And fittingly, it ended in another a punchless defeat.

Sunday’s 8-2 loss to the New York Yankees again showcased an anemic Mariners offense. Their impotence seemed more apparent considering New York hitters roughed up Seattle pitching over the weekend for a total 19 runs and 34 hits.

“The positive thing is we’re getting off this road trip and out of New York,” manager John McLaren said with a tired voice and a beaten-down expression on his face. “We need some home cooking.”

But can something as simple as returning to Safeco Field today remedy all that is ailing the Mariners?

In any case, the Mariners limp back to face a Texas Rangers team that had won four straight before falling at Oakland on Sunday and is tied with Seattle for last in the American League West.

“We were at home and we lost two series in a row,” Jose Vidro said. “We need something to spark this ballclub because on paper we are OK, but out there on the field we’re not doing our job. It just cannot keep going this way.”

Or can it?

The Mariners (13-19) have no solutions for the myriad problems plaguing them. A large portion of their struggles can be blamed on an offense that has failed to produce more than three runs in seven of the past nine games.

“We’re just not swinging the bats that well right now,” McLaren said.

It’s a statement he’s made many times in the past two weeks. And it’s to the point, where he can do nothing about it. No amount of lineup tinkering or changes can break this funk – the onus now falls on the players.

“It doesn’t make a difference where we hit them,” McLaren said. “We need to hit collectively as a group.”

Right now, the Mariners are not hitting collectively as a group. Here and there, one player will emerge with a pair of hits, or another might drive in a few runs. But right now there are far too many slumping road blocks in Seattle’s lineup.

“What I’ve seen is a lot of swings on bad pitches,” said Vidro, who went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .192. “When teams struggle, things get a little out of hand, and guys are trying to do too much. That’s what leads to bad at-bats.”

For an inning at least, it appeared manager John McLaren’s postgame tirade yesterday might have jump-started his team. Raul Ibañez singled off starter Darrell Rasner, and Adrian Beltre clubbed a two-run homer in the first inning to give the M’s their only lead of the entire series.

“We had some momentum early and the guys were cheering in the dugout,” McLaren said.

But it was short-lived, as the Yankees did what many teams haven’t this season – score runs on Mariners starter Carlos Silva.

While Silva has been known to give up his fair share of hits, usually he is able to work out of jams using his sinker to induce double plays and easy outs. But on Sunday, his sinker wasn’t sinking and the Yankees’ hitters took advantage, handing him his first loss of the season.

The Yankees scored six runs in the third as Silva gave up four straight hits to the top of the New York order for two runs. But it was the bottom that did the damage as Melky Cabrera crushed a two-run home run to right field and Robinson Cano followed with a solo shot to right in almost the same spot.

“I didn’t make a lot of bad pitches today, but they were hitting everything,” Silva said. “I know I made a couple mistakes. I made a lot of good pitches too, and they hit them.”

Silva didn’t make it out of the fourth as Derek Jeter fought off a pitch inside for a ground-rule double to push the lead to 7-2

“I almost hit him with that pitch and he gets a double,” Silva said. “You are going to have good outings and you are going to have bad outings. Today was a bad outing.”

What looked like a bad outing for Rasner turned into a good one. The right-hander, who was making his season debut in the majors, shook off the first inning and settled in against a Mariners offense that failed to produce back-to-back hits or back-to-back baserunners for the final eight innings. He went six innings, allowing just five hits and striking out four.

“There are a lot of good hitters on the ballclub,” Vidro said. “The way we’re swinging the bats right now, it definitely doesn’t show it.”

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483

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