Sunday, May 01, 2005
GAME 24: ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 5 (10 INNINGS)
Athletics 6, Mariners 5 (10 innings)
In 25 words or less: Surely a team that came back from 4-0 couldn't be MY Seattle Mariners. They restored sanity in extra innings.
This one featured Jamie Moyer against rookie Joe Blanton.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C
Blanton had a decent inning. Ichiro lined out to lead off, and Jeremy Reed bounced a 2-0 pitch to second. Adrian Beltre worked a 1-2 count full, and ended up rolling one into centerfield for a single. Richie Sexson laid off a high pitch and a pitch low and away with two strikes, both of which I thought he would swing at and miss. Instead, he took strike three over the inside corner, a call with which he took umbrage. Blanton threw
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: D
It was apparent right away that Moyer didn't have it today. He hung the second pitch of the game to Mark Kotsay, who looped it into rightcenter for a single. Eric Byrnes flew out to Wilson Valdez on the leftfield grass. Jason Kendall hit a single into centerfield. Eric Chavez grounded his second pitch to Richie Sexson at the bag, moving the runners into scoring position. Bobby Kielty fouled off a 2-1 pitch that hit the facade of the second deck along the leftfield line. He lined a full-count pitch into the gap to score the runners.
»» ATHLETICS 2, MARINERS 0
Keith Ginter worked an 0-2 count full, and then doubled off the wall in leftcenter to pick up Kielty.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 0
Erubiel Durazo grounded a ball up the middle. Valdez threw to first, though it wasn't in time, and Sexson threw home since Ginter was trying to score. Wilson blocked the plate and tagged Ginter out, the latter of whom never touched the plate due to blockage. Moyer threw 30 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C-
The Mariners got runners aboard for the wrong part of the lineup. Bret Boone hit a grounder into the hole on the left side. Marco Scutaro's throw pulled Nick Swisher off the bag at first, though it was a tough play anyway, and it went for a single. Raul Ibanez lofted a flyout to rightfield. Randy Winn sliced a single into leftfield. Then the inopportune part of the lineup came to the plate. Dan Wilson swung and missed on a 2-2 fastball past the outside corner. Wilson Valdez got down 0-2 and fished for the 1-2 pitch, hitting a flare to Ginter on the outfield grass.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C
Moyer teetered on the brink of disaster again. Nick Swisher took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner. Scutarohad a 3-1 count and later took ball four (way outside) on a full count. Moyer hung an 0-2 curve to Kotsay, who mashed it into the corner in rightfield for a double. Byrnes flew out in foul territory to Beltre near the bag at third. Kendall flew out to Reed in centerfield on his second pitch. Moyer threw another 20 pitches.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
Ugh. Ichiro fell behind 0-2, but later fisted one off his shoetops into centerfield for a single. Reed bounced a ball to second, and Ichiro tried to avoid a tag, so he stopped in the basepath. Ginter tossed to Scutaro at second to force Ichiro out, but Ichiro's stopping obstructed any possible throw to first to complete the double play. Oakland didn't have to wait long, though, because Beltre bounced into a double play of the 5-4-3 (around the horn) variety. Blanton threw nine pitches.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C
Moyer got touched up again. Chavez ripped a 3-1 pitch foul the other way, and it had home-run distance. He later flew out harmlessly to Valdez in shallow leftfield. Kielty ripped a full-count pitch to leftfield for a single. Ginter walked on four pitches, which definitely wasn't good. Durazo tagged a single over Boone's glove and into rightfield to score Kielty.
»» ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 0
Swisher hit a ball to the left side that went off Beltre's glove and into the air, and Valdez caught it and threw to Boone at second for the weird 5-6-4 fielder's choice. Scutaro flew out to Winn to end the inning. Moyer threw 24 pitches and was at 74 through three.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B
The Mariners would cut the deficity in half and make the ballgame partially interesting. Sexson got the two hitters' counts befor walking on a full count. Boone doubled off the wall in leftcenter to put two runners into scoring position. Ibanez groudned his second pitch to the second baseman, scoring Sexson from third.
»» ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 1
Winn was down 1-2 and coaxed a walk. Wilson fouled off a bunch of pitches before whiffing on a changeup. Winn stole second and drew a throw from the catcher, but that enabled Boone to come in and score.
»» ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 2
Valdez got ahead 2-0 grounded one to short two pitches later. Blanton threw 34 pitches and had 86 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Moyer didn't survive the inning. Kotsay ripped the first pitch into centerfield to lead off. Byrnes flew out in foul territory to Winn along the leftfield line. Kendall tapped one back to the mound, but Kotsay was sent with the pitch and stayed out of a double play as Moyer threw to first. Moyer then dug his grave, hanging the second pitch to Chavez, who hit one into the gap in rightcenter to score Kotsay.
»» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 2
Julio Mateo came in for Moyer. He needed only two pitches to get Kielty to fly out to Ichiro.
Moyer's line: 3 2/3 innings, 5 runs, 10 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 81 pitches (49 strikes)
TOP 5TH
Grade: A-
Something got done with two out. Ichiro flew out to left on the first pitch. Reed drew a 3-0 count but flew out to Kotsay in leftcenter two pitches later. Beltre smoked a 2-0 pitch into the gap in rightcenter for a single. Dave Niehaus was on the broadcast talking about the power of Beltre and Sexson when Sexson was up. On cue, Sexson crushed his second pitch over the wall in rightfield to bring the Mariners within one run.
»» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 4
Boone worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Ibanez hit one under Ginter's glove and into centerfield.
Blanton was pulled before he could go five innings and be eligible for the win. Justin Duchscherer came in. Winn swung at the 1-0 pitch and popped it into foul ground beside the leftfield line. Byrnes ran about a mile and dove, catching the ball upon full extension. That's a Web Gem.
Blanton's line: 4 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 105 pitches (64 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A-
Mateo went 1-2-3. Ginter flew out to Valdez at short. Durazo took a 2-0 pitch to the track in centerfield. Swisher grounded out to first on the first pitch (3-1 putout).
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
The Mariners did nothing, though the inning had a twist. Wilson whiffed on a change outside. Valdez flew out to first base on the first pitch. Ichiro checkswung, and umpire Angel Hernandez ruled that the pitch was foul-tipped into the catcher's glove for strike three. Surprisingly, Ichiro didn't think so, and argued a bit with the plate umpire. I wish that conversation was recorded.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B-
Mateo got into some trouble. Scutaro flew out to centerfield, but Kotsay singled there. Mateo plunked Byrnes with the first pitch. Kendall was down 0-2, but reached down on the 1-2 pitch and put it past Valdez to load the bases. Luckily, Chavez flew out to Boone (infield fly rule), and Kielty flew out to Reed before any damage could be done.
Mateo's line: 2 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 26 pitches (17 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C-
The Mariners made it futile. Reed led off, smoking a 2-1 single to centerfield. Beltre lined out deep to right. Duchscherer tried to pick off Reed at first, and the throw went off Swisher's glove, but not far enough for him to advance. Sexson was caught look on a pitch high and outside in the zone.
Huston Street came on to face Boone due to career numbers against Duchscherer. Reed got a huge jump on the first pitch to Boone and stole second. Boone was down 0-2, but somehow worked a walk out of it.
"Ricky" Ricardo Rincon came in for Street to face Ibanez. He only needed three pitches. Ibanez whiffed at a breaking ball over the outside corner for strike three to end the inning.
Duchscherer's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 27 pitches (19 strikes)
Street's line: 0 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (2 strikes)
Rincon's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 3 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: A-
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Mateo. Ginter worked a 1-2 count full and made contact. He tapped one back to Hasegawa, who bobbled it twice, but threw hard to Sexson at first to barely get Ginter at first. Durazo lined out to Reed on the first pitch and Swisher flew out to Winn to end the inning.
TOP 8TH
Grade: D
Maddening. Kiko Calero came in for Rincon. Winn got the hitters' counts and walked. Greg Dobbs came on to pinch hit for Wilson, and he singled into leftfield. Valdez hit a 2-0 pitch back to the mound, and Calero was able to throw to third and get the lead runner. Ichiro dinked the 2-2 pitch over Scutaro's head at short and into leftfield to load the bases with only one out.
Octavio Dotel came in to put out the fire. He allowed 2-0 counts to both hitters he faced. Reed was caught looking on a 2-2 pitch that might have been low (he couldn't believe it), and Beltre swung at a 2-2 pitch that ran WAY inside on him; I think Kendall's arm was fully extended somewhere behind Beltre's back shoulder trying to catch it. Bases loaded, so what?
Calero's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 16 pitches (4 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A
Hasegawa was holding down the fort. Scutaro chased a 1-2 pitch way high and outside and grounded out to second. Kotsay made an out for once, flying out just beyond the infield. Byrnes hit the first pitch to rightfield, and Ichiro ran in and made a basket catch.
TOP 9TH
Grade: D
The Mariners tied the game, but it still reeked of stinkitude. Sexson walked on four pitches, and Bloomquist ran for him. Boone poked his first pitch into centerfield. Ibanez looped a 1-2 pitch into leftcenter, and Kotsay came up throwing. The throw got to the plate about the same time as Bloomquist, but Bloomquist slid off to the side of Kendall's tag, tying the game.
»» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 5
Dotel's first pitch to Winn was wild, and the runners advanced. Winn was given first base intentionally to keep the force plays in order. Miguel Olivo whiffed at a 2-0 pitch and worked the count full. He stung one toward the mound, and it went off Dotel's glove. Dotel picked it up and threw home, forcing out Boone. The next two outs took only two pitches. Valdez flew out weakly to centerfield, and Ichiro made Kotsay drift back in centerfield before catching it.
Bases loaded, nobody out, SO WHAT?!?!??!!
Dotel's line: 1 2/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 24 pitches (12 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: A
It was a 1-2-3 inning. Kendall flew out on the second pitch to rightcenter.
Ron Villone came in for Hasegawa. Chavez tapped one to Bloomquist (he'd run for Sexson), who underhanded to Villone. The out was made, though Chavez plowed Villone while trying to get to the bag. Kielty flew out to Ichiro on the first pitch to end the inning.
Hasegawa's line: 2 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 24 pitches (16 strikes)
TOP 10TH
Grade: D+
Keiichi Yabu, whose motion kinda reminds me of Masao Kida, came in for Dotel. He immediately walked Reed on four pitches. Beltre popped up to the second baseman, which was incredibly not clutch. Bloomquist swung at the first pitch and grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Though he'd scored the tying run, it's really too bad Sexson couldn't have come to the plate right there.
Yabu's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 10TH
Grade: F
It was a long game to begin with before extra innings took place, and it finally ended. Villone got two quick outs, getting Mark Ellis to fly out to Ichiro near the stands in foul territory along the rightfield line. Durazo fell behind 0-2 and whiffed at a 1-2 pitch low and away. How did Villone follow this up? He went to a 3-1 count on Swisher and got a strike before walking him. Even worse, he had Scutaro 0-2 before walking him. Who else would deal the death blow but Mark Kotsay? Villone had him 0-2. Kotsay singled into centerfield on 1-2, and Swisher broke for home. The ball got past Reed, and Swisher went home uncontested.
»» ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 5
Villone's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 31 pitches (18 strikes)
---
Gameball: Shigetoshi Hasegawa.
A yeoman's effort from the Shigster, turning in two 1-2-3 innings and getting the first out in the 9th. His clutchness in the 8th and 9th was a welcome contrast from the severe lack of clutch demonstrated on the offensive side in the same innings.
Goat: Ron Villone.
If you have two outs and need only one out to preserve an extra-inning tie, it's best not to walk the #8 AND #9 HITTERS in the lineup. That's absolutely inexcusable. For all the chances the Mariners had on offense to come through, I would have liked to have seen them get another chance, and it appeared they would until Ron Villone did his thing. It's a hell of a time to be ticked off at his first earned runs of the year, but I am all the same.
Sheesh. The Mariners have some 2004 in them, and they just might have some late 2003 in them as well. I haven't been this ticked off about hitters not coming through in the clutch for a long time. Failing to score with bases loaded and one out is one thing, but doing it with the bases loaded and NOBODY out is beyond mind-blowing. I'm not saying I haven't seen it happen with the Mariners before, but this is just incredible.
Granted, it was the 8-9-1 portion of the Mariner lineup coming up with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 9th, so that wasn't too opportune, though you figure at least maybe ONE run can come out of that. It was pretty infuriating the inning before as well, with Reed and Beltre up with the bases loaded. Reed obviously wasn't happy about his strike three call, but the pitch that Beltre swung at just about made my head explode. It wasn't even close to any sort of target.
Predictably, with so many chances with so many runners and only one coming across (tying run in the 9th), it juices up the stranded runners column in the boxscore. Try 34. That's right, the Mariners stranded XXXIV runners on the basepaths in this game. Even more surprising/unsurprising, Wilson Valdez stranded eight of the runners all by himself. Holy crap.
A few people got multi-hit games out of this. Ichiro was 2-for-6. Adrian Beltre was 2-for-6, though he stranded six runners. Bret Boone was 3-for-3 with a double, a run, and two walks. Richie Sexson is starting to have these Andrei Kirilenko lines, with his line today being 1-for-3 with a homer (2 RBI), 2 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 2 stranded runners. Raul Ibanez went 2-for-5 with 2 RBI, striking out once, and stranding three. Though he didn't have a multi-hit game, Randy Winn walked three times.
Back to .500. I thought before the game that a betting person would have bet on the Mariners losing the game, and that person would have been right. I thought when the Mariners had it tied with the bases loaded and nobody out that they'd win the game. Stupid me. This team may never get more than one game above .500 for the entire season. It's better than the team that started last year, though, as they had a fascination with the .333 winning percentage.
Pineiro. Zito. Today.
In 25 words or less: Surely a team that came back from 4-0 couldn't be MY Seattle Mariners. They restored sanity in extra innings.
This one featured Jamie Moyer against rookie Joe Blanton.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C
Blanton had a decent inning. Ichiro lined out to lead off, and Jeremy Reed bounced a 2-0 pitch to second. Adrian Beltre worked a 1-2 count full, and ended up rolling one into centerfield for a single. Richie Sexson laid off a high pitch and a pitch low and away with two strikes, both of which I thought he would swing at and miss. Instead, he took strike three over the inside corner, a call with which he took umbrage. Blanton threw
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: D
It was apparent right away that Moyer didn't have it today. He hung the second pitch of the game to Mark Kotsay, who looped it into rightcenter for a single. Eric Byrnes flew out to Wilson Valdez on the leftfield grass. Jason Kendall hit a single into centerfield. Eric Chavez grounded his second pitch to Richie Sexson at the bag, moving the runners into scoring position. Bobby Kielty fouled off a 2-1 pitch that hit the facade of the second deck along the leftfield line. He lined a full-count pitch into the gap to score the runners.
»» ATHLETICS 2, MARINERS 0
Keith Ginter worked an 0-2 count full, and then doubled off the wall in leftcenter to pick up Kielty.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 0
Erubiel Durazo grounded a ball up the middle. Valdez threw to first, though it wasn't in time, and Sexson threw home since Ginter was trying to score. Wilson blocked the plate and tagged Ginter out, the latter of whom never touched the plate due to blockage. Moyer threw 30 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C-
The Mariners got runners aboard for the wrong part of the lineup. Bret Boone hit a grounder into the hole on the left side. Marco Scutaro's throw pulled Nick Swisher off the bag at first, though it was a tough play anyway, and it went for a single. Raul Ibanez lofted a flyout to rightfield. Randy Winn sliced a single into leftfield. Then the inopportune part of the lineup came to the plate. Dan Wilson swung and missed on a 2-2 fastball past the outside corner. Wilson Valdez got down 0-2 and fished for the 1-2 pitch, hitting a flare to Ginter on the outfield grass.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C
Moyer teetered on the brink of disaster again. Nick Swisher took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner. Scutarohad a 3-1 count and later took ball four (way outside) on a full count. Moyer hung an 0-2 curve to Kotsay, who mashed it into the corner in rightfield for a double. Byrnes flew out in foul territory to Beltre near the bag at third. Kendall flew out to Reed in centerfield on his second pitch. Moyer threw another 20 pitches.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
Ugh. Ichiro fell behind 0-2, but later fisted one off his shoetops into centerfield for a single. Reed bounced a ball to second, and Ichiro tried to avoid a tag, so he stopped in the basepath. Ginter tossed to Scutaro at second to force Ichiro out, but Ichiro's stopping obstructed any possible throw to first to complete the double play. Oakland didn't have to wait long, though, because Beltre bounced into a double play of the 5-4-3 (around the horn) variety. Blanton threw nine pitches.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C
Moyer got touched up again. Chavez ripped a 3-1 pitch foul the other way, and it had home-run distance. He later flew out harmlessly to Valdez in shallow leftfield. Kielty ripped a full-count pitch to leftfield for a single. Ginter walked on four pitches, which definitely wasn't good. Durazo tagged a single over Boone's glove and into rightfield to score Kielty.
»» ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 0
Swisher hit a ball to the left side that went off Beltre's glove and into the air, and Valdez caught it and threw to Boone at second for the weird 5-6-4 fielder's choice. Scutaro flew out to Winn to end the inning. Moyer threw 24 pitches and was at 74 through three.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B
The Mariners would cut the deficity in half and make the ballgame partially interesting. Sexson got the two hitters' counts befor walking on a full count. Boone doubled off the wall in leftcenter to put two runners into scoring position. Ibanez groudned his second pitch to the second baseman, scoring Sexson from third.
»» ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 1
Winn was down 1-2 and coaxed a walk. Wilson fouled off a bunch of pitches before whiffing on a changeup. Winn stole second and drew a throw from the catcher, but that enabled Boone to come in and score.
»» ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 2
Valdez got ahead 2-0 grounded one to short two pitches later. Blanton threw 34 pitches and had 86 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Moyer didn't survive the inning. Kotsay ripped the first pitch into centerfield to lead off. Byrnes flew out in foul territory to Winn along the leftfield line. Kendall tapped one back to the mound, but Kotsay was sent with the pitch and stayed out of a double play as Moyer threw to first. Moyer then dug his grave, hanging the second pitch to Chavez, who hit one into the gap in rightcenter to score Kotsay.
»» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 2
Julio Mateo came in for Moyer. He needed only two pitches to get Kielty to fly out to Ichiro.
Moyer's line: 3 2/3 innings, 5 runs, 10 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 81 pitches (49 strikes)
TOP 5TH
Grade: A-
Something got done with two out. Ichiro flew out to left on the first pitch. Reed drew a 3-0 count but flew out to Kotsay in leftcenter two pitches later. Beltre smoked a 2-0 pitch into the gap in rightcenter for a single. Dave Niehaus was on the broadcast talking about the power of Beltre and Sexson when Sexson was up. On cue, Sexson crushed his second pitch over the wall in rightfield to bring the Mariners within one run.
»» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 4
Boone worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Ibanez hit one under Ginter's glove and into centerfield.
Blanton was pulled before he could go five innings and be eligible for the win. Justin Duchscherer came in. Winn swung at the 1-0 pitch and popped it into foul ground beside the leftfield line. Byrnes ran about a mile and dove, catching the ball upon full extension. That's a Web Gem.
Blanton's line: 4 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 105 pitches (64 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A-
Mateo went 1-2-3. Ginter flew out to Valdez at short. Durazo took a 2-0 pitch to the track in centerfield. Swisher grounded out to first on the first pitch (3-1 putout).
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
The Mariners did nothing, though the inning had a twist. Wilson whiffed on a change outside. Valdez flew out to first base on the first pitch. Ichiro checkswung, and umpire Angel Hernandez ruled that the pitch was foul-tipped into the catcher's glove for strike three. Surprisingly, Ichiro didn't think so, and argued a bit with the plate umpire. I wish that conversation was recorded.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B-
Mateo got into some trouble. Scutaro flew out to centerfield, but Kotsay singled there. Mateo plunked Byrnes with the first pitch. Kendall was down 0-2, but reached down on the 1-2 pitch and put it past Valdez to load the bases. Luckily, Chavez flew out to Boone (infield fly rule), and Kielty flew out to Reed before any damage could be done.
Mateo's line: 2 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 26 pitches (17 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C-
The Mariners made it futile. Reed led off, smoking a 2-1 single to centerfield. Beltre lined out deep to right. Duchscherer tried to pick off Reed at first, and the throw went off Swisher's glove, but not far enough for him to advance. Sexson was caught look on a pitch high and outside in the zone.
Huston Street came on to face Boone due to career numbers against Duchscherer. Reed got a huge jump on the first pitch to Boone and stole second. Boone was down 0-2, but somehow worked a walk out of it.
"Ricky" Ricardo Rincon came in for Street to face Ibanez. He only needed three pitches. Ibanez whiffed at a breaking ball over the outside corner for strike three to end the inning.
Duchscherer's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 27 pitches (19 strikes)
Street's line: 0 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (2 strikes)
Rincon's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 3 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: A-
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Mateo. Ginter worked a 1-2 count full and made contact. He tapped one back to Hasegawa, who bobbled it twice, but threw hard to Sexson at first to barely get Ginter at first. Durazo lined out to Reed on the first pitch and Swisher flew out to Winn to end the inning.
TOP 8TH
Grade: D
Maddening. Kiko Calero came in for Rincon. Winn got the hitters' counts and walked. Greg Dobbs came on to pinch hit for Wilson, and he singled into leftfield. Valdez hit a 2-0 pitch back to the mound, and Calero was able to throw to third and get the lead runner. Ichiro dinked the 2-2 pitch over Scutaro's head at short and into leftfield to load the bases with only one out.
Octavio Dotel came in to put out the fire. He allowed 2-0 counts to both hitters he faced. Reed was caught looking on a 2-2 pitch that might have been low (he couldn't believe it), and Beltre swung at a 2-2 pitch that ran WAY inside on him; I think Kendall's arm was fully extended somewhere behind Beltre's back shoulder trying to catch it. Bases loaded, so what?
Calero's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 16 pitches (4 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A
Hasegawa was holding down the fort. Scutaro chased a 1-2 pitch way high and outside and grounded out to second. Kotsay made an out for once, flying out just beyond the infield. Byrnes hit the first pitch to rightfield, and Ichiro ran in and made a basket catch.
TOP 9TH
Grade: D
The Mariners tied the game, but it still reeked of stinkitude. Sexson walked on four pitches, and Bloomquist ran for him. Boone poked his first pitch into centerfield. Ibanez looped a 1-2 pitch into leftcenter, and Kotsay came up throwing. The throw got to the plate about the same time as Bloomquist, but Bloomquist slid off to the side of Kendall's tag, tying the game.
»» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 5
Dotel's first pitch to Winn was wild, and the runners advanced. Winn was given first base intentionally to keep the force plays in order. Miguel Olivo whiffed at a 2-0 pitch and worked the count full. He stung one toward the mound, and it went off Dotel's glove. Dotel picked it up and threw home, forcing out Boone. The next two outs took only two pitches. Valdez flew out weakly to centerfield, and Ichiro made Kotsay drift back in centerfield before catching it.
Bases loaded, nobody out, SO WHAT?!?!??!!
Dotel's line: 1 2/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 24 pitches (12 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: A
It was a 1-2-3 inning. Kendall flew out on the second pitch to rightcenter.
Ron Villone came in for Hasegawa. Chavez tapped one to Bloomquist (he'd run for Sexson), who underhanded to Villone. The out was made, though Chavez plowed Villone while trying to get to the bag. Kielty flew out to Ichiro on the first pitch to end the inning.
Hasegawa's line: 2 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 24 pitches (16 strikes)
TOP 10TH
Grade: D+
Keiichi Yabu, whose motion kinda reminds me of Masao Kida, came in for Dotel. He immediately walked Reed on four pitches. Beltre popped up to the second baseman, which was incredibly not clutch. Bloomquist swung at the first pitch and grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Though he'd scored the tying run, it's really too bad Sexson couldn't have come to the plate right there.
Yabu's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 10TH
Grade: F
It was a long game to begin with before extra innings took place, and it finally ended. Villone got two quick outs, getting Mark Ellis to fly out to Ichiro near the stands in foul territory along the rightfield line. Durazo fell behind 0-2 and whiffed at a 1-2 pitch low and away. How did Villone follow this up? He went to a 3-1 count on Swisher and got a strike before walking him. Even worse, he had Scutaro 0-2 before walking him. Who else would deal the death blow but Mark Kotsay? Villone had him 0-2. Kotsay singled into centerfield on 1-2, and Swisher broke for home. The ball got past Reed, and Swisher went home uncontested.
»» ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 5
Villone's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 31 pitches (18 strikes)
---
Gameball: Shigetoshi Hasegawa.
A yeoman's effort from the Shigster, turning in two 1-2-3 innings and getting the first out in the 9th. His clutchness in the 8th and 9th was a welcome contrast from the severe lack of clutch demonstrated on the offensive side in the same innings.
Goat: Ron Villone.
If you have two outs and need only one out to preserve an extra-inning tie, it's best not to walk the #8 AND #9 HITTERS in the lineup. That's absolutely inexcusable. For all the chances the Mariners had on offense to come through, I would have liked to have seen them get another chance, and it appeared they would until Ron Villone did his thing. It's a hell of a time to be ticked off at his first earned runs of the year, but I am all the same.
Sheesh. The Mariners have some 2004 in them, and they just might have some late 2003 in them as well. I haven't been this ticked off about hitters not coming through in the clutch for a long time. Failing to score with bases loaded and one out is one thing, but doing it with the bases loaded and NOBODY out is beyond mind-blowing. I'm not saying I haven't seen it happen with the Mariners before, but this is just incredible.
Granted, it was the 8-9-1 portion of the Mariner lineup coming up with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 9th, so that wasn't too opportune, though you figure at least maybe ONE run can come out of that. It was pretty infuriating the inning before as well, with Reed and Beltre up with the bases loaded. Reed obviously wasn't happy about his strike three call, but the pitch that Beltre swung at just about made my head explode. It wasn't even close to any sort of target.
Predictably, with so many chances with so many runners and only one coming across (tying run in the 9th), it juices up the stranded runners column in the boxscore. Try 34. That's right, the Mariners stranded XXXIV runners on the basepaths in this game. Even more surprising/unsurprising, Wilson Valdez stranded eight of the runners all by himself. Holy crap.
A few people got multi-hit games out of this. Ichiro was 2-for-6. Adrian Beltre was 2-for-6, though he stranded six runners. Bret Boone was 3-for-3 with a double, a run, and two walks. Richie Sexson is starting to have these Andrei Kirilenko lines, with his line today being 1-for-3 with a homer (2 RBI), 2 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 2 stranded runners. Raul Ibanez went 2-for-5 with 2 RBI, striking out once, and stranding three. Though he didn't have a multi-hit game, Randy Winn walked three times.
Back to .500. I thought before the game that a betting person would have bet on the Mariners losing the game, and that person would have been right. I thought when the Mariners had it tied with the bases loaded and nobody out that they'd win the game. Stupid me. This team may never get more than one game above .500 for the entire season. It's better than the team that started last year, though, as they had a fascination with the .333 winning percentage.
Pineiro. Zito. Today.
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