SEATTLE -- The Tigers’ 70th loss of the season and the way it manifested led manager Ron Gardenhire to hold a staff meeting postgame.

Detroit’s 8-1 defeat to the Mariners at T-Mobile Park was the club’s 27th in its past 31 games, and its 23rd in its past 24 against the American League West. The Tigers fell to 40 games under .500 for the first time since the final day of the 2003 season, when they finished a franchise-worst 43-119. This year’s team is on pace for 113 losses, which would be second most in club history.

• Box score

“We go through our moments where it looks like our offense is coming around and then we go through these moments where it's a scuffle,” Gardenhire said. “This is not much fun. I think we're all pretty frustrated right now.”

The offense has dipped into stalled territory as Detroit has spiraled to the worst record in baseball, at 30-70. It could get even worse if the club deals away its top talent to contending clubs ahead of Wednesday’s Trade Deadline. Its top run producer, right fielder Nicholas Castellanos, is expected to be moved, as is its All-Star closer, Shane Greene, and potentially even its No. 1 starter, Matthew Boyd, who starts Sunday in his hometown of Seattle.

On Saturday, the Tigers laced out six hits over the first four innings but could only manufacture one run for left-handed starter Tyler Alexander, who was making his third Major League appearance. They went hitless from the fourth inning on, save for a ninth-inning single by Brandon Dixon when they were in a seven-run deficit. Detroit scored just one run or fewer for the 23rd time this season, which trails only the Marlins’ 33 for most such games.

“We've had energy,” Gardenhire said. “We had it early today, but you turn around and end up falling into a hole, sure, it gets a little dead in the dugout. It's not like we're still not yelling or anything. It looks dead, but we're not getting anybody on base. You've got to get hits. Right now, we're not hitting enough. When you start getting hits and you're putting people on base, it doesn't look like we're a tired group.”

Tigers' 2019 offensive statistics and MLB rank

BA: .231 (30th)
OBP: .290 (30th)
SLG: .380 (29th)
wRC+: 75 (tied - 29th)
WAR: -1.8 (30th -- Only negative team figure in MLB)

If there was a series for the Tigers to steer their offense in a more positive direction, it was their current four-game set in Seattle. The Mariners have allowed an MLB-high 630 runs this season, but the Tigers have only been able to plate five over the first three games.

“I don't know what you say anymore, to be honest with you,” veteran shortstop Jordy Mercer said of the team's communication within the clubhouse. “We've tried a whole bunch of different things -- that's in here, just between us. But we'll just continue to show up and play. That's all we can do at this point.”

Alexander became the third straight Tigers starter to show glimpses of promise only to be plagued by one runaway inning. Drew VerHagen and Daniel Norris each had similar outings during the first two games of this series in Seattle on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Alexander struck out nine Mariners and cruised through his first three innings, allowing just three baserunners before giving up seven hits and four runs over the fourth and fifth. Alexander could not make it out of the fifth after serving up three hits to his first four batters, the last one an RBI double by red-hot Tim Beckham, who was ultimately his final batter.

“I made pitches when I had to in the first three innings, and that's hard to sustain the whole game," Alexander said. "Obviously, I fell into a little bit of trouble. Just poor command early in counts. Falling behind guys. I wasn't down as much as I would've liked. Too many balls over the plate. There were a couple things that I want to work on.”

Within an injury-depleted rotation, Alexander will likely continue to receive an opportunity. Through three Major League outings, all this season, he has a 3.86 ERA. He’s also shown command with low-90s velocity and an ability to generate swings-and-misses with his secondary pitches, headlined by a curveball and slider. He had a 24.7 percent strikeout rate in 85 innings for Triple-A Toledo.