The Mariners did not score, and they did not win.
The Mariners dropped game two of their series in Kansas City on Saturday by a score of 4-0. They collected just four hits — three from Luke Raley — and drew one walk, allowing Stephen Kolek to work through all nine innings with ease. The few chances they had ended with bad base running. George Kirby was fine but had a bit of a paper cut problem, with the Royals finding every nook and cranny on the infield grass to score. The Mariners fell to 25-28.
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Kirby’s had a bit of a weird season to do date, striking out batters at a career low while walking batters at a career high. He’s gotten by with tons of grounders, which is why his xERA entering the day was an impressive 3.21. Still, the result of that approach has been a mix.
We saw the downside of balls in play — even grounders — right from the jump. Maikel Garcia led off the game with a low sinking liner that snaked its way into the outfield gap for a double. Then began a sequence of five weak grounders, none of which left the infield and all of which helped the Royals. The speedy Bobby Witt Jr. hit a weak chopper to no man’s land at third, and beat the throw to first, moving Garcia up. Vinnie Pasquantino hit a weak chopper to second that took Cole Young to his right, but his flip to second was awkward and not in time, scoring a run. Witt and Pasquantino stole second and third. Salvador Perez then hit a weak chopper back at Kirby, who reached for the ball over his head, deflecting it to J.P. Crawford, who got the first out of the inning. Carter Jensen then hit a hard grounder to Josh Naylor at first, who had to range his right and then race back to first, getting the second out and allowing a run to score. Jac Caglianone singled in a third run on a grounder into the outfield. A strikeout would end the inning at 3-0.
That’s a mouthful. Basically, the Royals hit 5 1/2 grounders, four of which never left the infield, and it resulted in three runs. That inning is case in point for why strikeouts are so coveted: Even great contact suppression can result in minor meltdowns. And while it wasn’t bad defense so much as just perfectly placed BABIP, a grounder-first approach isn’t ideal in front of the Mariners’ bottom ranked infield defense.
Things got more normal from there for Kirby, but not quite better. The Royals got a couple legit singles in the second and a sac fly to make the game 4-0. They got a couple legit singles in the sixth to make it 5-0. He finished the day after six with three strikeouts, no walks, nine hits (including eight singles), and a 50% groundball rate. That’s pretty much in line with his season to this point.
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The Mariners were bad on offense. Again, they managed just four hits and couldn’t score. They sent the minimum to the plate in all but one inning, allowing Kolek to cruise through nine innings unbothered. They did have a couple opportunities to score, but base running mistakes cut those threats short.
With one out in the second, Luke Raley beat out an infield single (he was initially called out but was clearly safe after review). Cole Young singled him to third. Dominic Canzone then hit a sharp grounder right to Pasquantino, who was literally standing on the bag while holding the runner at first. Pasquantino stepped on the base and threw home in one motion, getting Raley in a pickle, eventually ending in a 3-2-5 double play.
Raley led off the fifth with a single. Young traded places with him on a fielder’s choice. After a Canzone fly out, Young tried to make it all the way to third on a passed ball. He was thrown out to end the inning.
That was it. They’ll go for a series win Sunday.
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