SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners center fielder Leonys Martin is on pace for 27 doubles and 27 homers through the first one-ninth of the season and, without question, the Mariners will take that.
“He’s got some lightning in the bat,” manager Scott Servais said. “There’s no doubt. He’s got some pull power. But he needs to be a little more consistent with the contact. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
That’s the rub.
Martin entered Monday’s series opener against Houston with 24 strikeouts in 60 at-bats … he is striking out 40 percent of the time. Three American League players are actually worse: Russell Martin, Justin Upton and Michael Sano.
Actually … that’s not bad company — and it’s still a relatively small sample size — but the Mariners are concerned. Martin continues to get extra sessions with hitting coach Edgar Martinez.
“When I go to home plate,” said Martin, who is batting just .200, “I try to fight on every single pitch. Hit the ball hard. That’s all I can do. Just hit the ball hard. I’m not trying to hit homers. Nothing like that.”
A little luck would help, too.
Martin has a .265 average on balls in play. The league average is .289, which suggests he has been unlucky. (That’s a club-wide issue. The Mariners have an overall .253 BABIP, which ranks next-to-last among AL clubs.)
Despite the numbers, Martin believes he is getting better swings than a year ago, when a disappointing season cost him his starting job at Texas and, consequently, increased the Rangers’ willingness to trade him.
“Yeah, for sure,” he insisted. “That’s a good thing and what I keep in my mind. Every single day, I try to hit the ball hard at least twice. I’m usually doing that, and that’s a good sign.
“If I hit the ball hard, what happens (next), I can’t do anything about it. Just hit the ball hard and put it in play. That’s all I can do.”
That should be enough … provided he puts the ball in play more often. So the sessions with Martinez continue.
“The one thing about Leonys.” Servais said, “is he will stay aggressive. He will let it fly.”
Martin hit another home run Monday night, his fourth of the season.
Defensive shifts
It’s no surprise that the Mariners, with their increased emphasis on analytics, rank near the upper end among all clubs in terms of employing defensive shifts. It also seems that’s the new norm for life in the American League West Division.
A FoxSports.com report citing statistics compiled by Stats LLC through last Saturday, shows the Mariners employed 163 defensive shifts in 669 opponents’ plate appearances.
That is a 24.4 percentage that ranks seventh among the 30 clubs. Stats LLC defines a shift as an alignment in which three infielders are positioned on one side of second base.
AL West-rival Houston, which opened a three-game series Monday at Safeco Field, led all clubs through Saturday at 41.0 percent. Two other AL West clubs ranked in the top eight: Los Angeles, fifth at 27.2; and Oakland, eighth at 23.6.
Defending division champion Texas ranked 18th at 12.8 percent.
World Series-champion Kansas City, which is often draws raves for its defense, ranked 25th in defensive shifts at 9.3 percent. The Royals arrive Friday for a three-game weekend series at Safeco Field.
Minor award
Hi-A Bakersfield right-hander Andrew Moore was picked as the California League pitcher of the week for April 18-24 after working seven no-hit innings against Lake Elsinore (Padres) in his only start.
Moore, 21, walked one and struck out three on April 22 in the 10-0 victory. The bullpen gave up two hits after Moore departed after 97 pitches. He is 1-1 this season with a 1.14 ERA in 232/3 innings over four starts.
The Mariners selected Moore with the 72nd overall pick in the 2015 draft after he spent the three previous years at Oregon State.
Short hops
Houston outfielder Colby Rasmus was picked as the American League player of the week for April 18-24 after batting .316 (6-for-19) with five runs scored, one double, four home runs, 10 RBI, five walks and a stolen base over six games. … The Mariners are one of only five clubs in the last 100 years whose first nine victories went to nine different pitchers. The others are the 2012 Pirates, the 2008 Athletics, the 1992 Angels and the 1966 Pirates.
On tap
The Mariners and Astros continue their three-game series at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday at Safeco Field when right-hander Nathan Karns (1-1 with a 5.28 ERA) faces Houston lefty Dallas Keuchel (1-3, 7.56).
Keuchel is the American League’s reigning Cy Young Award winner.
The game can be seen on Root Sports Northwest and heard on 710 ESPN.
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