Stecker’s 3 Things: Mariners still a pitcher short of making a serious run

The Mariners have still trying to get over .500 for good, though they’re a game within even after taking two out of three from the American League East-leading Boston Red Sox. Here are three things to keep in mind as they wrap up their 10-game homestand with a weekend interleague series against the New York Mets starting Friday.

1. The Mariners are missing a third reliable starting pitcher.

If a team wins three out of every five games, it’s heading to the postseason. If it wins two out of every five, though, the season ends before October. And looking at Seattle’s starting rotation right now, it has two pitchers who can be counted on to give Seattle a good shot at a victory and three who can’t. That’s no way to make a run at the playoffs. Yes, James Paxton is on a roll, and he even has a chance to get his sixth win of the month when he takes the mound against the Mets on Sunday afternoon. Additionally, Felix Hernandez has been quite reliable lately, throwing four quality starts and going at least five innings in all seven of his outings since returning in late June from shoulder bursitis. But after those two, the Mariners’ chances of holding down opponents enough to get a W falls off a cliff. Ariel Miranda hasn’t pitched through the sixth inning at all in three July starts, rookie Andrew Moore has allowed 10 home runs in his five games since debuting, and expecting Yovani Gallardo to pitch any better than any other fifth starter is expecting too much. Basically, Seattle lacks a true No. 3 pitcher, and it might need someone that’s the caliber of a No. 1 or No. 2 to really make a difference in the push for a wild card. The M’s have been rumored to have interest in Oakland’s Sonny Gray, and he’s the exact kind of pitcher that could help Seattle down the stretch. The Athletics’ price for Gray might not be worth it, and in fact the Mariners might not even have enough talent in their farm system to beat out other suitors to get him. The Mariners are pretty unlikely to be sellers heading into Monday’s trade deadline, but they may as well be if they can’t add another good starter to the mix. Whatever the case, don’t be surprised if Seattle ends up giving new acquisition Marco Gonzales a shot at the rotation soon.

2. How long until Gonzales gets called up?

Seattle traded highly-touted prospect Tyler O’Neill to St. Louis for Gonzales last week not just because the 25-year-old left-hander is a former first-round pick with promise, but because he could conceivably join the MLB club as a starter in fairly quick fashion. Well, there doesn’t seem to be reason to wait much longer on bringing him up from Triple-A Tacoma considering the current state of the rotation. The Gonzaga alum had a decent showing in his first game with the Rainiers, posting a quality start of three runs over six innings, allowing six hits, walking one batter and striking out five. He’s gone six innings or more in each of his last seven starts – six of which were with St. Louis’ Triple-A affiliate, Memphis – and he seems to have bounced back well from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last year. Most importantly, he has MLB experience, even appearing in six playoff games with St. Louis in 2014. He’s not going to be the front-end rotation piece the Mariners need right now, but he could be an upgrade to the back end.

3. Could Heredia take some playing time away from Haniger?

Mitch Haniger has struggled to get back to where he was at the plate before an oblique injury sidelined him in May, hitting just .169 with one home run in 18 games in July, a month that has also seen him miss some time with a finger ailment. Guillermo Heredia, on the other hand, has had a pretty strong week, producing in extra opportunities in center field with Jarrod Dyson nursing a toe injury. Heredia was one of the heroes of Tuesday’s big extra-innings win over Boston, blasting a three-run homer early in the game then making a heady play on the bases in the 13th inning, advancing from first to third on a wild pitch and eventually scoring the winning run. Heredia has done most of his damage against left-handed pitching – he’s hitting .307 against lefties and .256 against righties – but if Haniger continues to be without his rhythm at the plate, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Seattle could add another wrinkle to their outfield platoon with Ben Gamel periodically shifting to right field and Heredia taking over left field while Haniger sits some games out.

Follow @BrentStecker