MLB Expert Notes Seattle Mariners' Ability to Make More Contact as Key to Success
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The Seattle Mariners enter play on Wednesday afternoon at 12-11 overall and right in the thick of the American League West race. Despite the 8-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, the M's have won four consecutive series and just took two of three games from the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto.
A good deal of the M's success this season has stemmed from their improved approach offensively. As of now, the M's are tied for fourth in baseball in walks (98) and they have the 11th-most strikeouts (208). That is a noticeable improvement from last season, when the Mariners led baseball in strikeouts.
The M's were in an even better position last week. They were 12th in baseball heading into last Thursday's contest against the Cincinnati Reds, which is when we caught up with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on the "Refuse to Lose" podcast to discuss the improvement in contact rate.
I think it absolutely fits the style of play this team needs to have. The Mariners are never going to be one of the teams that hits the most home runs, so why not give yourself the best chance? You put a runner third base with one out, having the ball put in play, and you're scoring a run without benefit of a two-run homer. It's interesting because the Cubs are going through a similar evolution this year, and I just saw them over the weekend. They've got a whole lineup of guys who grind out at-bats and they put the ball in play. Besides Kyle Tucker, there are really no high-end offensive players. But that group can work together because they put the ball in play. And let's face it, if you have a team that can do that in 2025, when the batting averages are the lowest they've ever been and the strikeout rates are the highest they've ever been, you have an outlier team. And I think it makes sense that the Mariners would build a roster like that.
Olney joins the podcast each Thursday morning and you can always find the podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or you can listen right here.
The Mariners play the Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon at 3:45 p.m. PT.
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