The Seattle Mariners dropped another low-scoring game Wednesday, falling 4-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and manager Dan Wilson pointed to the quality of contact as the biggest difference afterward.
Seattle managed just three hits and struggled to generate hard contact against Dodgers left-hander Eric Lauer, who held the Mariners to one hit across six innings. The loss dropped Seattle to 53-56, leaving the club third in the American League West as the trade deadline approaches.
Wilson addressed the offensive struggles after the game, noting that while his hitters avoided excessive strikeouts, they failed to square the ball up consistently. He said the difference compared to the previous night was the lack of solid contact and barrels, rather than an inability to put the ball in play.
Seattle briefly threatened in the eighth inning when Weston Wilson doubled as a pinch hitter before Cole Young drove him home with an RBI single. Mitch Garver also appeared to tie the game with a deep drive, but Teoscar Hernández climbed the wall to make a highlight-reel catch and keep the Dodgers in front.
The Mariners never fully recovered after Eric Lauer's dominant outing, while Emerson Hancock allowed four runs over six innings. Andy Pages provided the early spark for Los Angeles with a first-inning home run before Freddie Freeman added an RBI single later in the frame.
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Seattle now sits 2.5 games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers and continues searching for more offensive consistency heading into the stretch run. The Mariners have scored two runs or fewer in multiple recent games despite remaining in the American League playoff picture.
Bryce Miller is expected to start Thursday's series finale against the Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki as Seattle looks to avoid dropping the series before continuing its road trip.
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