Miscues plague Mariners in series finale vs. Guardians

SEATTLE -- The defensive miscues started almost right away, put the game out of reach early and, at one point, nearly had their standout shortstop in a precarious spot after an infield collision.

A laundry list of anything that could go wrong in the field for the Mariners on Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Park did, and it sunk Seattle to an 8-0 loss at T-Mobile Park that left a sour taste in the mouths of just about everybody in the home clubhouse after a 3-4 homestand.

“That was not any fun,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

As for J.P. Crawford’s collision, he finished the game after running into second baseman Jorge Polanco in the fourth inning, but he was slow to get up and examined by Servais and head athletic trainer Kyle Torgerson. The 2020 Gold Glove Award-winning shortstop slammed his left shoulder into Polanco’s leg, then was nicked on the back of his head by Polanco’s cleat when the two both attempted to field an up-the-middle grounder from Andrés Giménez.

The play began with Crawford shaded just left of second base, then he was covering the bag while Steven Kwan took off on a stolen-base attempt. Crawford then veered to the right of second base off the bat, at which point Polanco appeared not to recognize that the shortstop was there.

“I think J.P. thought the ball was a little bit harder and didn't think he was going to get to it originally, and Polo is going to go after it,” Servais said. “Somebody usually calls the other guy off. They were both trying to get there and they ran into each other.”

That moment encapsulated a shift from sloppy to scary on a day where every infielder, other than third baseman Luis Urías, was at the center of a fielding hiccups despite no errors being charged.

It started in the first inning, when starter George Kirby hit Giménez on his shin guard with an 0-2 splitter, continued when Ty France muffed an exchange between his glove and throwing hand on a would-be throw to the plate to nab Giménez running from third (though Giménez likely would’ve beat the throw anyway), and extended when Polanco couldn’t corral a chopping grounder when playing in with a runner on third.

Even the batterymates had their blunders, as catcher Seby Zavala sailed a throw into center field on a stolen-base attempt, and Kirby had a wild pitch reach the backstop allowing the same runner to advance to third, though neither of those plays yielded a run.

And that was only the first inning.

In the second, Polanco missed a leaping attempt at a 100 mph line drive from Brayan Rocchio and instead deflected it into right field. Rocchio later scored when Giménez ripped a 91.8 mph liner past France’s outstretched glove at first base.

“Definitely not the cleanest game,” France said. “It is what it is and was out of character for us.”

Two at-bats later, and looking to limit the damage, Servais lost a challenge on a tagup throw from left fielder Dylan Moore to Zavala at the plate, where Kwan slid around Zavala’s glove. The play was confirmed after a brief replay review.

Kirby was charged all eight runs on 10 hits among 23 batters faced over 3 2/3 innings, a disappointing follow-up to his scoreless debut on Friday against Boston.

Kirby had zero walks, but he also struggled to effectively land his splitter, which accounted for the HBP and wild pitch. The Guardians also put 20 balls in play against him, only four of which were hard-hit.

“It's tough when you’ve got a team that really swings a lot and makes good contact,” Kirby said. “And for me, living in the zone a lot, I run into those types of games. So yeah, it was hard to get in a rhythm. But I'm not going to stray away from what I do well, filling up the zone.”

Moreover, Wednesday’s avalanche of defensive issues overshadowed Seattle’s ongoing struggles at the plate, which continued with their first shutout of 2024. The Mariners were blanked eight times last year, but only thrice after the All-Star break. On Wednesday, they had five hits and only thrice reached scoring position.

“We really didn't do much offensively at all, and we’ve got to get that going,” Servais said.

Up next for the Mariners is their first road trip, which could be a welcome sign given that they’ll travel to venues more conducive for hitting in Milwaukee and Toronto.