Standing next to the Target Field batting cage, Edgar Martinez used his right hand to make a waving motion as he explained the up-and-down nature of the Mariners offense in the first half of 2025.
“Seasons go like this,” the Mariners’ Hall of Fame designated hitter said Tuesday afternoon. “And sometimes, I don’t know if it’s recommitting to the approach — I feel that the guys have been committed to the approach — but sometimes you have your guys that struggled and it can impact the rest of the lineup. Sometimes, you try to do too much to compensate. There are multiple reasons why things change.
“And right now, everybody’s doing good, having good at-bats.”
That’s an understatement for an overachieving offense halfway through a 10-day, 10-game road trip.
The Mariners (41-37) have scored 47 runs in their last five games, in which they’ve gone 4-1 while hitting .335 with 14 home runs and a .989 OPS.
It’s helped, sure, that they played in boiling-hot and windy conditions at Chicago’s Wrigley Field over the weekend — a nightmare for pitchers — but Martinez and manger Dan Wilson were pleased with the way the Mariners manufactured a 6-5 victory Tuesday night without the benefit of a home run.
It was just the Mariners’ fifth win in 22 games when they didn’t homer.
After a promising first month, Mariners hitters as a whole struggled in May, collectively hitting .234 with a .303 on-base percentage and a 99 wRC+ (where 100 is league average).
Have the Mariners turned a corner on this trip?
Cal Raleigh’s historic first half has been the catalyst, certainly, but there’s been fairly steady production from much of the lineup in June, and there are some signs that Julio Rodríguez's annual summer surge could be imminent.
Through 21 games this month, here’s the Mariners’ MLB rankings in some notable offensive categories:
Batting average: No. 2 (.277)
On-base: No. 2 (.337)
Runs: No. 8 (103)
wRC+: No. 2 (125)
Stolen bases: No. 1 (24)
Home runs: No. 11 (27)
Through 78 games, Mariners hitters are also tied for the MLB lead in pitches per plate appearances at 3.95.
“We’re having really good at-bats, which create traffic, then the pitchers have to work harder — and they make mistakes,” said Martinez, the club’s senior director of hitting. “… We have the offense — it was just a matter of time that we can put together a stretch like this. Now, hopefully it will carry over for the rest of this series and into the next one.”
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