Thursday, May 19, 2005
GAME 40: MARINERS 7, YANKEES 6
Yankees 7, Mariners 6
In 25 words or less: They won in semi-dramatic fashion!! The Yankees' 10-game win streak is over! Blind squirrels! Nuts! Calabro! Shishkaberries! Next on the Game 40 recap!
This one featured world-famous Mariner beater Mike Mussina against nearly-everyone-in-the-Yankee-lineup-has-a-homer-off-me Jamie Moyer.
TOP 1ST
Grade: D
It didn't start out nicely for Moyer. Derek Jeter singled to leftfield to lead off. Tony Womack followed suit with a single to rightfield. Gary Sheffield hit a shallow fly to Raul Ibañez in leftfield, who came up throwing and nearly doubled Jeter off of second base. It's too bad Jeter wasn't out, since he scored on a bloop single into rightfield by Hideki Matsui, who was jammed on the pitch.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 0
After one pitch to Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Olivo came out to the mound and tried to hash out signs or pitches with Jamie Moyer. Rodriguez ended up getting the hitters' counts, fouling off the 2-0 pitch, but sending the 3-1 delivery on a rope to the first row of seats in rightfield. That's a biggie.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 0
Jorge Posada got behind 0-2 before grounding out to Greg Dobbs, playing third for the resting-from-pulled-hamstring Adrian Beltre. Jason Giambi called Dobbs' number as well, hitting a grounder to him to end the inning. Moyer threw 26 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B
The Mariners cut into the lead. Ichiro flew out to centerfield to lead off. Randy Winn had a 2-0 count, smoking a single into rightfield two pitches later. Raul Ibañez, hitting third in this game, got a pitch out over the plate and bounced a double off the wall in rightcenter to score Winn.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 1
Richie Sexson whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball low and outside. Bret Boone's bat remained warm, as is the trend of late, and he singled back up the middle to score Ibañez.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 2
Jeremy Reed fouled off a few pitches with two strikes on him before fishing at a low pitch and flying out to rightfield. Mussina threw 30 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
This was the inning with Sonic play-by-play man Kevin Calabro in the booth. Calabro told anecdotes related to his fill-in for Dave Niehaus in Oakland when the latter had some health issues. A Rich Amaral first-inning home run call caught him off guard. Dan Wilson also got ticked off at a bus driver in San Francisco that couldn't find his way to the Coliseum. To the game itself, Moyer picked up the pieces a bit after the first inning. Bernie Williams started out 2-0, but later popped a high fly to Wilson Valdez on the outfield grass. Robinson Cano laced a single to centerfield. Jeter ripped a 3-1 pitch toward third, but it was speared with a backhand by Dobbs, good for a lineout. Womack worked an 0-2 count full only to be caught looking on a breaking ball over the outside corner. Moyer threw 20 pitches.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C+
Not too much going for the Mariner bats in this frame. Greg Dobbs, playing third for the resting Beltre, got behind 0-2 and fouled off a few pitches with two strikes on him before leaving via the whiff. Miguel Olivo flew out high to Cano on the outfield grass on the right side. Wilson Valdez worked an 0-2 count full, eventually lining a double down the rightfield line and into the corner. Who knew? Then Ichiro flew out on the second pitch to end the inning. Mussina threw 21 pitches. The second inning ended around 8:01p, so I was prepared for a loooong night.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
It looked grim again. That's grim as in bad, not Mother Goose and Grimm. Sheffield foul-tipped his 3-1 pitch before whiffing on a changeup away. Matsui hit a fly ball to leftfield that Ibañez misplayed, most likely with a bad jump. He dove for the ball and missed, but it didn't get far enough away for Matsui to have anything more than a single. Moyer fell behind 2-0 on Rodriguez, but that was enough cause to give him the next two balls intentionally for the free pass. The runners advanced on a 1-2 dirtball to Posada that went through Olivo's legs, and which I'm hoping was ruled a passed ball by the time I'm typing this (it wasn't, wild pitch). Posada worked an 0-2 conut full before grounding out to third. Giambi hit a low liner to rightfield, and Ichiro looked like he might have it near the ground. He came up and reached down, but was only able to stop the ball with the tip of his glove. No catch, no trap. He stopped it and overran it a bit. The two runners scored easily.
»» YANKEES 6, MARINERS 2
Williams flew out high to leftfield to end the inning. Moyer threw 27 pitches and had 73 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
It looked like the doldrums were about to set in for the Mariner bats. Winn whiffed on an 0-2 pitch low and away. Ibañez flew out to Rodriguez near the first row of stands in foul territory. Sexson took an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner to end the inning. Mussina threw nine pitches.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B-
Moyer got a play from the infield. Cano flew out to Dobbs along the leftfield line past the bag at third. Jeter hit the first pitch past Boone's backhand side into centerfield for a single. Jeter took second on a 2-2 dirtball low and outside. Womack walked on a full-count pitch up and in. Sheffield ended the inning's festivities with a grounder to Dobbs at third, nicely turned into a 5-4-3 double play, around the horn. Moyer threw 15 pitches and had 88 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
I started paying progressively less attention to the game around this point. Boone couldn't check his swing on a 2-2 fastball up and in. Reed got behind 0-2, eventually chopping the 2-2 pitch in front of the plate, where Posada pounced on it and got him at first. Dobbs swung through a curve low and outside to end the inning. Mussina threw 16 pitches and had 76 through four.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B+
Moyer had an okay inning, and it turned out to be his final. Matsui grounded out to Boone, and Rodriguez did the same on the first pitch. Posada worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Giambi swung at the second pitch, flying out foul to Dobbs.
Moyer's line: 5 innings, 6 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 101 pitches (57 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
The bats woke up a bit. After diving into a 1-2 pitch and almost getting nailed in the head, Olivo grounded out to short. On the FSNNW broadcast, they combined the X-mo and the StroMotion (yes, same screen) to show how Mariner hitters were swinging over Mussina's breaking stuff. It was waaaay too much for my brain to handle. Valdez grounded out to second. Ichiro lined his second pitch over Jeter's glove and into leftfield for a single. Winn got ahead 3-0 and slapped a full-count pitch for a single through the hole on the left side. Ichiro was able to make it to third on the play since he's fast. Ibañez, repeatedly pointed out as the only Mariner hitter with repeated career success against Mussina, doubled the 0-1 pitch over Womack and off the wall in leftcenter, scoring Ichiro and Winn.
»» YANKEES 6, MARINERS 4
After Yankee pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre visited Mussina on the mound, Sexson took a healthy rip at a first-pitch fastball over the outside corner. He worked a 1-2 count full before flying out to Matsui in rightcenter to end the inning.
Mussina's line: 5 innings, 4 runs, 7 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts, 104 pitches (71 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Moyer. Williams fouled off a 3-1 pitch before grounding out to Sexson's backhand side. Cano got ahead 3-0, eventually taking a 3-1 pitch low and outside for the walk. Jeter tapped a ball back to Hasegawa, who threw to Valdez for the out at second (sort of, it was a total phantom tag by Valdez), and Jeter beat the throw to first, making it a 1-6 fielder's choice. Womack singled through the hole on the left side, just past Valdez. Sheffield hit a grounder to the hole as well, but Valdez had it in his glove and lost it, making it an error. Jeter running toward third on the play might have messed Valdez up in his peripheral vision, who knows. Anyway, that left the bases loaded with two out. Hasegawa fell behind 3-0 to Matsui, but fought back to get him hacking at an outside pitch for strike three. That's a cliffhanger inning.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: A
(Dar)Tanyon Sturtze came in for Mussina, but I was all the happier after this inning. Boone flew out to Sheffield to lead off. Reed walked on a 3-1 pitch. Dobbs flew out to Jeter on the first pitch, decidedly unclutch and not at least moving the runner over. Olivo whiffed at an 0-2 ball in the dirt, but kept running toward first. That was good, considering the ball got away from Posada, who went for the ball and barehanded it, but couldn't get his hand around it. That's an extra out for the Mariners to play with, and play with it they did. Valdez had a 3-0 count go full before lining a single to rightfield to score Reed easily. Sheffield threw to third to try to get Olivo, but the ball went past and into the third-base (Yankee) dugout, allowing Olivo to score and Valdez to get to third.
»»YANKEES 6, MARINERS 6
With the go-ahead run on third, Ichiro flew out to leftfield on the first pitch to end the inning. But hey, the game was tied! The Mariners were down four runs twice in this game!
TOP 7TH
Grade: A-
I made one single mention of Shishkaberries here at Sports and B's after I went to FanFest on the 30th of January, and we've gotten quite a few Google searches for the treats here. It wasn't until this game that the FSNNW cameras finally found their way to the strawberries on skewers. I had no idea that former Mariner pitcher Mike Campbell was in on the whole Shishkaberries enterprise. Anyway, Hasegawa had a decidedly easier inning. Rodriguez was caught looking on a pitch over the outside corner. Posada took the green light on 3-0 and flew out to Ichiro, though I thought he had a good pitch to hit and just got under it. Giambi grounded out to Boone to end the inning.
Hasegawa's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 38 pitches (19 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
Sturtze unfortunately fared a little better in his second inning of work. Winn worked an 0-2 count full, fouling off a couple pitches with two strikes before flying out to shallow leftcenter. Rick Rizzs and Dave Valle mentioned Star Wars after the cameras spotted some costumed kids on one of the concourses, and incredibly, the kid dressed as Darth Vader took his mask off, triggering certain enthusiasts at home to scream "BLASPHEMY!" at their televisions. Of course, such people were probably already in line waiting to see the film, but still. Ibañez worked a 1-2 count full, fouling off a few pitches along the way before looking at strike three on the 10th pitch of the at-bat. Sexson poked his second pitch for what appeared to be a single, as Matsui went to his left, but broke back to his right in time to recover and make the catch to end the inning. I had that play happen to me when I was a youngster playing in centerfield. Weird feeling, that play.
Sturtze's line: 2 innings, 2 runs (unearned), 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 39 pitches (26 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: B+
Jeff Nelson came in for Hasegawa, but the anarchy had already begun in the broadcast booth as Dave Valle threatened to bite Rizzs' hands off if he touched any of the Shishkaberries that had been delivered to the booth. Williams got the hitters' counts, but later took a backdoor frisbee off the plate for a walk. Cano showed a bunt on the first pitch, but never attempted another. He broke his bat on the 1-1 pitch, grounding to Boone for a huge 4-6-3 double play. Jeter got the hitters' counts as well in just about the same at-bat as Williams, except he whiffed at the frisbee off the plate. Rick Rizzs exclaimed that it was a 1-2-3 inning despite a leadoff walk, which I didn't think fit the definition of a 1-2-3 inning, but I just didn't feel like wrapping my head around the thought at the time, nor do I feel like it now.
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B+
Tom Gordon, formerly known as Flash and formerly with a devastating curveball, came in for Sturtze. Boone led off the rally by tapping one back to the mound. Reed slapped the second pitch down the leftfield line. Womack went to the ball, but it got past his glove and into the corner. Reed had the double for sure and turned on the jets and went for third. The throw and Reed got to the bag at about the same time. Reed had the headfirst slide going, and had stopped his right hand before it got to the back, apparently juking Rodriguez who was trying to make the tag. Reed stopped the right hand and got the bag with the left hand and was called safe. I thought Reed's momentum carried him off the bag shortly after with Rodriguez having the tag on him, but maybe Reed's body could have still been on the bag, who knows. Anyway, it was a key play, albeit an incredibly risky one. Then Olivo sliced an outside pitch into centerfield for a single to score and put the Mariners in the lead? Perish the thought.
»» MARINERS 7, YANKEES 6
With Valdez at the plate, Olivo broke for second on the 2-1 pitch and was nailed by Posada.
Gordon's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 14 pitches (10 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B-
I didn't know about Eddie Guardado's absence due to his wife giving birth, so I was pretty incensed when I saw Nelson still on the mound to start the ninth. Womack took a 1-2 pitch just off the plate, then hit a 2-2 fly ball into the corner in rightfield. Ichiro looked like he had a beat on it, but he was going near full speed and had the wall bearing down on him quickly. Luckily the ball was foul, or that would have been a leadoff double. Instead, Womack was jammed and grounded out to Boone. Then Nelson fell behind 3-0 on Sheffield before issuing the five-pitch walk on an outside frisbee.
Ron Villone came in for Nelson. Matsui fouled off two 0-2 pitches before dropping a single into centerfield. Rodriguez hit a grounder into the hole in shallow leftfield. Valdez ranged way to his right, backhanding the ball and throwing to Dobbs at the third-base bag. The throw was in time, and the 6-5 fielder's choice (a scorebook oddity) might have been the key defensive play of the game. Posada hit a 1-2 slow chopper to a charging Dobbs, who had the ball go off the heel of his glove as he had no resulting play. It wouldn't have been the easiest play, and Posada was given a single. Thus, the bases were loaded for Giambi, who got behind 0-2 and was frozen on a fastball over the outside corner. Ballgame.
Nelson's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 28 pitches (14 strikes)
Villone's line: 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (14 strikes)
---
Gameball: Randy Winn.
I'll go with the unheralded Randy Winn for this gameball. he went 2-for-4 and scored twice, though he was DHing and not in the field in this game. If Winn starts in leftfield, that single in the 3rd by Hideki Matsui is a flyout instead, and Jamie Moyer gets to face Alex Rodriguez with nobody on and two out. Instead, two runs scored that inning. Of course, the other reason for this gameball is that everyone else I'd consider for it made some kind of error (in the books or not) on the field. Raul Ibañez had the dive and miss play I just mentioned, though he did have the best day at the plate of anybody in the lineup. Miguel Olivo ran out that strikeout and had the game-winning hit, but let a ball go through his legs behind the plate, which is a passed ball, I don't care what the official scorer says. Wilson Valdez had the two hits and the best and most timely defensive play of the game, but his error also left the bases loaded with two out in the 6th, leaving Shigetoshi Hasegawa to face Hideki Matsui. At least that turned out okay.
Goat: Jamie Moyer.
I keep waiting for this to stop. It hasn't. Jamie Moyer is still stuck on 130 wins as a Mariner with one win remaining to become the all-time winningest Mariner starting pitcher. Does anyone out there remember the last time Jamie Moyer won a ballgame? Stumped? 9-1 win over Cleveland at the Safe on the 24th of April. If you don't remember the game in particular, Miguel Olivo cleared the loaded bases with a double, and Jason Davis had scheduled a walk-a-thon. Moyer's line from that day: 8 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 95 pitches (59 strikes). Those were the days, weren't they? Also, that win made Moyer 4-0 on the season, and he was the first four-game winner in the American League in 2005.
The starting pitching deficiency is still fresh in my mind here, so I'll keep going with that. His start in this very game was the first time he'd gotten past the fourth inning since the eight-inning start against Cleveland that I referenced in the goat blurb. His starts since that have been 3 2/3 innings, 2 2/3, 2 1/3, and 5 (this game). In his three May starts, Jamie Moyer has a scant ERA of 15.30. Remember, that's four starts without a win, and he hasn't gotten past the fifth inning. I mean, I like Moyer and everything, but this is just bad. This is what I'd expect to see more often than not out of Aaron Sele. That's not good at all. I can't believe how drastic the turnaround has been between the guy that started the season 4-0 and the guy that's stunk it up since. Incredible.
Needless to say, the five-inning start by Jamie Moyer did nothing to relieve any stress in the bullpen, where Jorge Campillo had warmed up in the early innings when Moyer was having some trouble. The average per-game line for Mariner starting pitchers in May: 5.23 innings (a tad under 5 1/3), 4.38 runs (4.25 earned), 7.1 hits, 2.6 walks, 2.8 strikeouts, 92.6 pitches (55.6 strikes). The starting rotation this month has a collective ERA of 7.31, up from 7.09 before the game and 6.96 after the first game of the series. You know, a lot of the blogosphere, including me, thought that Mike Hargrove and his penchant for taking 12 pitchers on the roster was ill conceived since it obviously didn't make the bench very deep. In some hindsight, though, the bullpen right now would be even more burnt out if they didn't have 12 pitchers down there right now, so Hargrove looks like he had a stroke of dumb luck or something. Surely he wasn't planning on the starters being this horrid.
To the game itself, though, this was a great win. The Mariners were down by four runs twice in the game, and it was great to see that they could pull this one out of the hat. I was completely disinterested for a portion of the middle of the game, but the Mariners made it progressively interesting. Luckily I was rewarded in the end for my fandom. They got the win, and I hope it's something they can build on. I guess my feelings of in-game boredom and disinterest where sparked by the fact that the Mariners coming into this game had a record of 0-23 when trailing after seven innings. That's a doozy.
In an interesting note, Yankee starting pitchers (Chien-Ming Wang, Carl Pavano, Mike Mussina) threw a combined 20-13 innings and combined for zero walks. To restate the obvious, no Mariner hitter walked off a starting pitcher in this series against the Yankees. After Mussina didn't allow any walks, I knew Pavano hadn't allowed any the night before, so I looked up Wang's line from Monday. Sure enough, no walks. Conversely, Mariner starting pitchers (Aaron Sele, Julio Mateo, Jamie Moyer) combined for 16 innings and 10 walks, nine of those issued by people not named Julio.
There were positive things about the bats though. I'd mentioned Winn's day at the plate, but there were good games around the lineup. Raul Ibañez batted third, making me quite uncomfortable before the game, but came out with a 2-for-4 day, driving in three runs with his two doubles. Jeremy Reed went 1-for-3 and Miguel Olivo went 1-for-4, but they arguably had the two biggest hits of the game. Wilson Valdez had two hits, hitting a two-out double in the second inning and being stranded, and being stranded in the sixth as well, but that was after that single to rightfield and the Sheffield error play that tied the score at 6-6. That was good times. Though different in personnel than on usual nights, the top third of the Mariner lineup went 5-for-12, scoring four runs, and driving in three (Ibañez). Miguel Olivo and Wilson Valdez brought up the 8th and 9th slots in the lineup and combined for a 3-for-7 night, driving in two runs. Richie Sexson (hitting 4th) and Greg Dobbs (7th) brought up the zeroes in the lineup, combining to go 0-for-8 with four strikeouts.
By the way, big bonus points for rushing up Mike Mussina's pitch count, though it's weird considering they did it with no walks. The seven hits helped, needless to say. People also sometimes forget that a strikeout (Mussina had six) takes at least three pitches, and usually more. Basically, I'm seeing that the Mariners got into a lot of deep counts (but definitely not in the third inning), though they were never able to come out with a walk. Still, Mussina was out after five innings, and considering he was 17-5 lifetime against the Mariners coming into this one, it was good to get him out of the game as early as possible.
The Mariners are going to need a ton of hope after this win, and they have to build off of it. The problem is that the next two series are against the white-hot San Diego Padres and the solid Baltimore Orioles. The Baltimore series is on the road as well, so I'm prepared for the inevitable 8-RBI game for Miguel Tejada. I have a feeling there might be a 15-13 game in there somewhere as well.
Peavy. Franklin. Tomorrow.
In 25 words or less: They won in semi-dramatic fashion!! The Yankees' 10-game win streak is over! Blind squirrels! Nuts! Calabro! Shishkaberries! Next on the Game 40 recap!
This one featured world-famous Mariner beater Mike Mussina against nearly-everyone-in-the-Yankee-lineup-has-a-homer-off-me Jamie Moyer.
TOP 1ST
Grade: D
It didn't start out nicely for Moyer. Derek Jeter singled to leftfield to lead off. Tony Womack followed suit with a single to rightfield. Gary Sheffield hit a shallow fly to Raul Ibañez in leftfield, who came up throwing and nearly doubled Jeter off of second base. It's too bad Jeter wasn't out, since he scored on a bloop single into rightfield by Hideki Matsui, who was jammed on the pitch.
»» YANKEES 1, MARINERS 0
After one pitch to Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Olivo came out to the mound and tried to hash out signs or pitches with Jamie Moyer. Rodriguez ended up getting the hitters' counts, fouling off the 2-0 pitch, but sending the 3-1 delivery on a rope to the first row of seats in rightfield. That's a biggie.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 0
Jorge Posada got behind 0-2 before grounding out to Greg Dobbs, playing third for the resting-from-pulled-hamstring Adrian Beltre. Jason Giambi called Dobbs' number as well, hitting a grounder to him to end the inning. Moyer threw 26 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B
The Mariners cut into the lead. Ichiro flew out to centerfield to lead off. Randy Winn had a 2-0 count, smoking a single into rightfield two pitches later. Raul Ibañez, hitting third in this game, got a pitch out over the plate and bounced a double off the wall in rightcenter to score Winn.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 1
Richie Sexson whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball low and outside. Bret Boone's bat remained warm, as is the trend of late, and he singled back up the middle to score Ibañez.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 2
Jeremy Reed fouled off a few pitches with two strikes on him before fishing at a low pitch and flying out to rightfield. Mussina threw 30 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
This was the inning with Sonic play-by-play man Kevin Calabro in the booth. Calabro told anecdotes related to his fill-in for Dave Niehaus in Oakland when the latter had some health issues. A Rich Amaral first-inning home run call caught him off guard. Dan Wilson also got ticked off at a bus driver in San Francisco that couldn't find his way to the Coliseum. To the game itself, Moyer picked up the pieces a bit after the first inning. Bernie Williams started out 2-0, but later popped a high fly to Wilson Valdez on the outfield grass. Robinson Cano laced a single to centerfield. Jeter ripped a 3-1 pitch toward third, but it was speared with a backhand by Dobbs, good for a lineout. Womack worked an 0-2 count full only to be caught looking on a breaking ball over the outside corner. Moyer threw 20 pitches.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C+
Not too much going for the Mariner bats in this frame. Greg Dobbs, playing third for the resting Beltre, got behind 0-2 and fouled off a few pitches with two strikes on him before leaving via the whiff. Miguel Olivo flew out high to Cano on the outfield grass on the right side. Wilson Valdez worked an 0-2 count full, eventually lining a double down the rightfield line and into the corner. Who knew? Then Ichiro flew out on the second pitch to end the inning. Mussina threw 21 pitches. The second inning ended around 8:01p, so I was prepared for a loooong night.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
It looked grim again. That's grim as in bad, not Mother Goose and Grimm. Sheffield foul-tipped his 3-1 pitch before whiffing on a changeup away. Matsui hit a fly ball to leftfield that Ibañez misplayed, most likely with a bad jump. He dove for the ball and missed, but it didn't get far enough away for Matsui to have anything more than a single. Moyer fell behind 2-0 on Rodriguez, but that was enough cause to give him the next two balls intentionally for the free pass. The runners advanced on a 1-2 dirtball to Posada that went through Olivo's legs, and which I'm hoping was ruled a passed ball by the time I'm typing this (it wasn't, wild pitch). Posada worked an 0-2 conut full before grounding out to third. Giambi hit a low liner to rightfield, and Ichiro looked like he might have it near the ground. He came up and reached down, but was only able to stop the ball with the tip of his glove. No catch, no trap. He stopped it and overran it a bit. The two runners scored easily.
»» YANKEES 6, MARINERS 2
Williams flew out high to leftfield to end the inning. Moyer threw 27 pitches and had 73 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
It looked like the doldrums were about to set in for the Mariner bats. Winn whiffed on an 0-2 pitch low and away. Ibañez flew out to Rodriguez near the first row of stands in foul territory. Sexson took an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner to end the inning. Mussina threw nine pitches.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B-
Moyer got a play from the infield. Cano flew out to Dobbs along the leftfield line past the bag at third. Jeter hit the first pitch past Boone's backhand side into centerfield for a single. Jeter took second on a 2-2 dirtball low and outside. Womack walked on a full-count pitch up and in. Sheffield ended the inning's festivities with a grounder to Dobbs at third, nicely turned into a 5-4-3 double play, around the horn. Moyer threw 15 pitches and had 88 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
I started paying progressively less attention to the game around this point. Boone couldn't check his swing on a 2-2 fastball up and in. Reed got behind 0-2, eventually chopping the 2-2 pitch in front of the plate, where Posada pounced on it and got him at first. Dobbs swung through a curve low and outside to end the inning. Mussina threw 16 pitches and had 76 through four.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B+
Moyer had an okay inning, and it turned out to be his final. Matsui grounded out to Boone, and Rodriguez did the same on the first pitch. Posada worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Giambi swung at the second pitch, flying out foul to Dobbs.
Moyer's line: 5 innings, 6 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 101 pitches (57 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
The bats woke up a bit. After diving into a 1-2 pitch and almost getting nailed in the head, Olivo grounded out to short. On the FSNNW broadcast, they combined the X-mo and the StroMotion (yes, same screen) to show how Mariner hitters were swinging over Mussina's breaking stuff. It was waaaay too much for my brain to handle. Valdez grounded out to second. Ichiro lined his second pitch over Jeter's glove and into leftfield for a single. Winn got ahead 3-0 and slapped a full-count pitch for a single through the hole on the left side. Ichiro was able to make it to third on the play since he's fast. Ibañez, repeatedly pointed out as the only Mariner hitter with repeated career success against Mussina, doubled the 0-1 pitch over Womack and off the wall in leftcenter, scoring Ichiro and Winn.
»» YANKEES 6, MARINERS 4
After Yankee pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre visited Mussina on the mound, Sexson took a healthy rip at a first-pitch fastball over the outside corner. He worked a 1-2 count full before flying out to Matsui in rightcenter to end the inning.
Mussina's line: 5 innings, 4 runs, 7 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts, 104 pitches (71 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Moyer. Williams fouled off a 3-1 pitch before grounding out to Sexson's backhand side. Cano got ahead 3-0, eventually taking a 3-1 pitch low and outside for the walk. Jeter tapped a ball back to Hasegawa, who threw to Valdez for the out at second (sort of, it was a total phantom tag by Valdez), and Jeter beat the throw to first, making it a 1-6 fielder's choice. Womack singled through the hole on the left side, just past Valdez. Sheffield hit a grounder to the hole as well, but Valdez had it in his glove and lost it, making it an error. Jeter running toward third on the play might have messed Valdez up in his peripheral vision, who knows. Anyway, that left the bases loaded with two out. Hasegawa fell behind 3-0 to Matsui, but fought back to get him hacking at an outside pitch for strike three. That's a cliffhanger inning.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: A
(Dar)Tanyon Sturtze came in for Mussina, but I was all the happier after this inning. Boone flew out to Sheffield to lead off. Reed walked on a 3-1 pitch. Dobbs flew out to Jeter on the first pitch, decidedly unclutch and not at least moving the runner over. Olivo whiffed at an 0-2 ball in the dirt, but kept running toward first. That was good, considering the ball got away from Posada, who went for the ball and barehanded it, but couldn't get his hand around it. That's an extra out for the Mariners to play with, and play with it they did. Valdez had a 3-0 count go full before lining a single to rightfield to score Reed easily. Sheffield threw to third to try to get Olivo, but the ball went past and into the third-base (Yankee) dugout, allowing Olivo to score and Valdez to get to third.
»»YANKEES 6, MARINERS 6
With the go-ahead run on third, Ichiro flew out to leftfield on the first pitch to end the inning. But hey, the game was tied! The Mariners were down four runs twice in this game!
TOP 7TH
Grade: A-
I made one single mention of Shishkaberries here at Sports and B's after I went to FanFest on the 30th of January, and we've gotten quite a few Google searches for the treats here. It wasn't until this game that the FSNNW cameras finally found their way to the strawberries on skewers. I had no idea that former Mariner pitcher Mike Campbell was in on the whole Shishkaberries enterprise. Anyway, Hasegawa had a decidedly easier inning. Rodriguez was caught looking on a pitch over the outside corner. Posada took the green light on 3-0 and flew out to Ichiro, though I thought he had a good pitch to hit and just got under it. Giambi grounded out to Boone to end the inning.
Hasegawa's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 38 pitches (19 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
Sturtze unfortunately fared a little better in his second inning of work. Winn worked an 0-2 count full, fouling off a couple pitches with two strikes before flying out to shallow leftcenter. Rick Rizzs and Dave Valle mentioned Star Wars after the cameras spotted some costumed kids on one of the concourses, and incredibly, the kid dressed as Darth Vader took his mask off, triggering certain enthusiasts at home to scream "BLASPHEMY!" at their televisions. Of course, such people were probably already in line waiting to see the film, but still. Ibañez worked a 1-2 count full, fouling off a few pitches along the way before looking at strike three on the 10th pitch of the at-bat. Sexson poked his second pitch for what appeared to be a single, as Matsui went to his left, but broke back to his right in time to recover and make the catch to end the inning. I had that play happen to me when I was a youngster playing in centerfield. Weird feeling, that play.
Sturtze's line: 2 innings, 2 runs (unearned), 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 39 pitches (26 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: B+
Jeff Nelson came in for Hasegawa, but the anarchy had already begun in the broadcast booth as Dave Valle threatened to bite Rizzs' hands off if he touched any of the Shishkaberries that had been delivered to the booth. Williams got the hitters' counts, but later took a backdoor frisbee off the plate for a walk. Cano showed a bunt on the first pitch, but never attempted another. He broke his bat on the 1-1 pitch, grounding to Boone for a huge 4-6-3 double play. Jeter got the hitters' counts as well in just about the same at-bat as Williams, except he whiffed at the frisbee off the plate. Rick Rizzs exclaimed that it was a 1-2-3 inning despite a leadoff walk, which I didn't think fit the definition of a 1-2-3 inning, but I just didn't feel like wrapping my head around the thought at the time, nor do I feel like it now.
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B+
Tom Gordon, formerly known as Flash and formerly with a devastating curveball, came in for Sturtze. Boone led off the rally by tapping one back to the mound. Reed slapped the second pitch down the leftfield line. Womack went to the ball, but it got past his glove and into the corner. Reed had the double for sure and turned on the jets and went for third. The throw and Reed got to the bag at about the same time. Reed had the headfirst slide going, and had stopped his right hand before it got to the back, apparently juking Rodriguez who was trying to make the tag. Reed stopped the right hand and got the bag with the left hand and was called safe. I thought Reed's momentum carried him off the bag shortly after with Rodriguez having the tag on him, but maybe Reed's body could have still been on the bag, who knows. Anyway, it was a key play, albeit an incredibly risky one. Then Olivo sliced an outside pitch into centerfield for a single to score and put the Mariners in the lead? Perish the thought.
»» MARINERS 7, YANKEES 6
With Valdez at the plate, Olivo broke for second on the 2-1 pitch and was nailed by Posada.
Gordon's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 14 pitches (10 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B-
I didn't know about Eddie Guardado's absence due to his wife giving birth, so I was pretty incensed when I saw Nelson still on the mound to start the ninth. Womack took a 1-2 pitch just off the plate, then hit a 2-2 fly ball into the corner in rightfield. Ichiro looked like he had a beat on it, but he was going near full speed and had the wall bearing down on him quickly. Luckily the ball was foul, or that would have been a leadoff double. Instead, Womack was jammed and grounded out to Boone. Then Nelson fell behind 3-0 on Sheffield before issuing the five-pitch walk on an outside frisbee.
Ron Villone came in for Nelson. Matsui fouled off two 0-2 pitches before dropping a single into centerfield. Rodriguez hit a grounder into the hole in shallow leftfield. Valdez ranged way to his right, backhanding the ball and throwing to Dobbs at the third-base bag. The throw was in time, and the 6-5 fielder's choice (a scorebook oddity) might have been the key defensive play of the game. Posada hit a 1-2 slow chopper to a charging Dobbs, who had the ball go off the heel of his glove as he had no resulting play. It wouldn't have been the easiest play, and Posada was given a single. Thus, the bases were loaded for Giambi, who got behind 0-2 and was frozen on a fastball over the outside corner. Ballgame.
Nelson's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 28 pitches (14 strikes)
Villone's line: 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (14 strikes)
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Gameball: Randy Winn.
I'll go with the unheralded Randy Winn for this gameball. he went 2-for-4 and scored twice, though he was DHing and not in the field in this game. If Winn starts in leftfield, that single in the 3rd by Hideki Matsui is a flyout instead, and Jamie Moyer gets to face Alex Rodriguez with nobody on and two out. Instead, two runs scored that inning. Of course, the other reason for this gameball is that everyone else I'd consider for it made some kind of error (in the books or not) on the field. Raul Ibañez had the dive and miss play I just mentioned, though he did have the best day at the plate of anybody in the lineup. Miguel Olivo ran out that strikeout and had the game-winning hit, but let a ball go through his legs behind the plate, which is a passed ball, I don't care what the official scorer says. Wilson Valdez had the two hits and the best and most timely defensive play of the game, but his error also left the bases loaded with two out in the 6th, leaving Shigetoshi Hasegawa to face Hideki Matsui. At least that turned out okay.
Goat: Jamie Moyer.
I keep waiting for this to stop. It hasn't. Jamie Moyer is still stuck on 130 wins as a Mariner with one win remaining to become the all-time winningest Mariner starting pitcher. Does anyone out there remember the last time Jamie Moyer won a ballgame? Stumped? 9-1 win over Cleveland at the Safe on the 24th of April. If you don't remember the game in particular, Miguel Olivo cleared the loaded bases with a double, and Jason Davis had scheduled a walk-a-thon. Moyer's line from that day: 8 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 95 pitches (59 strikes). Those were the days, weren't they? Also, that win made Moyer 4-0 on the season, and he was the first four-game winner in the American League in 2005.
The starting pitching deficiency is still fresh in my mind here, so I'll keep going with that. His start in this very game was the first time he'd gotten past the fourth inning since the eight-inning start against Cleveland that I referenced in the goat blurb. His starts since that have been 3 2/3 innings, 2 2/3, 2 1/3, and 5 (this game). In his three May starts, Jamie Moyer has a scant ERA of 15.30. Remember, that's four starts without a win, and he hasn't gotten past the fifth inning. I mean, I like Moyer and everything, but this is just bad. This is what I'd expect to see more often than not out of Aaron Sele. That's not good at all. I can't believe how drastic the turnaround has been between the guy that started the season 4-0 and the guy that's stunk it up since. Incredible.
Needless to say, the five-inning start by Jamie Moyer did nothing to relieve any stress in the bullpen, where Jorge Campillo had warmed up in the early innings when Moyer was having some trouble. The average per-game line for Mariner starting pitchers in May: 5.23 innings (a tad under 5 1/3), 4.38 runs (4.25 earned), 7.1 hits, 2.6 walks, 2.8 strikeouts, 92.6 pitches (55.6 strikes). The starting rotation this month has a collective ERA of 7.31, up from 7.09 before the game and 6.96 after the first game of the series. You know, a lot of the blogosphere, including me, thought that Mike Hargrove and his penchant for taking 12 pitchers on the roster was ill conceived since it obviously didn't make the bench very deep. In some hindsight, though, the bullpen right now would be even more burnt out if they didn't have 12 pitchers down there right now, so Hargrove looks like he had a stroke of dumb luck or something. Surely he wasn't planning on the starters being this horrid.
To the game itself, though, this was a great win. The Mariners were down by four runs twice in the game, and it was great to see that they could pull this one out of the hat. I was completely disinterested for a portion of the middle of the game, but the Mariners made it progressively interesting. Luckily I was rewarded in the end for my fandom. They got the win, and I hope it's something they can build on. I guess my feelings of in-game boredom and disinterest where sparked by the fact that the Mariners coming into this game had a record of 0-23 when trailing after seven innings. That's a doozy.
In an interesting note, Yankee starting pitchers (Chien-Ming Wang, Carl Pavano, Mike Mussina) threw a combined 20-13 innings and combined for zero walks. To restate the obvious, no Mariner hitter walked off a starting pitcher in this series against the Yankees. After Mussina didn't allow any walks, I knew Pavano hadn't allowed any the night before, so I looked up Wang's line from Monday. Sure enough, no walks. Conversely, Mariner starting pitchers (Aaron Sele, Julio Mateo, Jamie Moyer) combined for 16 innings and 10 walks, nine of those issued by people not named Julio.
There were positive things about the bats though. I'd mentioned Winn's day at the plate, but there were good games around the lineup. Raul Ibañez batted third, making me quite uncomfortable before the game, but came out with a 2-for-4 day, driving in three runs with his two doubles. Jeremy Reed went 1-for-3 and Miguel Olivo went 1-for-4, but they arguably had the two biggest hits of the game. Wilson Valdez had two hits, hitting a two-out double in the second inning and being stranded, and being stranded in the sixth as well, but that was after that single to rightfield and the Sheffield error play that tied the score at 6-6. That was good times. Though different in personnel than on usual nights, the top third of the Mariner lineup went 5-for-12, scoring four runs, and driving in three (Ibañez). Miguel Olivo and Wilson Valdez brought up the 8th and 9th slots in the lineup and combined for a 3-for-7 night, driving in two runs. Richie Sexson (hitting 4th) and Greg Dobbs (7th) brought up the zeroes in the lineup, combining to go 0-for-8 with four strikeouts.
By the way, big bonus points for rushing up Mike Mussina's pitch count, though it's weird considering they did it with no walks. The seven hits helped, needless to say. People also sometimes forget that a strikeout (Mussina had six) takes at least three pitches, and usually more. Basically, I'm seeing that the Mariners got into a lot of deep counts (but definitely not in the third inning), though they were never able to come out with a walk. Still, Mussina was out after five innings, and considering he was 17-5 lifetime against the Mariners coming into this one, it was good to get him out of the game as early as possible.
The Mariners are going to need a ton of hope after this win, and they have to build off of it. The problem is that the next two series are against the white-hot San Diego Padres and the solid Baltimore Orioles. The Baltimore series is on the road as well, so I'm prepared for the inevitable 8-RBI game for Miguel Tejada. I have a feeling there might be a 15-13 game in there somewhere as well.
Peavy. Franklin. Tomorrow.
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