Zunino's defense has plunged this year, or at least it appears so. And it doesn't seem like his pitch framing is as effective.
Among the reasons the M's have been scuffling:
Ball/strike calls not going in their favor (is this Zunino or the usual umpiring bias against the M's?),
Continued baserunning blunders, sometimes bordering on idiotic (Valencia at second base last night).
An inordinate number of wild pitches, passed balls, and poor throws on attempts to throw out base stealers (again, Zunino).
Poor, often baffling use of the bullpen by Servais.
A tendency to completely "turn off" plate patience for innings at a time, and let a pitcher sail through multiple innings with a stunningly low pitch count. I simply do not understand this. I know the pitcher throwing strikes can dictate not taking pitches, but the sudden change of approach is so sudden, with seemingly every batter making the same sudden shift, it's as if there was some order from the bench that is being mandated too strictly. When this team systematically grinds a pitcher down with long at bats it thrives. When it lays down and dies it dies quickly and silently and with maximum efficiency from the point of view of the pitcher. Again, I know a pitcher can put you in a position where you have to be aggressive, but with the M's it's as if a switch is turned off or on for every hitter.
When the M's blunder, or err, or make poor decisions, it seems like the other club always takes advantage, while the M's go long stretches of games where they leave runners on base, especially in scoring position or on third base with less than 2 outs.
One man's observations.