Friday, July 29, 2005
GAME 101: INDIANS 6, MARINERS 5
Indians 6, Mariners 5
In 25 words or less: The Mariners were close, but not close enough. One-fifth of the starting rotation came away with some physical issues.
This one featured Cliff Lee going up against Gil Meche. The Ricoh Scouting Report on Meche was "fastball 92 to 95mph, curve, change; avoid the big inning; control is off at times, falls behind hitters." Does that mean I lose points if my guess was "keep the ball down; throw strikes; avoid the big inning?" Am I basically saying the same thing? Anyway, the Mariners were fresh off a series win against the Detroit Tigers and hoped to get their first winning streak in ten games.
This game was also the Major-League debut for Cuban refugee Yuniesky Betancourt, who is used to playing shortstop, but played second base in this game, and Jose Lopez was sent to Tacoma to work on his hitting.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B-
Meche survived some two-out ruckus. Grady Sizemore lined out to Ichiro, who charged in to make the catch. Ron Belliard flew out to center on an 0-2 pitch. Jhonny Peralta ripped a pitch through the hole on the left side for a single. Victor Martinez held up on a 2-2 dirtball, but slapped the next pitch to leftfield for a single, moving Peralta to second. Jeff Liefer fell behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch high, and it went off Olivo's chest protector, and the ball scooted away. It went as a passed ball, but they obviously had their signs crossed up. Peralta moved to third, but Martinez mysteriously stayed at first. Liefer whiffed on the next pitch, a fastball outside.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C+
Lee survived some two-out ruckus. Ichiro whiffed badly on an 0-2 dirtball outside. Randy Winn popped the second pitch high to Belliard in shallow rightfield. Raul Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and later bounced a ball up the middle that Belliard backhanded and tried to throw to first, but it was a desperate move, and it went for a single. Richie Sexson got ahead 2-0 and later singled a 2-2 pitch just past Guillen at short and into leftfield. Adrian Beltre bounced to Aaron Boone at third on the first pitch, and it went for a 5-4 fielder's choice.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C+
Meche's control seemed to be falling by the wayside. Aaron Boone flew out to leftfield on the first pitch. Casey Blake fouled off a 3-1 pitch and took the next pitch high and inside for a walk. Ben Broussard whiffed on a 2-0 pitch and later whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Jason Dubois worked a 1-2 count full, fouled off a pitch, then took the next one down and away for a walk, prompting Bryan Price to come to the mound. On the second pitch, Sizemore chopped out to Yuniesky Betancourt at second for the first putout of the latter's Major League career.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C+
A big debut for a certain someone. Willie Bloomquist popped the second pitch high to centerfield. Mike Morse got behind 0-2 and later whiffed on a low 1-2 pitch. Yuniesky Betancourt smacked the first pitch into the gap in leftcenter, and he legged out a triple. Miguel Olivo popped out high to Ron Belliard in shallow rightfield.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
Meche paid in a big way. Ron Belliard mashed the second pitch off the base of the wall in centerfield for a double. Jhonny Peralta got ahead 3-0 and took the next pitch outside for a walk. Martinez clubbed a hanging letter-high 1-2 pitch a few rows into the seats in rightfield.
»» INDIANS 3, MARINERS 0
Liefer nearly homered on a 2-0 pitch, then ripepd the next one toward first, where Sexson dove and underhanded to a covering Meche. Boone bounced out to third. Blake flew out foul to Betancourt in foul territory halfway down the rightfield line.
Meche's line: 3 innings, 3 runs, 4 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 66 pitches (37 strikes)
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C
The leadoff hitter did his job. Ichiro grounded a ball up the middle, and Belliard nearly backhanded and threw to first in time, but it's Ichiro running, so it's a single (very close though). Winn got ahead 2-0 and later popped out high to centerfield. Ibañez fouled off a couple of 0-2 pitches before whiffing on a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner. Sexson worked a 1-2 count full (Lee's first three-ball count of the night) before taking the next pitch high for a walk. Beltre took the second pitch with the Mariners pulling a double steal, but Martinez nailed Sexson at second.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A
Matt Thornton came in for Meche, who left with tightness in his right shoulder. Broussard whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball outside. Dubois whiffed on an 0-2 pitch. Sizemore whiffed on a 1-2 fastball up in the zone.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Minimal trouble for Lee, who appeared to be manhandling the Mariners again. Beltre hooked a 2-0 pitch foul, nearly a homer down the leftfield line. He clubbed a high 2-1 pitch, but got a little too much elevation and not enough distance, as Sizemore came down with it on the track. Bloomquist looped a single into shallow center. Morse flew out near the track in rightfield. Betancourt flew out to fairly deep centerfield on the second pitch.
TOP 5TH
Grade: A-
Thornton was pitching like someone else. Belliard flew out high to Betancourt in shallow center on a 2-0 pitch. Peralta grounded the second pitch to Betancourt at second. Martinez flew out to Bloomquist in leftcenter on the second pitch.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
Offense! Olivo bashed the 1-1 pitch to the right of Jackie Robinson's retired number 42, dangerously close to where Sexson hit one of his homers the night before.
»» INDIANS 3, MARINERS 1
Ichiro ripped the 3-1 pitch off the track in the gap in rightcenter, and he legged it out for a triple. Winn grounded the second pitch to short for a groundout, but Ichiro came in to score.
»» INDIANS 3, MARINERS 2
Ibañez whiffed on an 0-2 curve low and away. Sexson flew out on the 2-0 pitch to Sizemore on the track in leftcenter, just missing a homer.
TOP 6TH
Grade: A-
Thornton came through for another inning of long relief. Liefer whiffed on a 2-2 offspeed pitch. Boone tagged a pitch that nearly took off Thornton's head, but it got past and went up the middle, where Betancourt went to the backhand and threw in time to first. Blake got ahead 3-1, fouled off a full-count pitch, then flew out high to Ichiro.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
The Mariner bats didn't pick up the anomalous innings from Thornton. Beltre grounded the 2-2 pitch to short. Bloomquist flew out to Sizemore in centerfield. Morse flew out high to Sizemore on the first pitch.
TOP 7TH
Grade: D+
It got out of hand. Broussard took the first pitch to the backstop. He got ahead 3-0 and drilled the 3-1 pitch up the middle for a single. Dubois popped the first pitch into shallow leftfield, where Morse went back for the ball and it landed between him and Winn (Valle attributed this to a strong breeze inward from leftfield). Dubois got credit for a single. Sizemore bunted the second pitch toward the left side, where Thornton picked it up and threw to first. The runners advanced to third and second.
JJ Putz came in for Thornton. Belliard grounded the 1-1 pitch through the mound, where Putz failed to come up with it (it was VERY playable for Putz), and it trickled into centerfield for a single. The runners scored.
»» INDIANS 5, MARINERS 2
Peralta hit a high and inside pitch and flew out to Morse in shallow left. Martinez whiffed on a 1-2 pitch.
Thornton's line: 3 1/3 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, 44 pitches (27 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: A
Put the clutch to the floor. Betancourt took a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner. Olivo flew a 1-1 pitch high over the infield, but Peralta and Belliard up the middle failed to go for the ball, and it dropped near the bag at second (the play went for an error on Peralta at short). Ichiro fouled off a 2-0 pitch, then lined the next one over the shortstop for a single, moving Olivo to second. Winn popped the second pitch high to shallow rightcenter, where Sizemore came down with it.
Scott Sauerbeck came in for Lee. Ibañez took a 1-2 pitch just barely off the inside corner after Sauerbeck dropped down sidearmed. Sauerbeck dropped down sidearmed again, but Ibañez mashed it this time, putting it into the first couple rows of seats in rightfield after looking a bit befuddled earlier in the at-bat. Olivo and Ichiro came around as well, tying the game. Incredibly clutch.
»» INDIANS 5, MARINERS 5
Bobby Howry came in for Sauerbeck. Sexson grounded the second pitch to second.
Lee's line: 6 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 103 pitches (65 strikes)
Sauerbeck's line: 0 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (4 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C-
Not again. Liefer fouled off a 2-0 pitch and took the 2-1 offering to the backstop. He whiffed on a 3-1 pitch, then bopped the full-count pitch to centerfield, where Bloomquist had the ball go off his glove and to the wall, with Liefer ending up on second base.
Jeff Nelson came in for Putz. Brandon Phillips came in to run for Liefer. Boone bunted the first pitch toward the mound, and Nelson threw in time to first, and Phillips moved to third. Blake whiffed on an 0-2 slider low and off the plate.
Ron Villone came in for Nelson. Jose Hernandez came in to hit for Broussard. He tagged the 1-1 pitch through the left side for a single, and Phillips scored easily, and there went the tie.
»» INDIANS 6, MARINERS 5
Dubois walked on four pitches, and Bryan Price went to the mound for a visit. Sizemore grounded to Morse, who went to second for the 6-4 fielder's choice.
Putz' line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 19 pitches (12 strikes)
Nelson's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 4 pitches (4 strikes)
Villone's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 10 pitches (4 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
Frustrating, this one. Beltre poked the second pitch toward first, and Hernandez had to leap a to make the catch. Bloomquist fouled off an 0-2 pitch before whiffing on a high fastball. Morse grounded to Hernandez, who underhanded to Howry, who ran over to the bag in time.
Howry's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B+
Eddie Guardado came in for Villone. Belliard got ahead 2-0 and took a 2-2 pitch just off the outside corner. After fouling off four more pitches, Belliard finally flew out high to Bloomquist in rightcenter. Peralta poked the first pitch just past Morse and through the hole on the left side for a single. Martinez ripped the second pitch into leftfield for a single, moving Peralta to second. Phillips whiffed on an 0-2 pitch high and outside. Boone got behind 0-2 and later whiffed on a 2-2 letter-high fastball.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 21 pitches (16 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: C+
Bob Wickman came in for Howry. Betancourt grounded out to second. Jeremy Reed came in to hit for Olivo. Reed grounded hard to short, but Peralta's throw airmailed to first and pulled Hernandez off the bag at first (E6). Ichiro grounded hard to second for the 4-6-3 double play (yes, they even beat out Ichiro at first). Ballgame.
Wickman's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (5 strikes)
---
Gameball: Ichiro.
He went 3-for-5 with the triple that helped the Mariners get back into the game in the fifth. How much more can you ask for in a game from your leadoff hitter? Okay, stolen bases maybe, but 3-for-5 is a more-than-solid night. Guess what? He's now up to a .313 average. Seems to me it hasn't been quite that high in a while. As you may imagine, I'm giving him a break for the game-ending and horribly timed double-play ball. That one was at least hit pretty hard, and it should have found a hole. Just bad luck there. Of course, if it were slower, Ichiro would have beaten it out, but that would have left Randy Winn to keep it alive, and he hadn't had a hit on the night. Anyway, Ichiro got aboard three times and scored twice. He set the table, and that's his job on offense.
Goat: JJ Putz.
He managed to make the game go to crap twice. The third pitch he threw went right back to him, and he should have been able to come up with the ball, hold the two runners on base, and throw to first for an out. Instead, it somehow gets through him, two runs score, and the Indians led 5-2 at that point in the seventh. To lead off the eighth, he fell behind Jeff Liefer and allowed him to get some good wood on the ball. Should Willie Bloomquist have caught that ball? Probably. However, it wasn't worse than the one that Putz missed. You can blame the non-catch in the eighth on Bloomquist, sure, but it did take a certain pitcher to set himself up in the count (i.e., hitters' counts twice) to get to that point. Liefer stood on second base, Putz was yanked, and two pitchers later, the run came around to score. I'll divert from Putz here for a second, but isn't it great to know that with twelve pitchers on the roster (and therefore seven guys in the bullpen), that they couldn't put a lefty out there that could get an out from Jose Hernandez? This twelve-man pitching staff is just the greatest idea, I tell ya. This is without me even getting to Ron Villone giving up the game-breaking hit and then walking the next guy on four pitches. Top-notch stuff, really.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 72-29 .713 -- L2
2002 61-40 .604 11 L1
2003 61-40 .604 11 L1
2000 58-43 .574 14 L3
2005 44-57 .436 28 L1
2004 39-62 .386 33 W1
How morbid. The only time the Mariners have won in the 101st game of the season in the past six seasons of play was last year. Icky. The 2000 Mariners sported a three-game losing streak at this point. As I've mentioned a couple times before, that team went on to epitomize the Dog Days of August trend that was all too often the case for the Mariners throughout their history, and they lost eight straight ballgames. It got to the point where if you left the game for a while and did something, you'd come back and say, "what the f#*$?! Come on! What the f#*$ is wrong with this team!" since you knew how great they had been for most of the season. With the Mariners post-July 2003, they could be behind 9-0 in the first, and though you might be somewhat surprised, you'd more than likely shrug it off. It's amazing how what should have been the Commitment to Excellence that was in fact the Commitment to Competitiveness has degenerated into the Commitment for Average Baseball. It's more sad that the Mariners are having trouble getting to even that.
Here's a sick admission from me. If Gil Meche spends time on the shelf as an adverse effect of the shoulder tightness that forced him out of this game, I can't entirely convince myself that it makes the team worse. With Meche out, would you be missing out on some good starts? Sure you would. You'd also be missing out on some bad starts as well. Despite his record, I think there would be more of the latter than the former remaining for his season, if healthy for the rest of it. How Gil Meche had won 10 games this season, I have no idea. I guess the odd thing is that for the last few months, we've been thinking that Joel Piñeiro is hurt after how erratic he's been on the mound. We forgot to even think that maybe Gil Meche may or may not be hurt. Or do they both just suck? I think at least one out of Meche and Piñeiro has to be hurt (I mean missing-three-starts kind of hurt). Maybe both. Yes, hurting pitchers -- ask for them by name! Mariners baseball! What a Show!
But the giving mentality of the Mariner bullpen overshadowed the opportune moments by the bats in this game, though it took a while. The Mariners squandered a two-out rally in the first, Yuniesky Betancourt's two-out triple in the second (uplifting stuff), and Ichiro's leadoff infield hit in the third. In the fifth, Miguel Olivo's homer and Ichiro's triple helped the Mariners get to within one run. After Matt Thornton and JJ Putz let it get out of hand, Raul Ibañez came up with the clutch blast in the bottom half of the same inning (seventh). Of course, all the clutch was negated when Ichiro bounced into the double play in the ninth. Uggghhh, that was bad.
Matt Thornton cruised along and would have had the gameball sewn up had he been pulled after the sixth inning. He set down the first nine hitters he faced in long relief of the injured Meche. He came out for the seventh and just plum lost it. Ben Broussard's single was legit, but the Dubois single absolutely had to be caught, and I don't care if there was wind. That ball has to be caught. Anyway, those runners were bunted over and JJ Putz came in. Rather than go with his usual fare of giving up a homer in a key situation, Putz instead went with a seeing-eye single back to (and through) the mound that he absolutely should have been able to field, giving Cleveland two more runs' worth of cushion for a 5-2 lead. Then Putz set the table in the eighth so that Ron Villone could do his thing.
As for multi-hit games for the Mariner hitters, Ichiro went 3-for-5 with the triple, Raul Ibañez went 2-for-4 with the game-tying homer, and Miguel Olivo went 2-for-3, which means that they reversed the scoring decision on the pop fly that nobody caught near the second-base bag. I already talked about Ichiro. Raul's homer was so clutch it was sick. Olivo nearly got the gameball, but since either Raul or Ichiro was a candidate for the prize, I went with one of them. Olivo also was credited with a passed ball, so that didn't help matters, and neither did the lucky hit.
The Mariners have alternated wins and losses for five straight games. Let's hope for six, because that'd mean a Mariner win. Then they can break that streak.
Millwood. Sele. Tonight.
In 25 words or less: The Mariners were close, but not close enough. One-fifth of the starting rotation came away with some physical issues.
This one featured Cliff Lee going up against Gil Meche. The Ricoh Scouting Report on Meche was "fastball 92 to 95mph, curve, change; avoid the big inning; control is off at times, falls behind hitters." Does that mean I lose points if my guess was "keep the ball down; throw strikes; avoid the big inning?" Am I basically saying the same thing? Anyway, the Mariners were fresh off a series win against the Detroit Tigers and hoped to get their first winning streak in ten games.
This game was also the Major-League debut for Cuban refugee Yuniesky Betancourt, who is used to playing shortstop, but played second base in this game, and Jose Lopez was sent to Tacoma to work on his hitting.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B-
Meche survived some two-out ruckus. Grady Sizemore lined out to Ichiro, who charged in to make the catch. Ron Belliard flew out to center on an 0-2 pitch. Jhonny Peralta ripped a pitch through the hole on the left side for a single. Victor Martinez held up on a 2-2 dirtball, but slapped the next pitch to leftfield for a single, moving Peralta to second. Jeff Liefer fell behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch high, and it went off Olivo's chest protector, and the ball scooted away. It went as a passed ball, but they obviously had their signs crossed up. Peralta moved to third, but Martinez mysteriously stayed at first. Liefer whiffed on the next pitch, a fastball outside.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C+
Lee survived some two-out ruckus. Ichiro whiffed badly on an 0-2 dirtball outside. Randy Winn popped the second pitch high to Belliard in shallow rightfield. Raul Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and later bounced a ball up the middle that Belliard backhanded and tried to throw to first, but it was a desperate move, and it went for a single. Richie Sexson got ahead 2-0 and later singled a 2-2 pitch just past Guillen at short and into leftfield. Adrian Beltre bounced to Aaron Boone at third on the first pitch, and it went for a 5-4 fielder's choice.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C+
Meche's control seemed to be falling by the wayside. Aaron Boone flew out to leftfield on the first pitch. Casey Blake fouled off a 3-1 pitch and took the next pitch high and inside for a walk. Ben Broussard whiffed on a 2-0 pitch and later whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Jason Dubois worked a 1-2 count full, fouled off a pitch, then took the next one down and away for a walk, prompting Bryan Price to come to the mound. On the second pitch, Sizemore chopped out to Yuniesky Betancourt at second for the first putout of the latter's Major League career.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C+
A big debut for a certain someone. Willie Bloomquist popped the second pitch high to centerfield. Mike Morse got behind 0-2 and later whiffed on a low 1-2 pitch. Yuniesky Betancourt smacked the first pitch into the gap in leftcenter, and he legged out a triple. Miguel Olivo popped out high to Ron Belliard in shallow rightfield.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
Meche paid in a big way. Ron Belliard mashed the second pitch off the base of the wall in centerfield for a double. Jhonny Peralta got ahead 3-0 and took the next pitch outside for a walk. Martinez clubbed a hanging letter-high 1-2 pitch a few rows into the seats in rightfield.
»» INDIANS 3, MARINERS 0
Liefer nearly homered on a 2-0 pitch, then ripepd the next one toward first, where Sexson dove and underhanded to a covering Meche. Boone bounced out to third. Blake flew out foul to Betancourt in foul territory halfway down the rightfield line.
Meche's line: 3 innings, 3 runs, 4 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 66 pitches (37 strikes)
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C
The leadoff hitter did his job. Ichiro grounded a ball up the middle, and Belliard nearly backhanded and threw to first in time, but it's Ichiro running, so it's a single (very close though). Winn got ahead 2-0 and later popped out high to centerfield. Ibañez fouled off a couple of 0-2 pitches before whiffing on a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner. Sexson worked a 1-2 count full (Lee's first three-ball count of the night) before taking the next pitch high for a walk. Beltre took the second pitch with the Mariners pulling a double steal, but Martinez nailed Sexson at second.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A
Matt Thornton came in for Meche, who left with tightness in his right shoulder. Broussard whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball outside. Dubois whiffed on an 0-2 pitch. Sizemore whiffed on a 1-2 fastball up in the zone.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Minimal trouble for Lee, who appeared to be manhandling the Mariners again. Beltre hooked a 2-0 pitch foul, nearly a homer down the leftfield line. He clubbed a high 2-1 pitch, but got a little too much elevation and not enough distance, as Sizemore came down with it on the track. Bloomquist looped a single into shallow center. Morse flew out near the track in rightfield. Betancourt flew out to fairly deep centerfield on the second pitch.
TOP 5TH
Grade: A-
Thornton was pitching like someone else. Belliard flew out high to Betancourt in shallow center on a 2-0 pitch. Peralta grounded the second pitch to Betancourt at second. Martinez flew out to Bloomquist in leftcenter on the second pitch.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
Offense! Olivo bashed the 1-1 pitch to the right of Jackie Robinson's retired number 42, dangerously close to where Sexson hit one of his homers the night before.
»» INDIANS 3, MARINERS 1
Ichiro ripped the 3-1 pitch off the track in the gap in rightcenter, and he legged it out for a triple. Winn grounded the second pitch to short for a groundout, but Ichiro came in to score.
»» INDIANS 3, MARINERS 2
Ibañez whiffed on an 0-2 curve low and away. Sexson flew out on the 2-0 pitch to Sizemore on the track in leftcenter, just missing a homer.
TOP 6TH
Grade: A-
Thornton came through for another inning of long relief. Liefer whiffed on a 2-2 offspeed pitch. Boone tagged a pitch that nearly took off Thornton's head, but it got past and went up the middle, where Betancourt went to the backhand and threw in time to first. Blake got ahead 3-1, fouled off a full-count pitch, then flew out high to Ichiro.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
The Mariner bats didn't pick up the anomalous innings from Thornton. Beltre grounded the 2-2 pitch to short. Bloomquist flew out to Sizemore in centerfield. Morse flew out high to Sizemore on the first pitch.
TOP 7TH
Grade: D+
It got out of hand. Broussard took the first pitch to the backstop. He got ahead 3-0 and drilled the 3-1 pitch up the middle for a single. Dubois popped the first pitch into shallow leftfield, where Morse went back for the ball and it landed between him and Winn (Valle attributed this to a strong breeze inward from leftfield). Dubois got credit for a single. Sizemore bunted the second pitch toward the left side, where Thornton picked it up and threw to first. The runners advanced to third and second.
JJ Putz came in for Thornton. Belliard grounded the 1-1 pitch through the mound, where Putz failed to come up with it (it was VERY playable for Putz), and it trickled into centerfield for a single. The runners scored.
»» INDIANS 5, MARINERS 2
Peralta hit a high and inside pitch and flew out to Morse in shallow left. Martinez whiffed on a 1-2 pitch.
Thornton's line: 3 1/3 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, 44 pitches (27 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: A
Put the clutch to the floor. Betancourt took a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner. Olivo flew a 1-1 pitch high over the infield, but Peralta and Belliard up the middle failed to go for the ball, and it dropped near the bag at second (the play went for an error on Peralta at short). Ichiro fouled off a 2-0 pitch, then lined the next one over the shortstop for a single, moving Olivo to second. Winn popped the second pitch high to shallow rightcenter, where Sizemore came down with it.
Scott Sauerbeck came in for Lee. Ibañez took a 1-2 pitch just barely off the inside corner after Sauerbeck dropped down sidearmed. Sauerbeck dropped down sidearmed again, but Ibañez mashed it this time, putting it into the first couple rows of seats in rightfield after looking a bit befuddled earlier in the at-bat. Olivo and Ichiro came around as well, tying the game. Incredibly clutch.
»» INDIANS 5, MARINERS 5
Bobby Howry came in for Sauerbeck. Sexson grounded the second pitch to second.
Lee's line: 6 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 103 pitches (65 strikes)
Sauerbeck's line: 0 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (4 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C-
Not again. Liefer fouled off a 2-0 pitch and took the 2-1 offering to the backstop. He whiffed on a 3-1 pitch, then bopped the full-count pitch to centerfield, where Bloomquist had the ball go off his glove and to the wall, with Liefer ending up on second base.
Jeff Nelson came in for Putz. Brandon Phillips came in to run for Liefer. Boone bunted the first pitch toward the mound, and Nelson threw in time to first, and Phillips moved to third. Blake whiffed on an 0-2 slider low and off the plate.
Ron Villone came in for Nelson. Jose Hernandez came in to hit for Broussard. He tagged the 1-1 pitch through the left side for a single, and Phillips scored easily, and there went the tie.
»» INDIANS 6, MARINERS 5
Dubois walked on four pitches, and Bryan Price went to the mound for a visit. Sizemore grounded to Morse, who went to second for the 6-4 fielder's choice.
Putz' line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 19 pitches (12 strikes)
Nelson's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 4 pitches (4 strikes)
Villone's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 10 pitches (4 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
Frustrating, this one. Beltre poked the second pitch toward first, and Hernandez had to leap a to make the catch. Bloomquist fouled off an 0-2 pitch before whiffing on a high fastball. Morse grounded to Hernandez, who underhanded to Howry, who ran over to the bag in time.
Howry's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B+
Eddie Guardado came in for Villone. Belliard got ahead 2-0 and took a 2-2 pitch just off the outside corner. After fouling off four more pitches, Belliard finally flew out high to Bloomquist in rightcenter. Peralta poked the first pitch just past Morse and through the hole on the left side for a single. Martinez ripped the second pitch into leftfield for a single, moving Peralta to second. Phillips whiffed on an 0-2 pitch high and outside. Boone got behind 0-2 and later whiffed on a 2-2 letter-high fastball.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 21 pitches (16 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: C+
Bob Wickman came in for Howry. Betancourt grounded out to second. Jeremy Reed came in to hit for Olivo. Reed grounded hard to short, but Peralta's throw airmailed to first and pulled Hernandez off the bag at first (E6). Ichiro grounded hard to second for the 4-6-3 double play (yes, they even beat out Ichiro at first). Ballgame.
Wickman's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (5 strikes)
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Gameball: Ichiro.
He went 3-for-5 with the triple that helped the Mariners get back into the game in the fifth. How much more can you ask for in a game from your leadoff hitter? Okay, stolen bases maybe, but 3-for-5 is a more-than-solid night. Guess what? He's now up to a .313 average. Seems to me it hasn't been quite that high in a while. As you may imagine, I'm giving him a break for the game-ending and horribly timed double-play ball. That one was at least hit pretty hard, and it should have found a hole. Just bad luck there. Of course, if it were slower, Ichiro would have beaten it out, but that would have left Randy Winn to keep it alive, and he hadn't had a hit on the night. Anyway, Ichiro got aboard three times and scored twice. He set the table, and that's his job on offense.
Goat: JJ Putz.
He managed to make the game go to crap twice. The third pitch he threw went right back to him, and he should have been able to come up with the ball, hold the two runners on base, and throw to first for an out. Instead, it somehow gets through him, two runs score, and the Indians led 5-2 at that point in the seventh. To lead off the eighth, he fell behind Jeff Liefer and allowed him to get some good wood on the ball. Should Willie Bloomquist have caught that ball? Probably. However, it wasn't worse than the one that Putz missed. You can blame the non-catch in the eighth on Bloomquist, sure, but it did take a certain pitcher to set himself up in the count (i.e., hitters' counts twice) to get to that point. Liefer stood on second base, Putz was yanked, and two pitchers later, the run came around to score. I'll divert from Putz here for a second, but isn't it great to know that with twelve pitchers on the roster (and therefore seven guys in the bullpen), that they couldn't put a lefty out there that could get an out from Jose Hernandez? This twelve-man pitching staff is just the greatest idea, I tell ya. This is without me even getting to Ron Villone giving up the game-breaking hit and then walking the next guy on four pitches. Top-notch stuff, really.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 72-29 .713 -- L2
2002 61-40 .604 11 L1
2003 61-40 .604 11 L1
2000 58-43 .574 14 L3
2005 44-57 .436 28 L1
2004 39-62 .386 33 W1
How morbid. The only time the Mariners have won in the 101st game of the season in the past six seasons of play was last year. Icky. The 2000 Mariners sported a three-game losing streak at this point. As I've mentioned a couple times before, that team went on to epitomize the Dog Days of August trend that was all too often the case for the Mariners throughout their history, and they lost eight straight ballgames. It got to the point where if you left the game for a while and did something, you'd come back and say, "what the f#*$?! Come on! What the f#*$ is wrong with this team!" since you knew how great they had been for most of the season. With the Mariners post-July 2003, they could be behind 9-0 in the first, and though you might be somewhat surprised, you'd more than likely shrug it off. It's amazing how what should have been the Commitment to Excellence that was in fact the Commitment to Competitiveness has degenerated into the Commitment for Average Baseball. It's more sad that the Mariners are having trouble getting to even that.
Here's a sick admission from me. If Gil Meche spends time on the shelf as an adverse effect of the shoulder tightness that forced him out of this game, I can't entirely convince myself that it makes the team worse. With Meche out, would you be missing out on some good starts? Sure you would. You'd also be missing out on some bad starts as well. Despite his record, I think there would be more of the latter than the former remaining for his season, if healthy for the rest of it. How Gil Meche had won 10 games this season, I have no idea. I guess the odd thing is that for the last few months, we've been thinking that Joel Piñeiro is hurt after how erratic he's been on the mound. We forgot to even think that maybe Gil Meche may or may not be hurt. Or do they both just suck? I think at least one out of Meche and Piñeiro has to be hurt (I mean missing-three-starts kind of hurt). Maybe both. Yes, hurting pitchers -- ask for them by name! Mariners baseball! What a Show!
But the giving mentality of the Mariner bullpen overshadowed the opportune moments by the bats in this game, though it took a while. The Mariners squandered a two-out rally in the first, Yuniesky Betancourt's two-out triple in the second (uplifting stuff), and Ichiro's leadoff infield hit in the third. In the fifth, Miguel Olivo's homer and Ichiro's triple helped the Mariners get to within one run. After Matt Thornton and JJ Putz let it get out of hand, Raul Ibañez came up with the clutch blast in the bottom half of the same inning (seventh). Of course, all the clutch was negated when Ichiro bounced into the double play in the ninth. Uggghhh, that was bad.
Matt Thornton cruised along and would have had the gameball sewn up had he been pulled after the sixth inning. He set down the first nine hitters he faced in long relief of the injured Meche. He came out for the seventh and just plum lost it. Ben Broussard's single was legit, but the Dubois single absolutely had to be caught, and I don't care if there was wind. That ball has to be caught. Anyway, those runners were bunted over and JJ Putz came in. Rather than go with his usual fare of giving up a homer in a key situation, Putz instead went with a seeing-eye single back to (and through) the mound that he absolutely should have been able to field, giving Cleveland two more runs' worth of cushion for a 5-2 lead. Then Putz set the table in the eighth so that Ron Villone could do his thing.
As for multi-hit games for the Mariner hitters, Ichiro went 3-for-5 with the triple, Raul Ibañez went 2-for-4 with the game-tying homer, and Miguel Olivo went 2-for-3, which means that they reversed the scoring decision on the pop fly that nobody caught near the second-base bag. I already talked about Ichiro. Raul's homer was so clutch it was sick. Olivo nearly got the gameball, but since either Raul or Ichiro was a candidate for the prize, I went with one of them. Olivo also was credited with a passed ball, so that didn't help matters, and neither did the lucky hit.
The Mariners have alternated wins and losses for five straight games. Let's hope for six, because that'd mean a Mariner win. Then they can break that streak.
Millwood. Sele. Tonight.
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