The Mariners did not score, and they did not win.<\/p>\n
The Mariners dropped game two of their series in Kansas City on Saturday by a score of 4-0. They collected just four hits \u2014 three from Luke Raley<\/a> \u2014 and drew one walk, allowing Stephen Kolek<\/a> to work through all nine innings with ease. The few chances they had ended with bad base running. George Kirby<\/a> was fine but had a bit of a paper cut problem, with the Royals finding every nook and cranny on the infield grass to score. The Mariners fell to 25-28.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Kirby\u2019s had a bit of a weird season to do date, striking out batters at a career low while walking batters at a career high. He\u2019s gotten by with tons of grounders, which is why his xERA entering the day was an impressive 3.21. Still, the result of that approach has been a mix.<\/p>\n We saw the downside of balls in play \u2014 even grounders \u2014 right from the jump. Maikel Garcia led off the game with a low sinking liner that snaked its way into the outfield gap for a double. Then began a sequence of five weak grounders, none of which left the infield and all of which helped the Royals. The speedy Bobby Witt Jr. hit a weak chopper to no man\u2019s land at third, and beat the throw to first, moving Garcia up. Vinnie Pasquantino<\/a> hit a weak chopper to second that took Cole Young to his right, but his flip to second was awkward and not in time, scoring a run. Witt and Pasquantino stole second and third. Salvador Perez<\/a> then hit a weak chopper back at Kirby, who reached for the ball over his head, deflecting it to J.P. Crawford<\/a>, who got the first out of the inning. Carter Jensen<\/a> then hit a hard grounder to Josh Naylor<\/a> at first, who had to range his right and then race back to first, getting the second out and allowing a run to score. Jac Caglianone<\/a> singled in a third run on a grounder into the outfield. A strikeout would end the inning at 3-0.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a mouthful. Basically, the Royals hit 5 1\/2 grounders, four of which never left the infield, and it resulted in three runs. That inning is case in point for why strikeouts are so coveted: Even great contact suppression can result in minor meltdowns. And while it wasn\u2019t bad defense so much as just perfectly placed BABIP, a grounder-first approach isn\u2019t ideal in front of the Mariners\u2019 bottom ranked infield defense.<\/p>\n Things got more normal from there for Kirby, but not quite better. The Royals got a couple legit singles in the second and a sac fly to make the game 4-0. They got a couple legit singles in the sixth to make it 5-0. He finished the day after six with three strikeouts, no walks, nine hits (including eight singles), and a 50% groundball rate. That\u2019s pretty much in line with his season to this point.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Mariners were bad on offense. Again, they managed just four hits and couldn\u2019t score. They sent the minimum to the plate in all but one inning, allowing Kolek to cruise through nine innings unbothered. They did have a couple opportunities to score, but base running mistakes cut those threats short.<\/p>\n