Mariners lose a snoozer at Safeco Field

One of the few hitters to come out and face the music after this latest debacle insists his Mariners teammates are doing all they can.

Chone Figgins stood in a near-empty, silent-as-usual clubhouse after a 4-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox and talked about the difficulties a struggling offense faces when confronted with a string of contenders. The Mariners lost their fifth game in six tries — and 16th of their past 19 — to a first-place White Sox club Tuesday night on the heels of a series defeat against the second-place Angels.

The fact that Seattle managed just two hits all night and saw Milton Bradley doubled off in embarrassing fashion to end the seventh inning did little to placate the 21,366 fans at Safeco Field. But Figgins insists the effort is still there and this team isn't just careening toward a 100-loss season without a fight.

"The pitchers have been doing great," Figgins said. "As for the offense, the guys have been battling. Nobody's changed. They're coming here and working every day. It's tough when you're hitting the ball hard to lead off innings and things like that and you can't get a rally going because pitchers are making the pitches they need to."

White Sox starter John Danks was certainly doing that, allowing just an infield hit in the second inning by Casey Kotchman and a two-out single by Ichiro in the eighth.

Former Mariners closer J.J. Putz got the final out of the eighth, then Bobby Jenks closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Mariners pitcher Erik Bedard added to the somber mood after the game when he suggested his season is likely over before it begins. Bedard is consulting with two doctors about his latest MRI results, but said the news wasn't good and declined to go into specifics.

Asked whether he'll pitch at all this year, he replied "Probably not" and then exited the clubhouse.

Mariners starter Doug Fister had his strongest outing in a while, going six innings and yielding just three runs. Chicago got a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth inning, on a Juan Pierre double and an Alex Rios single.

Alexei Ramirez closed out the scoring with a solo homer in the ninth off Chris Seddon.

The Mariners did draw four walks against Danks, but then the young left-hander made some of those pitches Figgins talked about. Danks got Figgins to ground into an inning-ending double play with two on in the third and then saw Bradley doubled off first base on a pop-up to end the seventh.

Bradley did not emerge to talk to reporters after the game.

Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said Bradley told him he thought White Sox shortstop Ramirez was going to let the soft liner drop in front of him and then go for the force-out at second.

Instead, Ramirez waited for the pop-up to land in his glove and then easily doubled off Bradley.

In fairness to the Mariners, their long-floundering lineup is replete with injuries. Russell Branyan will likely be out at least a couple of games with back stiffness while Michael Saunders is still recovering from a sore finger, though he could play Wednesday.

"I'll leave it in their hands this time," Branyan said of his latest back woes. "You saw what happened when I tried to make the call last year. I don't know when to stop."

Wakamatsu said the injuries have made an already tough post-All-Star schedule, in which the Mariners face six contending teams in a row, even tougher.

"I think you look at the injuries the last week or so, they haven't been real helpful," Wakamatsu said. "With Russell (Branyan), he gets the two at-bats and he's out probably for another couple of days. Saunders, somebody you want playing out there, jams his finger.

"You want to put a consistent lineup out there, but it's been tough."

Onetime Mariners infielder Omar Vizquel, now 43 and playing third base, made it even tougher with two nice plays on grounders to his right, making long throws to nab Jose Lopez in the sixth and Franklin Gutierrez in the ninth.

Mariners second baseman Figgins, who made two tough defensive plays of his own, shrugged his shoulders and suggested Vizquel has been robbing teams for years.

"Guys are hitting the ball hard," Figgins said. "Guys are going to the plate trying to put good at-bats together. It's just tough. It's tough when you're going against teams that are in first and second place every night. It's not an excuse. It's the reality ... they're not pushovers."

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com