Nelson Cruz has been mashing for the Mariners. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
SEATTLE — Nelson Cruz was selected the American League’s player of the week Monday, but the right fielder is not the only Seattle Mariners star on an offensive tear.
Second baseman Robinson Cano, undoubtedly getting a boost from Cruz’s presence behind him in the batting order, is in quite a groove of his own. After going 2-for-4 with two doubles Monday in Seattle’s 7-5 loss to the Houston Astros, Cano is hitting .296– a huge improvement from where his batting average was just eight days earlier (.120).
Cano is 8-for-16 with four doubles and five runs during the first four games of the current homestand, and his hitting streak is at seven games.
Cano and Cruz both got off to slow starts but have been red hot as of late. The Nos. 3-4-5 spots in Seattle’s batting order, with third baseman Kyle Seager hitting behind Cano and Cruz, are 15-for-26 (.579) with 12 RBIs and eight runs over the past two games.
In a major turnaround from what previously held the franchise back, this year’s Mariners have plenty of hitting but can’t match it with their pitching. Starters Felix Hernandez and J.A. Happ have been solid, but the rest of Seattle’s rotation is struggling so badly that the bullpen is already getting overtaxed.
“Listen, I love my bullpen,” manager Lloyd McClendon said after starter Hisashi Iwakuma couldn’t make it out of the sixth inning Monday night, “but you keep running them out there, that’s not going to work.”
Led by Cano and Cruz, Seattle’s lineup is finally providing enough offense to win games. Now Seattle has to get its pitching in order.
“When you score five runs in a ballgame,” McClendon said late Monday night, “you should win the game.”
