There's no 'magic answer' to Mariners' woes

LOS ANGELES -- The only positive thing the Mariners can say about their road trip is that it’s now mercifully over.

The club concluded its nightmare nine-game trip with an 8-4 loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. The Mariners went 1-8 on the trip and reside five games behind the Astros for first place in the American League West, having dropped to 64-64 -- the first time they haven’t had a record above .500 since April 24.

They lost blowouts and close games, squandered both early leads and late-inning ones, set new lows for offensive futility and saw their normally dominant rotation falter. They lost in every way possible, and now return to Seattle for a six-game homestand at their lowest point.

"It's not been a good trip for us for a number of reasons,” manager Scott Servais said. “Certainly in the playoff race, you don't want to go out and basically lay an egg on a road trip. And that's what happened."

The Mariners were outscored 52-26 against the Tigers, Pirates and Dodgers. Their offense hit just .184 (the third-worst average among MLB teams in that span) and scored three runs or fewer in seven of the nine games. Their pitching staff, with struggles by starters and relievers alike, posted a 5.09 ERA (fourth worst in that span). Their 1-8 record and -26 run differential since Aug. 13 are both last in the Majors, as well.

They began their road trip tied for first place in the AL West. Now, they’re out of playoff position entirely.

"I wish I had the magic answer to what we need to do to fix it,” said outfielder Mitch Haniger, who homered in the ninth inning. “But I think it's a little more complex than that. At the end of the day, it's just each guy individually needs to continue to come in every day, stay positive, work hard and prepare to win."

Any hope the Mariners would finish their trip on a high note on Wednesday evaporated quickly in the simmering heat of Chavez Ravine.

Seattle shot out to a brief 1-0 lead on a Dominic Canzone sacrifice fly in the second, but the Dodgers quickly erased it against Mariners ace Logan Gilbert.

A two-out error by shortstop Leo Rivas in the third opened the door for the Dodgers. After Kevin Kiermaier reached on Rivas’ bobbled grounder up the middle, Shohei Ohtani walked and Mookie Betts drilled a two-run double into the left-field corner to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.

Will Smith's sacrifice fly in the fourth on a great catch by Luke Raley in center field extended the Dodgers' lead to 3-1, and L.A. poured it on in the fifth to chase Gilbert from the game.

Gilbert surrendered two quick runs in the frame and loaded the bases before being pulled in favor of reliever Trent Thornton. On Thornton’s first pitch of the game, Max Muncy hit a bases-clearing double down the right-field line to make it 8-1 Dodgers and turn the game into a rout.

Gilbert lasted just 4 2/3 innings, surrendered seven hits and eight runs (six earned), walked two and struck out seven. He also threw three wild pitches.

The eight runs were tied for the most allowed in a start this season by Gilbert, who entered the day with 20 quality starts -- the most in the Majors.

“Just didn't really execute the way I wanted,” Gilbert said. “Got into a lot of deep counts, stuff like that.”

The only tangible fight the Mariners showed came from Randy Arozarena.

It began in the second inning when Arozarena hit a screaming liner down the left-field line that hooked just foul of the pole at the last second. On the next pitch, Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty threw a 91 mph sinker that hit Arozarena right above his front hip.

Arozarena, who was a teammate of Flaherty's when the two were in the Cardinals' Minor League system, stood at home plate staring right-hander down for a few seconds before slowly walking to first base.

When they faced off again an inning later, Flaherty got Arozarena to fly out to right with runners on second and third. After Flaherty said something to Arozarena while the ball was in the air, Arozarena stopped running halfway down the line, put his hands up and started yelling at Flaherty, who yelled back as he walked off the mound toward the third-base dugout.

Both benches emptied, but the teams remained separated and no one was ejected.

"Randy is a very fiery competitor,” Servais said. “I love that about him, and their guy is a fiery pitcher."

In the end, not even a little spark from Arozarena could get the Mariners untracked. Now, they return home trying desperately to save their season before it’s too late.

"The talent in there is still the same talent we've had all year, and we put good stretches together,” Servais said. “So I feel very confident we will again. It's just tough to go through the road trip we just went through. We have to bounce back. That's the bottom line."