"Don’t think what we’re doing right now is sustainable" - Mariners slugger Mitch Garver laments team's imbalanced performance
For the time being, the Seattle Mariners are the AL West leaders. That is surprising given the fact that they have a record of just 28-26 and the MLB's fourth-worst team batting average. Their offense has not been good, and slugger Mitch Garver is well aware of that. He believes it's going to have to change if they're to keep a lead in the division.
Garver, who is hitting under .200 with an on-base percentage of less than .300, said via USA Today:
“I don’t think what we’re doing right now is sustainable – from an offense and pitching standpoint. We cannot lean on our pitching staff that heavily all year long. We have to figure it out on the offensive front. And we haven’t even come close to reaching our potential on that end.”
The Mariners offense ranks 27th in runs and OBP (.297) and 24th in OPS (.667). They're just not hitting the ball very well. They also lead the entire sport in team strikeouts. Only four regular hitters (five counting Domonic Canzone) have a wRC+ above league average.
Their pitching has been excellent. Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, and others have been lights out, but it has barely translated to any semblance of success since the offense cannot be relied upon to back that excellent pitching.
Mitch Garver pleads with Mariners offense to do better
The Mariners, in recent years, have been a pitching-first team. They are still, but in 2024, their offense hasn't just been up to the mark at all. That formula can still work well. But when the offense is one of the worst in the entire sport, it can't work.
Mitch Garver, who was with the hot-hitting Texas Rangers last year, knows that his unit has to turn it around. He said:
“This group has relied on the pitching so much over the last two or three years. It just can’t be that way anymore. We need to score more runs and the players – we’ll be the first to say we’re not doing a good enough job, and we’re not."
Even though they're currently the best team in their division, it's not an impressive start. Both the Rangers and Houston Astros have been pretty horrendous this year, and yet the Mariners hold just a 3.5-game lead over Houston.