Mariners notebook: A thin bullpen once again

How much has the bullpen struggled in recent weeks, plus news and notes.

BY SHANNON DRAYER

Jul 26, 2015, 1:27 PM Updated: 1:52 pm

J.A. Happ’s short outing on Saturday has left the Mariners bullpen short-handed for Sunday&#8...

J.A. Happ's short outing on Saturday has left the Mariners bullpen short-handed for Sunday's finale. (AP)

(AP)

Before the All-Star break, Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon pointed to the bullpen as the biggest disappointment of the first half.

Yes, the offense was disappointing as well, but the bullpen’s inability to hold down leads with anywhere near the frequency it did a year ago was an unexpected blow for the skipper.

Things have not improved in the second half. While the offense has scored nearly five runs per game since the All-Star break the bullpen has taken the loss in four of the Mariners’ five losses. Three of the game-winning runs were given up in the eighth inning, one in the seventh. The Mariners pen leads all of baseball with 22 losses.

That pen will be short once again Sunday. With extensive use in the Detroit series and J.A. Happ going just 1 2/3 innings Saturday, Carson Smith, Tom Wilhelmsen, Vidal Nuno and possibly Joe Beimel will not be available. McClendon will need innings from Taijuan Walker.

Seager is McClendon’s ideal No. 2 hitter

While Cano to cleanup has received a lot of attention, little has been said of moving Kyle Seager to second in the lineup. This is a move that McClendon had talked about wanting to make for some time now.

“I said last year that when we get to the point where we are a really good offensive club, Kyle Seager is the ideal No. 2 hitter,” McClendon said before Saturday’s game. “I think it’s starting to come to fruition as guys are starting to give me quality at-bats, so Seager is hitting second. I see him in that spot for the foreseeable future.”

McClendon likes Seager hitting two because he is a good fastball pull hitter.

“Now the key is to get a leadoff guy who can get on base and steal bases,” McClendon said.

Lineup!

Austin Jackson, CF
Kyle Seager, 3B
Nelson Cruz, RF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Franklin Gutierrez, LF
Mark Trumbo, 1B
Chris Taylor, 2B
Brad Miller, SS
Mike Zunino, C

Taijuan Walker, RHP

Notes

• Cano is getting a bit of a break as the DH. This will be his seventh game this year hitting cleanup, and the numbers have been impressive. Extremely small sample size, plus his numbers have been on an uptick for over a month now, but Cano is hitting .417/.481/.792/1.273 when hitting fourth.

• I don’t expect we will see Fernando Rodney, who has given up runs in six of his last eight appearances.

“I do, but I’m not willing to share,” McClendon answered when asked if he knows the plan for Rodney going forward.