NEW YORK — Saddled with a .159 average to go along with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs, Cal Raleigh faced reality Tuesday night. The Seattle Mariners catcher, a year removed from finishing second in the American League MVP race, acknowledged his struggles after his club’s 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees.
“It’s not good. We’re not playing well. That starts with me. I’m awful,” he told reporters after the loss, Seattle’s fifth consecutive. “I’ve got to find a way to be better, and to help bring the guys along. We’ve just got to play better. We’re just playing very, very, very bad baseball in every facet of the game.”
The offense was indeed dry Tuesday in the Bronx. Ryan Weathers carried a one-hit shutout into the sixth inning for New York, and Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham each hit two-run singles to pace the leaders in the American League wild-card race. For Seattle, it was its 14th loss in the past 19 games.
“We’ve got to pick it up, from the energy standpoint, to the execution, to the little things in the game that help you win baseball games,” Raleigh said after his club fell to a season-worst eight games under .500. “We’re just not doing those things right now.”
Tuesday’s loss was Raleigh’s 86th game of the season. At that point last season, months before he’d lose out to Aaron Judge in the MVP voting by only 20 points, he was hitting .271 with 35 homers and 74 RBIs, according to ESPN Research.
“It’s tough when things aren’t going your way, it’s hard. You feel like everybody’s against you, things aren’t going your way, but you’ve got to have a good attitude. You’ve got to bring that edge to play every single day, because nothing’s given to you,” Raleigh said. “We’ve got to go take it. Sometimes, when you’re feeling bad for yourself, you get a little lackadaisical out there and maybe have a little less energy, or maybe you don’t have quite the same edge that you should have every single day.
“That starts with me. I need to do a better job of that each and every night, just being prepared and being ready to go every single night.”
Seattle, which opened a nine-game trip against three teams currently in playoff position, has mustered only five runs during the losing streak and nine in the past seven games. On Tuesday, Raleigh finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
“The approach is just not there to me. It’s just off-balance swings … late to the heater, early on the off-speed,” he said. “I’m not pointing fingers. I’m ultimately the worst of the group right now, and I understand that.”
Seattle right-hander Bryan Woo went five innings in his second consecutive scoreless start. But his offense didn’t cooperate, baffled by Weathers, who gave up one run and two hits with four strikeouts in 5⅔ innings.
“Sometimes baseball players can be stubborn, but we’ve just got to put our pride aside. We have to focus a little more on the team aspect, or hitting the ball the other way, or trying to just take singles and not trying to go for the long ball every time,” Raleigh said. “Ultimately, when you rely on the long ball, you’re going to get a lot of off-balance swings, and you’re going to be a little out front. The pitchers here are really good and you’ve got to take what they give you. We’re just not doing that right now.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
