Caught in the worst slump of his career, Garver trying to break out

BOSTON -- The Mariners had countless scoring opportunities throughout Wednesday’s tight and tense game at Fenway Park, but no batter experienced more shortcomings in a 3-2, walk-off loss in the 10th inning than Mitch Garver.

And in a season that’s been massively disappointing for the free-agent acquisition that club signed to be a key offensive cog, Wednesday’s game was perhaps the toughest.

"This is by far the worst I've ever played in my career,” Garver said. “It's tough on myself, tough on my family. The death threats and the 'retire' and 'you suck' and '[expletive] kill yourself,' and all that [expletive], it's getting old. But the only way it changes is [to] play better."

Garver was the third out in the second, fourth, eighth and 10th innings -- each of which featured at least one runner in scoring position. The final sequence saw Garver step up with the bases loaded then hit a grounder to the shortstop for a forceout on the first pitch.

Moments later, left-hander Jhonathan Díaz -- having joined the Mariners sheerly out of their need for bullpen depth -- surrendered a double off the Green Monster to Rafael Devers that easily scored automatic runner Tyler O'Neill.

It was a frustrating finish to an otherwise positive, 4-2 road trip. But it was also clear that the game was lost well before that fateful moment, in most part due to the club going 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and stranding 13 baserunners.

Garver was at the plate when eight of those runners were left on.

“It's like a continuum right now,” Garver said. “The worse I play, the more I hear it, and rightfully so. I mean, I'm not playing well.”

Garver had three hits in the opener of this six-game road trip but went 0-for-14 the rest of the way. It dropped his batting average to .168, the lowest among the 145 qualified players in MLB; second-lowest is Oakland’s Zack Gelof, at .196 (entering Wednesday).

At 33 years old, the eight-year big leaguer has been candid about his struggles in the first season of the two-year, $24 million contract. No one questions his effort, preparation or professionalism. But as the Mariners seek their first American League West title since 2001 -- an effort reinforced by their aggressive moves ahead of Tuesday’s Trade Deadline -- pressure has naturally mounted.

“I've already accepted the fact that I'm not going to hit above .200 this year,” Garver said. “I don't know. It might not get any better. Who knows? Maybe it just gets worse. I don't know. But I show up to the field every day prepared to play and prepared to get better and work hard and control what I can control. To the people out there that say certain things, like, they can say whatever they want. I think I bring a lot to this team.”

With Seattle’s additions of Randy Arozarena, and to a greater extent, Justin Turner, who will see action at designated hitter, Garver will likely slot into more of a backup catcher role moving forward. It’s precisely the spot he was in on Wednesday, after Cal Raleigh started four straight games and DH’d in the finale. More specifically, Garver has caught nine of George Kirby’s past 10 starts, a stretch over which Kirby has been among the best pitchers in baseball.

“I bring a lot,” Garver said. “So I think my value, I'm here as a good baseball person. I'm not going to let anybody take that away from me. I'm certainly not going to let my play on the field dictate what people think of me as a person.”

The Mariners continue to show their support, banking on him eventually finding stretches like the one he went through from June 2-26, when he had an .886 OPS in 20 games.

“Teammates try to pick him up, coaching staff, myself -- that's why you're a team,” manager Scott Servais said. “You do pick each other up in these moments.”

It’s been nine months since Garver had the go-ahead hit in the World Series-clinching victory for the Rangers. He signed with Seattle hoping to replicate that moment -- and he intends to see it through.

“I've never quit anything,” Garver said. “I'm certainly not going to quit this. They're going to have to rip the jersey off my back. That's fine. That's an easy way out. I could happily retire right now and go home and live a great life with my family. That's not what I do. I made a two-year commitment to this team. They believe in me, my teammates believe in me. So it's a matter of just making it click and when it does, good things will happen.”