Three takeaways from the Mariners’ 5-1 loss to the Angels on Friday

Three takeaways regarding the Mariners from Friday’s 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium.

***The no-panic panic: The Mariners spent a lot of time talking about how nobody was panicking after Friday’s loss dropped them to 1-4. But this is a club that talked a lot in spring training about the need for a good start.

"We’re going to go through some tough times," Robinson Cano said. "We’ve only lost four games. If you win the next two games, you’re right there. The last thing you want to do is panic. You can put pressure on yourself."

For now, at least, there’s a sense the Mariners still believe this, but they also know that slow starts in 2014 and 2016 kept them from reaching postseason.

***Where are the bats?: It’s hard to argue that, on paper, the Mariners don’t have a more potent lineup than last year, when they finished third in scoring among American League clubs. So, yes, they’re puzzled by their punchless start.

"The one thing we were all pretty confident in is we were going to score runs," third baseman Kyle Seager said, "and that we were going to have a dynamic offense that was going to score in a multitude of ways.

"Right now, through the first five games, we haven't done that."

That’s got to change. But when?

***Valencia can play first: Want an under-the-radar positive? Danny Valencia increasingly looks like a good defensive fit at first base. He started another double play in Friday’s loss. That makes three in five games.

Valencia also displayed deft footwork in stretching for an off-line throw from center fielder Jarrod Dyson in completing another double play.

"Danny has been awesome over at first," manager Scott Servais said. "I think he’s making that 3-6-3 or 3-6-1 double play, he’s making it look a lot easier than it is. He can really throw. He’s athletic over there.

"He’s really added a nice dimension to our right-side defense."

Some more pop at the plate would help, too.

Bob Dutton: @TNT_Mariners

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Three takeaways from the Mariners’ 5-1 loss to the Angels on Friday."