After absorbing their first series sweep of the season, the Seattle Mariners hope to get back on track against the Chicago White Sox — a club that’s no stranger to such frustration.
And the Mariners are hoping the arrival of a potentially big bat in the lineup will help them stop their offensive woes when the teams meet in Chicago, opening a three-game series Friday night.
Late Thursday, the Mariners completed a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, acquiring outfielder Randy Arozarena for two minor league prospects and a player to be named later. Though he’s hitting just .211 this season with 15 home runs and 37 RBIs, Arozarena has hit 20-plus homers each of the past three seasons and driven in 80-plus the past two.
The Mariners are desperate for runs. Losers of five of six games since the All-Star break, they are 9-20 since June 19. And in their past five losses, the Mariners have put up five runs.
At least Seattle has one win since the break. The White Sox open a six-game homestand Friday as losers of 11 straight games. The latest defeat came against Texas on Thursday, when the Rangers won 2-1 to cement Chicago’s 15th series loss by sweep of 2024.
Catcher Korey Lee’s third-inning RBI double gave Chicago a 1-0 lead before a troubling trend continued. Thursday’s game marked the 30th time Chicago has scored first and lost, most in the major leagues.
“You play to win the game; every single day, we come in here to win,” Lee said. “You come in here as a professional athlete, and that’s the end goal every single day. But it’s a good game. Our pitchers kept us in the game, kept it close and [we] came out on the wrong side.”
The White Sox have scored just 20 runs during the skid — still three losses shy of their longest losing streak this season. They’re 51 games under .500 for the first time since 1948.
Seattle took three of four from visiting Chicago from June 10-13 in a series that featured three one-run games.
It also saw its share of struggles at the plate from both sides.
Even as the team vies for an American League West title, the Mariners’ hitting woes remain. Seattle has scored just 14 runs in the past eight games. Take away a six-run outburst in the Mariners’ 6-4 win over the Houston Astros last Sunday and the output is even more meager.
“It’s been frustrating just because it’s been the same kind of thing over and over,” Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh said. “We have to find a way to make an adjustment. Fortunately, it’s not like we’re 10 games out. Baseball is a funny game. As soon as you think you’re on top of the world, it will humble you and vice versa.”
Seattle was out-hit 9-6 in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Mitch Haniger’s solo homer in the second inning accounted for the team’s lone run as the Mariners stranded seven runners.
“I do believe that we will get this going,” manager Scott Servais said. “It’s just a struggle right now. Everybody that’s here on a daily basis is trying to grind through it, and it’s all you can do. You can’t quit. You can’t go home. The schedule won’t allow you to do that.”
Mariners right-hander George Kirby (7-7, 3.20 ERA) will oppose White Sox rookie righty Drew Thorpe (3-1, 3.03) on Friday.
Kirby has pitched to a 2.59 ERA in four July starts covering 24 1/3 innings but is 0-2 during that span amid scarce run support — eight runs in four games. He is 0-0 with a 4.76 ERA in one previous career start against the White Sox.
Thorpe knows the feeling of yearning for more offense. He’s 1-0 with a 1.47 ERA in three July starts, with the White Sox managing just six runs in that span.
Thorpe made his major league debut against the Mariners on June 11, taking a no-decision after scattering three hits in five innings and giving up two runs (one earned).
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