Slumping Arenado sits for a day; his glove is missed in Seattle loss

throw to first for his second error. That double error opened the door for a sacrifice fly by Evan White and back-to-back RBIs singles by Tim Lopes and Dee Gordon.

Before the game, Black said that Arenado “looks a little uncomfortable” in the batter’s box, and said the time was right to give Arenado a day out of the starting lineup. The two talked about the decision Saturday night.

Asked if Arenado’s slump was “in his head,” Black replied: “I think it’s more a matter of just straightening out some mechanics. He looks a little jumpy at the plate. Maybe a little overaggressive. He seems to be underneath some pitches … (hitting) some flyballs and sort of just underneath.”

Arenado has struck out only four times in 54 at-bats and he has hit three home runs in the early going. He was 0-for-14 following three consecutive games in which he homered, Aug. 3-5, and the three home runs are his only extra-base hits on the season. Arenado’s OPS is just .614 and he has produced only five RBIs out of the cleanup spot.

Arenado works constantly on his hitting and he’s a tough selfcritic. Black said that’s good thing — most of the time.

“He cares a lot about this organization, and his performance,” Black said. “At times he can beat himself up. But I think I’d rather have a player that way than the other.

“So, again, he’ll come out of this, as we all know, he’ll work through this. Today, I’m sure, he’ll watch a lot of video; he’ll spend some time in a cage. There will be conversations with our hitting coaches. But today was just a good day not to play Nolan.”

Wolters sits, again. No. 1 catcher Tony Wolters did not start for the fourth consecutive game but

Black said that Wolters is healthy. Black explained that Elias Díaz, who didn’t play in the first 12 games but started Sunday for the second time in three games, was a better matchup against Mariners left-hander Justus Sheffield. Diaz, however, went 0-for-3.

Chuck’s Nazty. Charlie Blackmon extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a double to right field in the first inning. He’s batting .551 (27-for-49) during the streak, with 12 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs and 18 RBIs.

Blackmon is one of only 29 players in the “live-ball era” (1920-present) to hold a batting average above .450 after his team’s first 15 games. The last to do it was teammate Matt Kemp (with the Dodgers in 2012). Blackmon’s .458 average is tied with Willie Mays (1960) for the 21sthighest batting average in the first 15 games.