Haniger went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Wednesday in a loss to the Angels.
Haniger accounted for Seattle's only run with a second-inning solo blast to center field. He'd been struggling coming into the contest, batting a meager .130 through 10 contests in July and an even more meager .098 over his previous 18 games overall. Still. Haniger has consistently been in the Mariners' lineup of late due in part to injuries to Julio Rodriguez (ankle) and Dominic Canzone (thigh).
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Mariners' Mitch Haniger: Playing time increasing
Rotowire
Haniger will start in right field and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the Angels.
Haniger will pick up his fourth start in five games, with two coming against lefties and two coming against righties. The 33-year-old has gone 1-for-7 with five strikeouts and two walks since the All-Star break and is holding down a career-worst .615 OPS on the season, but he could nonetheless be in store for an uptick in playing time while the Mariners are down three regulars due to injury (Julio Rodriguez, J.P. Crawford and Dominic Canzone) in addition to recently moving struggling everyday first baseman Ty France off the 40-man roster.
Haniger slotted in as the designated hitter in Sunday's win over the Astros and went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run.
Haniger was logging his second consecutive start after sitting out the last two games before the All-Star break and the first one after the pause in play concluded Friday. The 33-year-old was able to make some offensive contributions, which have been few and far between for him this season in his return from a one-year stay with the Giants. The Mariners notably cut ties with another once-productive veteran in Ty France after Sunday's game, and Haniger may need to give his current .208/.287/.335 slash line a serious boost soon in order to avoid a similar fate.
Haniger isn't in the Mariners' lineup Saturday against the Angels.
Haniger will take a seat on the bench Saturday after going 1-for-7 with a run scored through the first two games of the series. While he rests, Victor Robles, Julio Rodriguez and Luke Raley will start across Seattle's outfield.
