THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Putting the pieces together, however they can

The Mariners beat Toronto 6-1 on Wednesday afternoon.

You may have noticed.

Just a quick look at the box score and summary, and you might think: “That’s their type of win. That’s the formula for success.”

Ah, just partly.

Sure, it was a solid start by Logan Gilbert, after the rest of Seattle’s much ballyhooed rotation has been shaky or inconsistent.

Yep, Cal Raleigh whacked a two-run, opposite-field homer to give the M’s a 3-1 lead in the 10th inning.

Staying on cue here, relievers Andres Munoz and Ryne Stanek shut out the Jays over 2 1/3 innings — with Munoz appearing in the eighth inning to keep the game at 1-1.

Apparently, Munoz has inherited the “get us out of danger role” until Matt Brash is healthy.

Brash led MLB in appearances last year, coming on in whatever Scott Servais considered the moment of highest danger — no matter what inning.

With Brash’s vicious stuff and ability to escape jams now on the shelf, somebody has to hold the fort.

On Wednesday, it was Munoz  — which means that Servais trusts newcomer Stanek to close out a game.

All of this makes my point, however.

The Mariners are now 5-8, and they’re having to patch things together with masking tape.

WHY?

It’s simple.

Julio Rodriguez.

J-Rod. The Show. Custodian of the No-Fly Zone. Two-time All-Star by age 23.

This young man is the face of the Mariners, with his infectious personality and production, to boot.

He’s rolled out an 11.5 WAR over his first two seasons, and finished fourth in the MVP voting last year — after toting up 32 homers, 103 RBI and 37 steals along with spectacular defense to go with it.

Longtime Orioles manager Earl Weaver never believed that hitters could ignite a winning streak.

Weaver expressed it this way: “Momentum is tomorrow’s starting pitchers.”

The Mariners would beg to differ — and they have a glamorous rotation of their own, by the way.

But this team comes to life when Julio hits.

Especially when he hits the ball very hard, very far and very often.

When the complete joy of Julio’s all-around game gets splashed around the diamond and beyond, the success is somehow infectious.

With all due respect to Earl Weaver, momentum for the Mariners depends on Julio.

“Everything about Julio seems to shoot through our whole clubhouse, and the guys pick it up like electricity.

“When Julio is hitting and playing such fun baseball, he makes us a winning team.”

The numbers back that up.

Just 13 games into this season is a ridiculously small sample size, but there’s been enough in the Mariners’ first three weeks of 2024 for everyone to wish J-Rod would start hitting.

He’s batting .196 over 51 at-bats, has just one extra-base hit — a double on his first plate appearance of the season — and he’s drawn three walks against 18 strikeouts.

Julio’s early funk, which more or less mirrors poor starts in his first two seasons, has been contagious.

The Mariners are near the bottom of the American League (and MLB, for that matter) in every offensive category.

SO, WHY is J-Rod struggling, and how does it all turn around?

Not just for the superstar, but the whole team.

“He wants so much to help, to get us going, that he’s actually trying too hard,” Servais said.

“When he plays like that, he swings at bad pitches and sometimes gets himself out.”

Sure, the Mariners can win without contributions from Julio (he went 1-for-5 with four strikeouts in Wednesday’s win at Toronto).

But, no, they can’t do it over an extended chunk of the season.

This team won’t survive with Julio managing one extra-base hit in 51 ABs.

If you don’t believe all those bad swings are catching, the Mariners as a team are hitting .207 with an OPS of .620 which is second-worst in the major leagues (ahead of Miami).

Julio knows all this, obviously.

He wants to help the team SO badly.

He took time to fiddle with a swing adjustment while the team was in Toronto.

“Pitchers use his desire and enthusiasm against him,” Servais said. “They’re getting him out on pitches he can’t hit.

“He made some adjustments just trying to get the ball out front a little bit more. 

"I talk about it, and I'm serious about it, when he hits the ball in the air, it is awesome. He just hits it so hard."

Despite the “Golden Sombrero” (four Ks) on Wednesday, advanced metrics suggest that Julio has been unlucky so far this year, and his hits will catch up with those hard-hit balls.

The Mariners need it.

Having the pitchers find a groove would be great, but nobody can get this team on a roll like The Show.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”