Friday, September 05, 2003
A LITTLE LATE, BUT WE’LL TAKE IT
This game should have been over a lot earlier, but the Mariners finally pulled it out in the 13th inning to keep pace with the Joneses, as both Oakland and Boston won tonight.
Baltimore’s a good hitting team, but man…I’ll get to that later.
First, the pitching.
Meche didn’t bring his A-game tonight; he threw too many pitches, but he did pitch well enough to win. He got out of the jams fairly well. Gil allowed two at least two runners aboard in each of the first four innings before getting a 1-2-3 fifth.
(disclaimer: game log references and box score data provided by CBS SportsLine)
In the first, Meche allowed two singles and struck out Bigbie before getting Jay Gibbons to GIDP (11 pitches).
In the second, Luis Matos worked the count full from 1-2 and hit a single with one out to make a first-and-second-with-one-out situation. Meche then struck out Deivi Cruz on three pitches then whiffed Brook Fordyce (22 pitches – 33 total).
In the third, Bigbie singled to force yet another first-and-second-with-one-out situation. Meche forced flyouts from Gibbons and Tony Batista (17 pitches – 50 total).
In the fourth, Fordyce singled to make a first-and-second-with-two-out situation. Though Meche had one more out than the other three times with one out, he yielded a single to Brian Roberts (this guy was 4-for-6 tonight…there’s no excuse for this) to score Deivi Cruz and make it Baltimore 1-0. Mora then flew out (25 pitches!! – 75 total).
In the fifth, Meche had his easiest inning of all. Bigbie caught looking, and Gibbons and Batista fly out (10 pitches – 85 total).
In the sixth, Meche allowed a leadoff bomb to the 684-year-old grizzled veteran (and a man who lost his spark the minute he left the Brewers) BJ Surhoff. Seattle’s lead was cut to 4-2. Meche threw three straight balls to Luis Matos, which really didn’t look good, but battled back to a full count before giving up a single. But then he got Cruz, Fordyce, and Roberts to either line out or fly out (21 pitches – 106 total).
In the 7th, Rafael Soriano came on and did his best Armando Benitez impression. It was almost scary. He got ahead 0-1 and 1-2 on Melvin Mora before a combination of balls and foul-offs made for a long at-bat on which Mora flew out on the 9th pitch. Raf then got ahead 0-2 on Bigbie but lost him to a single on a 1-2 pitch. Gibbons singled on the first pitch for two on and one out. Tony Batista fouled off two pitches to get behind 0-2 in the count. The third pitch saw him hit an RBI single that scored Bigbie to make the score Seattle 4-3. Raf then had an epic battle with Surhoff, the count was 1-2 before ending up full once again before Raf managed to blow a fastball by him. Raf then got Matos to fly out after falling behind 3-1 in the count. A long and hairy inning (32 PITCHES!!).
In the 8th, Mateo gave up a two-out single to Roberts, who stole second on a 1-1 pitch with Mora up. The count went from 1-2 to full, then Mora fouled off three pitches before finally popping out to Olerud (21 pitches).
In the 9th, Hasegawa came in to nail down a 4-3 Mariner win. How’d it go? Bigbie led off with a single on an 0-2 pitch. Shig threw a first-pitch strike to Gibbons, but then threw four straight balls. Shig threw two strikes past Batista to put him in an 0-2 hole. Then Shig nibbled and the count went full before Batista hit a double play ball. Runner on third, two out. Orioles would need a hit or some kind of error to tie the game. Shig threw a ball on the first pitch to Surhoff and the grizzled vet hit a single to score Bigbie on the second pitch. Tie game at 4-4. Worse yet, Matos singled on the next pitch, putting the winning run on second. But then Cruz bounced out to Sanchez to end the inning (21 pitches).
In the 10th, Shig came on once again to hold the O’s, this time in a tie game. He had a 1-2 count on Fordyce go full before forcing a groundout. He had a 2-2 count on Roberts before walking him. He started out Mora 0-2 before Mora fouled off three pitches and took two balls before being caught looking. He fell behind 2-0 in the count to Bigbie before walking him to put the winning run in scoring position for the second straight inning. Tim Raines Jr then came up and bounced one along the third base line that Shig picked up. Shig couldn’t nail Spawn of Raines because the guy runs like his dad did. This loaded the bases with two out, the winning run 90 feet away. Luckily, Tony Batista flew out on the first pitch. Whew (30 pitches – 51 total).
In the 11th, Kazu Sasaki came on and got ahead on all three hitters he faced, as Hairston Jr flew out, Matos whiffed, and Cruz flew out. Great inning by Kazu, though with a fairly long battle with Cruz (19 pitches in inning).
In the 12th, Kazu came out yet again to hold the O’s. Fordyce flew out on the second pitch. An eight-pitch at-bat led to a Roberts flyout. He threw a strike to Mora, but beaned him on the next pitch and was yanked for Rhodes (12 pitches – 31 total). Of course, I always cringe when Rhodes comes into any game in a tight situation. He came out and threw two balls right out of the gate to Bigbie before he singled to move the winning run to second once again. Luckily, Rhodes caught Raines Jr looking (7 pitches).
In the 13th, Rhodes stayed in to close it out. Rhodes got two quick outs before throwing a ball to Matos and then yielding a single to him. He got Cruz to foul off two pitches before he doubled to put the tying run on second and bring the winning run to the batters box. Luckily, the game ended on a Fordyce groundout. Whew. Mariners 6-4.
You know, I don’t care how good a hitting team the Orioles are, and I’m glad the Mariners won, so I’m not too hung up on it, but the Orioles got TWENTY-ONE FRIGGING HITS tonight. That’s astounding. Roberts, Bigbie, and Matos got FOUR HITS EACH. Let’s hope Moyer doesn’t let this happen tomorrow. I don’t think the Mariners can withstand another 21-hit game by the opposition and still win.
Shig blew his first save of the year and showed that, yes, he indeed is human. I knew he had to blow a save sometime, but the middle of September is such a terrible time to do it. In any event, if the Mariners have a one-run lead on Sunday (no way in hell he pitches tomorrow after throwing 51 pitches), I still want to see Shig out there nailing down the game. And like I said after the extra-inning game in Tampa Bay, I’m glad this game didn’t happen in August, or the bullpen would be screwed for about three days. All the guys except maybe Sasaki threw a ton of pitches, but since it’s September, there’s a fallback policy, and it consists of Putz, Looper, and Sweeney. If the Mariners have a late-inning close lead tomorrow, Looper (Tacoma closer, post-Taylor injury) may get the call. It sure as hell won’t be Benitez, who didn’t pitch tonight. It’s been mentioned elsewhere, but can tonight be the official moment where we declare that the Jeff Nelson trade was made because he shot his mouth off at management? It’s not like they’re actually using Benitez or having any confidence in the guy whatsoever, because he should have been out there tonight. Worse yet is that they’re paying this guy more than they paid Nelson, and to do less.
Soriano was shaky once again, but still dominant. He’s still young, and he’s been great for this team. Tonight it was entirely evident that he needs to work on that changeup or a curve or something to offset the high speeds of the fastball and slider. This guy is incredibly good right now; if he gets a third (and slower) pitch, he may be unhittable. I’m thinking Gagne-type here. Of course, if he gets that third pitch, it’s possible that the Mariners put him in the rotation if they pink slip Garcia or he walks in the offseason. Then Raf would possibly be forced to develop that third pitch.
A really encouraging thing tonight was the performance of Sasaki. This is the best he’s looked since he’s been back. Do I want him to take over the closer’s role because Shig blew one save? Hell no. Do I feel a little better that the Mariners may have another option in the pen that they may feel half-confident about? Yes. Sasaki got ahead in the count on every hitter he faced, and got first-pitch strikes on five of the six hitters he faced. He hit 91 on the gun at one point (significant progress on the speed end) and it appeared that the splitter had some bite to it once again. His pitch breakdown: 5 balls and 26 strikes for 31 total pitches.
Now for the hitting…
For quite a while tonight, it looked like the same old crap for the Mariners. They extended the streak of scorelessness to 22 2/3 innings before scoring with 2 out in the 5th. That’s when they finally got some breaks and some much-needed signs of life. This thanks to the fact that Jason Johnson is now 1-6 against the Mariners in his career and that he is a very tall righty with a high leg kick.
The Mariners went 1-2-3 in the 2nd, 7th, and 11th.
In the 1st, Edgar hit a two-out single, Boone walked, and Guillen grounded out. One runner stranded in scoring position.
In the 3rd, Sanchez led off with a single, Ichiro fell way behind in the count and whiffed (oh boy), Winn flew out on the first pitch, Edgar walked, then Boone hit a grounder to force out Edgar at second. Another runner stranded in scoring position (2 total).
In the 4th, Guillen led off with a single, and stole second on a 2-2 pitch to Olerud before John struck out (this will be a recurring theme). Cameron walked. Davis whiffed before Sanchez grounded to force out Cam. Another runner stranded in scoring position (3 total).
In the 5th, Winn hit a one-out double. One out later, Boone walked. With Guillen up, Boone and Winn executed the double steal on a 1-1 pitch. Guillen then came up with a key single to drive in the runners. Olerud then whiffed. Mariners were up 2-1.
In the 6th, Cameron worked Johnson for a 10-pitch at-bat, but flew out in foul ground to Bigbie. Davis then beat a throw for an infield single. Sanchez flew out to center in a situation in which it would have behooved the Mariners to move the runner over. But that was rendered moot on the next pitch when Ichiro homered to put the Mariners up 4-1. Winn then singled and Edgar bounced out to third. This was Jason Johnson’s last inning.
In the 8th, nothing really eventful other than a 2-out Sanchez single and that Ichiro finally tried to bunt himself on and use his speed for the first time in a while.
In the 9th, Boone walked with two outs. He was on first and pitcher John Parrish tried to snap throw and pick off Boone. The throw was a little wide toward the runner and the ball went into right-field foul ground, landing Boone on third. This would have been a great insurance run to have, though there were two outs. Guillen then fouled off three pitches before whiffing. Another runner stranded in scoring position (4 total).
In the 10th, a Cameron one-out infield single was followed by a Davis warning-track flyout bash to left and a Sanchez bounce out.
In the 12th, against Kerry Ligtenberg with one out, Guillen walked and Olerud singled. Cameron and Davis then flew out. Another runner stranded in scoring position (5 total).
In the 13th, the Mariners came through for good. Ichiro hit a much-needed 1-out single to jumpstart things (sounds like the Mariners finally). Randy Winn then got into a pitch that was hit as hard as one could hit it without it being a home run (off the scoreboard in rightfield). Edgar was walked to keep the double play possibility and was pinch-ran for by Jamal Strong. On the next pitch, Boone was beaned in the left elbow to put the Mariners up 5-4. Guillen then hit a sac fly to score Winn with the insurance run (6-4 Mariners) before Olerud flew out.
Adapting a stat from Locke and Woodward on KJR, the Mariners are now 40-18 when Ichiro gets 2 or more hits (including tonight’s 2-for-7). Multihit games were also had by Winn (3), Edgar, Guillen, and Sanchez (2 each). Boone was 0-for-3, but one of the three was a good-looking opposite-field lineout to the rightfielder, possibly a sign of him finding it again. Though Boone was 0-for-3, he also drove in the game-winning run and walked three times. In contrast, John Olerud was 1-for-7 with the golden sombrero. What’s that, you ask? FOUR STRIKEOUTS. Yee-haw! Good gracious.
All in all, I guess the Mariner offense didn’t have to be perfect tonight, but they needed a few breaks and they got them, though none of them were early in the game, as they stranded three runners in scoring position before the 5th inning.
Boston pasted Pettitte and the Yanks tonight. What sucks is that this is the last Yanks and Sox series for the rest of the year. It’s not bad in that the Yanks/Sox games won’t get shoved down our throats on ESPN for the rest of the year, but it’s also dumb that their division race after this weekend series will ultimately depend on how they do against other (and weaker) teams. Luckily in the West, the Mariners and the other three teams get to control their own destiny, and more often. And that’s the way it should be.
My dad pointed out to me that this weekend, Lou Piniella is in a win-win situation. His team wins and his team looks great and is that much further away from 100 losses. His team loses and that bastard management in Seattle doesn’t gain any ground on Oakland and is one step closer to not being in the playoffs. I can’t say his team totally laid down for the A’s tonight, but they still lost. The Mariners can’t afford to just mirror the A’s the rest of the way. That won’t get them anywhere.
Moyer tomorrow...
Baltimore’s a good hitting team, but man…I’ll get to that later.
First, the pitching.
Meche didn’t bring his A-game tonight; he threw too many pitches, but he did pitch well enough to win. He got out of the jams fairly well. Gil allowed two at least two runners aboard in each of the first four innings before getting a 1-2-3 fifth.
(disclaimer: game log references and box score data provided by CBS SportsLine)
In the first, Meche allowed two singles and struck out Bigbie before getting Jay Gibbons to GIDP (11 pitches).
In the second, Luis Matos worked the count full from 1-2 and hit a single with one out to make a first-and-second-with-one-out situation. Meche then struck out Deivi Cruz on three pitches then whiffed Brook Fordyce (22 pitches – 33 total).
In the third, Bigbie singled to force yet another first-and-second-with-one-out situation. Meche forced flyouts from Gibbons and Tony Batista (17 pitches – 50 total).
In the fourth, Fordyce singled to make a first-and-second-with-two-out situation. Though Meche had one more out than the other three times with one out, he yielded a single to Brian Roberts (this guy was 4-for-6 tonight…there’s no excuse for this) to score Deivi Cruz and make it Baltimore 1-0. Mora then flew out (25 pitches!! – 75 total).
In the fifth, Meche had his easiest inning of all. Bigbie caught looking, and Gibbons and Batista fly out (10 pitches – 85 total).
In the sixth, Meche allowed a leadoff bomb to the 684-year-old grizzled veteran (and a man who lost his spark the minute he left the Brewers) BJ Surhoff. Seattle’s lead was cut to 4-2. Meche threw three straight balls to Luis Matos, which really didn’t look good, but battled back to a full count before giving up a single. But then he got Cruz, Fordyce, and Roberts to either line out or fly out (21 pitches – 106 total).
In the 7th, Rafael Soriano came on and did his best Armando Benitez impression. It was almost scary. He got ahead 0-1 and 1-2 on Melvin Mora before a combination of balls and foul-offs made for a long at-bat on which Mora flew out on the 9th pitch. Raf then got ahead 0-2 on Bigbie but lost him to a single on a 1-2 pitch. Gibbons singled on the first pitch for two on and one out. Tony Batista fouled off two pitches to get behind 0-2 in the count. The third pitch saw him hit an RBI single that scored Bigbie to make the score Seattle 4-3. Raf then had an epic battle with Surhoff, the count was 1-2 before ending up full once again before Raf managed to blow a fastball by him. Raf then got Matos to fly out after falling behind 3-1 in the count. A long and hairy inning (32 PITCHES!!).
In the 8th, Mateo gave up a two-out single to Roberts, who stole second on a 1-1 pitch with Mora up. The count went from 1-2 to full, then Mora fouled off three pitches before finally popping out to Olerud (21 pitches).
In the 9th, Hasegawa came in to nail down a 4-3 Mariner win. How’d it go? Bigbie led off with a single on an 0-2 pitch. Shig threw a first-pitch strike to Gibbons, but then threw four straight balls. Shig threw two strikes past Batista to put him in an 0-2 hole. Then Shig nibbled and the count went full before Batista hit a double play ball. Runner on third, two out. Orioles would need a hit or some kind of error to tie the game. Shig threw a ball on the first pitch to Surhoff and the grizzled vet hit a single to score Bigbie on the second pitch. Tie game at 4-4. Worse yet, Matos singled on the next pitch, putting the winning run on second. But then Cruz bounced out to Sanchez to end the inning (21 pitches).
In the 10th, Shig came on once again to hold the O’s, this time in a tie game. He had a 1-2 count on Fordyce go full before forcing a groundout. He had a 2-2 count on Roberts before walking him. He started out Mora 0-2 before Mora fouled off three pitches and took two balls before being caught looking. He fell behind 2-0 in the count to Bigbie before walking him to put the winning run in scoring position for the second straight inning. Tim Raines Jr then came up and bounced one along the third base line that Shig picked up. Shig couldn’t nail Spawn of Raines because the guy runs like his dad did. This loaded the bases with two out, the winning run 90 feet away. Luckily, Tony Batista flew out on the first pitch. Whew (30 pitches – 51 total).
In the 11th, Kazu Sasaki came on and got ahead on all three hitters he faced, as Hairston Jr flew out, Matos whiffed, and Cruz flew out. Great inning by Kazu, though with a fairly long battle with Cruz (19 pitches in inning).
In the 12th, Kazu came out yet again to hold the O’s. Fordyce flew out on the second pitch. An eight-pitch at-bat led to a Roberts flyout. He threw a strike to Mora, but beaned him on the next pitch and was yanked for Rhodes (12 pitches – 31 total). Of course, I always cringe when Rhodes comes into any game in a tight situation. He came out and threw two balls right out of the gate to Bigbie before he singled to move the winning run to second once again. Luckily, Rhodes caught Raines Jr looking (7 pitches).
In the 13th, Rhodes stayed in to close it out. Rhodes got two quick outs before throwing a ball to Matos and then yielding a single to him. He got Cruz to foul off two pitches before he doubled to put the tying run on second and bring the winning run to the batters box. Luckily, the game ended on a Fordyce groundout. Whew. Mariners 6-4.
You know, I don’t care how good a hitting team the Orioles are, and I’m glad the Mariners won, so I’m not too hung up on it, but the Orioles got TWENTY-ONE FRIGGING HITS tonight. That’s astounding. Roberts, Bigbie, and Matos got FOUR HITS EACH. Let’s hope Moyer doesn’t let this happen tomorrow. I don’t think the Mariners can withstand another 21-hit game by the opposition and still win.
Shig blew his first save of the year and showed that, yes, he indeed is human. I knew he had to blow a save sometime, but the middle of September is such a terrible time to do it. In any event, if the Mariners have a one-run lead on Sunday (no way in hell he pitches tomorrow after throwing 51 pitches), I still want to see Shig out there nailing down the game. And like I said after the extra-inning game in Tampa Bay, I’m glad this game didn’t happen in August, or the bullpen would be screwed for about three days. All the guys except maybe Sasaki threw a ton of pitches, but since it’s September, there’s a fallback policy, and it consists of Putz, Looper, and Sweeney. If the Mariners have a late-inning close lead tomorrow, Looper (Tacoma closer, post-Taylor injury) may get the call. It sure as hell won’t be Benitez, who didn’t pitch tonight. It’s been mentioned elsewhere, but can tonight be the official moment where we declare that the Jeff Nelson trade was made because he shot his mouth off at management? It’s not like they’re actually using Benitez or having any confidence in the guy whatsoever, because he should have been out there tonight. Worse yet is that they’re paying this guy more than they paid Nelson, and to do less.
Soriano was shaky once again, but still dominant. He’s still young, and he’s been great for this team. Tonight it was entirely evident that he needs to work on that changeup or a curve or something to offset the high speeds of the fastball and slider. This guy is incredibly good right now; if he gets a third (and slower) pitch, he may be unhittable. I’m thinking Gagne-type here. Of course, if he gets that third pitch, it’s possible that the Mariners put him in the rotation if they pink slip Garcia or he walks in the offseason. Then Raf would possibly be forced to develop that third pitch.
A really encouraging thing tonight was the performance of Sasaki. This is the best he’s looked since he’s been back. Do I want him to take over the closer’s role because Shig blew one save? Hell no. Do I feel a little better that the Mariners may have another option in the pen that they may feel half-confident about? Yes. Sasaki got ahead in the count on every hitter he faced, and got first-pitch strikes on five of the six hitters he faced. He hit 91 on the gun at one point (significant progress on the speed end) and it appeared that the splitter had some bite to it once again. His pitch breakdown: 5 balls and 26 strikes for 31 total pitches.
Now for the hitting…
For quite a while tonight, it looked like the same old crap for the Mariners. They extended the streak of scorelessness to 22 2/3 innings before scoring with 2 out in the 5th. That’s when they finally got some breaks and some much-needed signs of life. This thanks to the fact that Jason Johnson is now 1-6 against the Mariners in his career and that he is a very tall righty with a high leg kick.
The Mariners went 1-2-3 in the 2nd, 7th, and 11th.
In the 1st, Edgar hit a two-out single, Boone walked, and Guillen grounded out. One runner stranded in scoring position.
In the 3rd, Sanchez led off with a single, Ichiro fell way behind in the count and whiffed (oh boy), Winn flew out on the first pitch, Edgar walked, then Boone hit a grounder to force out Edgar at second. Another runner stranded in scoring position (2 total).
In the 4th, Guillen led off with a single, and stole second on a 2-2 pitch to Olerud before John struck out (this will be a recurring theme). Cameron walked. Davis whiffed before Sanchez grounded to force out Cam. Another runner stranded in scoring position (3 total).
In the 5th, Winn hit a one-out double. One out later, Boone walked. With Guillen up, Boone and Winn executed the double steal on a 1-1 pitch. Guillen then came up with a key single to drive in the runners. Olerud then whiffed. Mariners were up 2-1.
In the 6th, Cameron worked Johnson for a 10-pitch at-bat, but flew out in foul ground to Bigbie. Davis then beat a throw for an infield single. Sanchez flew out to center in a situation in which it would have behooved the Mariners to move the runner over. But that was rendered moot on the next pitch when Ichiro homered to put the Mariners up 4-1. Winn then singled and Edgar bounced out to third. This was Jason Johnson’s last inning.
In the 8th, nothing really eventful other than a 2-out Sanchez single and that Ichiro finally tried to bunt himself on and use his speed for the first time in a while.
In the 9th, Boone walked with two outs. He was on first and pitcher John Parrish tried to snap throw and pick off Boone. The throw was a little wide toward the runner and the ball went into right-field foul ground, landing Boone on third. This would have been a great insurance run to have, though there were two outs. Guillen then fouled off three pitches before whiffing. Another runner stranded in scoring position (4 total).
In the 10th, a Cameron one-out infield single was followed by a Davis warning-track flyout bash to left and a Sanchez bounce out.
In the 12th, against Kerry Ligtenberg with one out, Guillen walked and Olerud singled. Cameron and Davis then flew out. Another runner stranded in scoring position (5 total).
In the 13th, the Mariners came through for good. Ichiro hit a much-needed 1-out single to jumpstart things (sounds like the Mariners finally). Randy Winn then got into a pitch that was hit as hard as one could hit it without it being a home run (off the scoreboard in rightfield). Edgar was walked to keep the double play possibility and was pinch-ran for by Jamal Strong. On the next pitch, Boone was beaned in the left elbow to put the Mariners up 5-4. Guillen then hit a sac fly to score Winn with the insurance run (6-4 Mariners) before Olerud flew out.
Adapting a stat from Locke and Woodward on KJR, the Mariners are now 40-18 when Ichiro gets 2 or more hits (including tonight’s 2-for-7). Multihit games were also had by Winn (3), Edgar, Guillen, and Sanchez (2 each). Boone was 0-for-3, but one of the three was a good-looking opposite-field lineout to the rightfielder, possibly a sign of him finding it again. Though Boone was 0-for-3, he also drove in the game-winning run and walked three times. In contrast, John Olerud was 1-for-7 with the golden sombrero. What’s that, you ask? FOUR STRIKEOUTS. Yee-haw! Good gracious.
All in all, I guess the Mariner offense didn’t have to be perfect tonight, but they needed a few breaks and they got them, though none of them were early in the game, as they stranded three runners in scoring position before the 5th inning.
Boston pasted Pettitte and the Yanks tonight. What sucks is that this is the last Yanks and Sox series for the rest of the year. It’s not bad in that the Yanks/Sox games won’t get shoved down our throats on ESPN for the rest of the year, but it’s also dumb that their division race after this weekend series will ultimately depend on how they do against other (and weaker) teams. Luckily in the West, the Mariners and the other three teams get to control their own destiny, and more often. And that’s the way it should be.
My dad pointed out to me that this weekend, Lou Piniella is in a win-win situation. His team wins and his team looks great and is that much further away from 100 losses. His team loses and that bastard management in Seattle doesn’t gain any ground on Oakland and is one step closer to not being in the playoffs. I can’t say his team totally laid down for the A’s tonight, but they still lost. The Mariners can’t afford to just mirror the A’s the rest of the way. That won’t get them anywhere.
Moyer tomorrow...
/ Click for main page
