilbert, Mariners hit stumbling block

MINNEAPOLIS -- It started with a bad omen. And it got worse from there.

Logan Gilbert began Thursday’s game by walking Twins leadoff hitter Edouard Julien on four pitches. He needed 32 more pitches to get through the rest of the first inning. By that time, the Twins had scored five runs and were on their way to an 11-1 victory.

That was just one of many frustrating stretches this week for the Mariners, who dropped three of four games to the Twins and lost a series for the first time since the Cubs took two of three from them April 12-14.

“The Twins outplayed us,” manager Scott Servais said. “They swung the bat better, they pitched better, they executed better.”

The Mariners entered this week’s four-game set at Target Field on something of a tear. After starting the season 6-10, they won their next six series. The streak began with a three-game sweep of Cincinnati and a pair of wins at Coors Field. Then they took two of three from both of last year’s World Series participants (Texas and Arizona), one of the presumptive favorites in the NL (Atlanta) and the 2023 AL runner-up (Houston).

But the Twins had just seen a 12-game winning streak come to an end, a hot stretch that flipped their record from 7-13 to 19-14 after taking two of three from the Red Sox last weekend.

“They’re a good team, they’re playing well right now, but I like our chances against anybody,” Gilbert said. “I think all the way around we just didn’t execute very well. It’s pretty frustrating, but that’s the ups and downs of the game.”

The numbers told the ugly story. The Twins outscored Seattle 26-15 over the four games, or 20-5 in their three victories. And the Mariners struck out 53 times, bumping their MLB-leading total to 399, or 10.5 strikeouts per game. For reference, last season Twins hitters shattered the MLB record with 1,654 strikeouts, a rate of 10.2 per game.

“Unfortunately, for the first little bit more than a month now, the majority of the lineup has struggled together,” outfielder Mitch Haniger said. “That’s why runs [have] been at a premium for us. I think it’s only a matter of time before we get going, but at the same time, it’s not an excuse. We need to pick it up.”

Gilbert entered the game among the Major League leaders in ERA (1.69 -- fourth overall, tops in the AL) and WHIP (0.79 – fifth overall, second in the AL). Those numbers took a beating – by the end of his four-inning stint, his ERA had risen to 2.94 and his WHIP jumped to 0.94.

The first inning was indicative of Gilbert’s struggles. After the leadoff walk, Julien stole second before a string of singles by Trevor Larnach, Max Kepler and Jose Miranda plated one run. With two outs and the bases loaded, Gilbert still had a chance to limit the damage. But light-hitting Manny Margot (.164 coming into the game) pulled a center-cut splitter down into the left field corner for a three-run double. Carlos Santana followed with an RBI single, giving the Twins five hits in the inning, or as many as Gilbert had allowed in any of his previous seven starts this season.

“The key for us has been our starting pitching. It always gives us a chance and keeps us in the game, keeps the games tight,” Servais said. “We did not do that today, obviously. They got rolling and we couldn’t stop it.”

Eventually, even the Mariners’ defense eventually deserted them. In the seventh inning, substitute right fielder Sam Haggerty dropped a fly ball from Miranda, allowing him to reach second base. Miranda then scored when Luis Urías bounced a throw to first base for Seattle’s second error of the inning.

“Again, it’s one series. It’s going to happen throughout the course of the season,” Servais said.

The Mariners now return to Seattle for the start of a six-game homestand that opens with three against a suddenly scorching Oakland team (who scored 20 runs throughout a Wednesday doubleheader against Texas) and Kansas City, one of the surprise teams in the Major Leagues this season.

“It’s all good teams, no matter what the records show, so we’ve got to come in tomorrow … with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder and get back on track, play better baseball all around,” Haniger said.