WASHINGTON _ It's easy to place much of the blame for the Mariners' five-game losing streak on the starting pitching, which has been justifiably abysmal in four of the five losses. How bad? Seattle starters have given up a combined 30 runs in 162/3 innings pitched over the last four games.
And yet, one thing is also readily apparent following Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Nationals: the Mariners aren't hitting either. Over the five losses, Seattle has scored one run in each of them.
So regardless of what the patchwork starting rotation has failed to do, the offense has been dormant.
With the loss, the Mariners fall to 20-27 and are on the verge of having the worst record in the American League.
Nationals starter Tanner Roark worked seven innings, allowing just one run on eight hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Robinson Cano gave the Mariners their first lead of any sort since the fifth inning of Friday's 2-1, 10-inning loss to the White Sox. Following a hustling double from Kyle Seager in the first inning off Roark, Cano lined a single down the third-base line.
Cano should've driven in two runs in the game. He appeared to have hit his ninth homer of the season on a line drive to deep left-center. But Nats center fielder Michael A. Taylor made a leaping attempt at the ball. While he couldn't keep the ball in his glove, he pulled it back into the field play. A hobbling Cano, who is still feeling the effects of a strained quad, had to settle for a double.
If not for an error from his defense and one regrettable pitch to the white-hot Anthony Rendon, the outing for Seattle starter Sam Gaviglio and the outcome for the Mariners might be much different.
The error came on the Mariners' first play in the field. Gaviglio got Nats leadoff hitter Trea Turner to hit a routine ground ball to shortstop. But Jean Segura's throw was high and pulled Danny Valencia off the bag, allowing Turner to reach safely. Turner would later score on Ryan Zimmerman's sacrifice fly to right field. With two outs, Gaviglio couldn't keep it to just one run. He gave up a double to Daniel Murphy and then left a 1-1 slider over the middle of the plate that Rendon slammed over the wall in left-center for a three-run homer to make it 4-1.
All four runs in the inning were unearned because of the Segura error. But they still counted in the score, and the Mariners were never able to rally.
Gaviglio gave up an earned run in the second inning. But he managed to make it through six innings, giving up six hits with two walks and a strikeout.
