Saturday, July 30, 2005
GAME 103: MARINERS 3, INDIANS 2
Mariners 3, Indians 2
[actually posted ~9:44p]
In 25 words or less: On the eve of the trade deadline, the Mariners pull off a come-from-behind win. Really.
This one featured CC Sabathia going up against Ryan Franklin. It also featured Randy Winn being scratched out of the starting lineup and riding pine, more than likely awaiting a trade, since he did go 4-for-5 the night before. That'll impress people. Jeremy Reed wasn't in the starting lineup either, possibly due to the mild concussion the night before, but more than likely because Mike Hargrove wants him to never develop his hitting against lefthanded pitchers.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B+
Franklin had little trouble. Grady Sizemore grounded to Richie Sexson at first, who knocked the ball down and underhanded over to a covering Franklin in time. Ron Belliard flew out on the second pitch to Ichiro up against the wall in rightcenter. Jhonny Peralta poked the second pitch into leftfield for a single. Victor Martinez grounded to Mike Morse at short, who stepped on the bag at second for the forceout.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Nothing much for a start. Ichiro got the hitters' counts and grounded to Ben Broussard along the first-base line, and Broussard stepped on the bag for the out. Willie Bloomquist popped the second pitch high to Belliard in shallow rightfield. Raul Ibañez got behind 0-2 and eventually took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B+
Franklin weather the leadoff hitter. Jeff Liefer walked on a 3-1 pitch outside. Aaron Boone whiffed on a 2-2 slider. Ben Broussard grounded to second, and Yuniesky Betancourt went to second, but Broussard beat Morse's throw back to first (4-6 fielder's choice). Casey Blake took an 0-2 pitch over the inside corner.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
This inning was a little too quick. Richie Sexson flew out high to Sizemore in shallow centerfield. Adrian Beltre lined the first pitch deep to leftfield, where Jason Dubois reached up and made the catch on the track. Mike Morse popped the second pitch high to Sizemore in centerfield.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
Franklin got moderately rocked. Jason Dubois lined a 1-2 pitch over Betancourt and into rightfield for a single. Sizemore tagged the first pitch down the rightfield line and toward the corner for a double, moving Dubois to third. Belliard lined the second pitch into leftfield for a double, scoring Dubois and Sizemore.
»» INDIANS 2, MARINERS 0
Peralta grounded to a diving Beltre, who threw a bit toward the home plate side of first, but Sexson was able to pull it down and tag Peralta, and Belliard held at second. Martinez popped the second pitch to centerfield, moving Belliard at third, who beat a throw. Liefer grounded out to second.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Nothing again. Scott Spiezio couldn't hold a checkswing on a 2-2 pitch as the fans were already bored at the Safe and doing the incorrigible Wave. Betancourt fouled off a quartet of 0-2 pitches and later grounded a 1-2 pitch to short. Olivo got ahead 2-0 and whiffed on a 2-2 pitch.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B
Franklin avoided more of a jam. Boone flew out to Ichiro in rightfield on the second pitch. Broussard popped the second pitch into shallow rightcenter, but it was a 'tweener and fell in for a single. Blake doubled a 1-2 pitch down the leftfield line, moving Broussard over to third. Dubois worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing. Sizemore got ahead 2-0 and wound up grounding out to second.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
Scoring happened. Ichiro ripped the 2-1 pitch off the windows of the Hit It Here Cafe in rightfield (428 feet), with Dave Niehaus saying "it almost landed in somebody's soup out there!"
»» INDIANS 2, MARINERS 1
Bloomquist grounded out to short on the second pitch. Ibañez whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball. Sexson got ahead 3-0 and later lined the 3-1 pitch to leftfield for a single. Beltre popped the second pitch high to Belliard.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B+
Franklin had an inning much like his previous ones. Belliard foul-tipped an 0-2 pitch before reaching on a pitch and popping out to Sexson at first. Peralta hit a high fly to leftcenter, where Bloomquist laid out for the ball but missed, and Peralta coasted into second with a double. Martinez got ahead 2-0 and eventually grounded a 2-2 pitch to Sexson along the first base line, who underhanded to a covering Franklin. Liefer fouled off an 0-2 pitch before whiffing on the next pitch.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
Morse hit a high fly to centerfield on the second pitch that just kept carrying over the centerfield wall, making a winner out of
»» INDIANS 2, MARINERS 2
Spiezio popped out foul to Peralta in foul ground. Betancourt bounced out to third on the second pitch. Olivo popped the second pitch high to rightfield, where Blake made the catch.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B
Franklin got some help. Boone got behind 0-2 but worked the count full before whiffing. Broussard got behind 0-2 and lined a 1-2 pitch through the left side for a single. Blake lined a 1-2 pitch into leftfield for a single, and Broussard tried to take third, but was nailed by a strong throw from Ibañez. Blake barely beat a follow-up throw to second on the same play. Dubois took a 2-2 pitch barely outside before whiffing on a full count.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B
Holy hell, it's a lead! Ichiro mashed the 1-1 pitch out of the yard to rightfield. What the f#($??! Seriously. Anyway, the Mariners had the lead.
»» MARINERS 3, INDIANS 2
Bloomquist grounded the second pitch to short. Ibañez got behind 0-2 but worked the count full. He ended up fouling off a pitch, then grounding right to third. Sexson fouled off a 2-2 pitch before checking his swing on a full-count pitch for a walk. Beltre took a 1-2 pitch in the dirt that got away from Martinez, and Sexson moved to second. Martinez' throw to second was low and got past, but it was backed up. Beltre lined a full-count pitch into centerfield, where Sizemore made a diving catch.
TOP 7TH
Grade: B+
The pitching kept holding on. Sizemore worked a 1-2 count full, then took the next pitch low and away for a walk. Belliard popped a 1-2 pitch high to rightfield. Peralta got behind 0-2 and couldn't check his swing on a 1-2 pitch, resulting in a strikeout.
Ron Villone came in for Franklin. Martinez got ahead 2-0 and ended up whiffing on a 2-2 pitch high and outside.
Franklin's line: 6 2/3 innings, 2 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, 118 pitches (77 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C-
Unfortunately there was no tacking-on of runs. Morse grounded out on the second pitch to third. Spiezio popped out to Blake along the rightfield line. Betancourt popped to Peralta in shallow centerfield.
Sabathia's line: 7 innings, 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 100 pitches (64 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: B-
The bullpen tried to hold it down. Liefer grounded out to second. Boone slapped a pitch up the middle for a single. Broussard took the 3-1 pitch up and in for a walk.
JJ Putz came in for Villone. Blake walked on a full-count pitch outside. Dubois got behind 0-2 and took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner. Sizemore got behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 2-2 fastball up and away.
Villone's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 17 pitches (8 strikes)
Putz' line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 16 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
Bobby Howry came in for Sabathia. Olivo flew out high to leftfield on the second pitch. Ichiro whiffed over an 0-2 pitch. Bloomquist chopped the first pitch to second.
Howry's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 6 pitches (6 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: A-
Eddie Guardado came in for Putz. Belliard worked an 0-2 count and took a full-count pitch outside. Peralta flew out high to rightfield. Martinez popped the second pitch high and foul to Betancourt along the rightfield line. Jose Hernandez hit for Liefer. He took a 1-2 pitch over the inside corner. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 17 pitches (11 strikes)
---
Gameball: Ryan Franklin.
I and many other people have complained oodles about the various habits of Ryan Franklin this year. Today was a solid start. Sure, he did have more than a few runners to deal with (9 hits, 2 walks), but a rarity came along with the performance as he struck out seven batters. Whoa, Ryan, where's the fire? Anyway, the seven strikeouts were a big bonus. Also an even bigger bonus than that was the big goose egg under the "HR" column in Franklin's line. He recorded more groundouts than flyball outs, so the homer stat is less surprising when you consider that first. Still, Ryan didn't let the nine hits rattle him in any inning other than the third. Much like Jamie Moyer has been lately, Franklin proved to be slithery (I'm using that word way too much) in getting out of jams or anything resembling a jam other than the third inning. There were many points along the way where Franklin could have let it get worse, but for whatever reason, he had it going today, and to hold the Indians to two runs despite being touched up for nine hits is no small accomplishment.
Goat: Willie Bloomquist.
Well, an 0-for-4 out of Bloomquist certainly hasn't happened in a while, but that's to his credit. In this game, though, he went 0-for-4 and none of his outs were fielded by outfielders. He hit a high fly into shallow rightfield, but that was caught by second baseman Ron Belliard. The other outs didn't get out of the infield. As I've said a few times, we've bagged on Bloomquist for his cast overratedness and South Kitsapitude for the last few years, but over the past couple weeks, I've had no choice but to shut up. He's been helping my team win, for goodness' sakes. I do have a slight grip on reality, you know. All of this being said, I hope Willie is off and traded by the time the deadline rolls around tomorrow. Why wouldn't he be? And hey, if they're really concerned about Jeremy Reed's concussion (I think it'll be minor, but bear with me here), they can still ship Bloomquist off and have Ichiro play centerfield. I'd be all for a Snelling/Ichiro/Ibañez outfield. I'm more for a centerfielder that covers a ton of ground than I am for the strongest arm being in rightfield, but I've made that case here in the past.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 74-29 .718 -- W2
2003 63-40 .612 11 W2
2002 62-41 .602 12 L1
2000 60-43 .583 14 W2
2005 45-58 .437 29 W1
2004 39-64 .379 35 L2
I sat there for the first three innings after CC Sabathia had set down the first nine batters and Cleveland had put up a three-spot in the third, and I thought, "well, this one's done. Looks like another loss to me. Oh well." Ichiro's not supposed to hit balls off the Hit It Here Cafe. Ichiro's not supposed to have multi-homer games. Ichiro's not supposed to account for half of your team's hits in a game. Ichiro is supposed to score runs, but not when he's driving himself in to score. You could say this game on offense was a step out of the comfort zone for Ichiro, but he's surprised us so many times that nothing should really surprise us about him anymore. Like I mentioned a couple days ago, one of these days the Mariners might be down 18-1 and Ichiro might climb up the wall and stand on top of it to rob a homer, or he might climb the foul pole and rob a homer. Could you imagine if he climbed the Pesky pole (don't think too long about that sequence of words) and robbed a homer from wrapping around the pole? That'd be beyond crazy, and probably against official baseball rules, which I really should read before I think up of a scenario so odd and outrageous as this.
Offensively, I like to point out anyone that had a multi-hit game for the Mariners. Ichiro was the only batter to do so for the Mariners. This will be reserved today for any Mariner that actually got any hit. Richie Sexson hit a single with two out in the fourth. Mike Morse cranked a leadoff homer out to centerfield in the fifth. Ichiro's homers in the fourth and sixth sandwiched Morse's fifth-inning blast. Given the usual plight of the Mariners and the long ball this season, it's ironic to see that the Mariners scored all three of their runs with three solo shots. It's actually kind of hilarious. I think if I was a Cleveland fan, I'd be pretty ticked over such a fact.
Since I want to get some more material here, I guess I'll nit-pick at the bullpen. In 2 1/3 innings today, Mariner relievers gave up a total of three walks. They luckily offset that by striking out four batters and allowing only one hit. Each of Ron Villone, JJ Putz, and Eddie Guardado surrendered a walk. It may not seem like much, but things like that eventually haunt you if they keep happening ("duh" statement of the year, I know). Of course, out of those three pitchers walking batters, I'm the most concerned about JJ Putz walking batters, given his propensity to give up big homers this year, though he went with a big non-play of a grounder the other day which I thought was a nice change of pace. The point is, relief walks are bad, though we know that already. Ron Villone's going to walk people because he's nuts, Eddie Guardado might walk people just to keep you on your toes, but JJ Putz gets thrown into a lot of key situations where he just can't afford to walk people no matter what. Don't walk people, JJ. Thanks.
Randy Winn grabbed pine in this game, and Raul Ibañez started in leftfield, as mentioned. In the sixth inning, with Ben Broussard on first, Casey Blake lined a single to leftfield, and Broussard rounded second and headed for third. Ibañez came up throwing and gunned down Broussard at third by about seven feet. What am I saying? Ben Broussard is safe if Randy Winn is out there playing leftfield today. Broussard missed out on the memo that Randy Winn wasn't out there, and that's a big play since it could have been a first-and-third situation with one out or a second-and-third situation with one out and the game tied at 2-2. That was a big play. The Indians could have been a deep fly ball away from taking a 3-2 lead at that point. That's not too comfortable a situation, to say the least.
Well, the best-case scenario we have here is that we get a carbon copy of the Baltimore series, with the Mariners losing the first two and taking the back half of the series. Sure, the first half of it was bad, but maybe, just maybe the Mariners can salvage a split out of this before taking Monday off and going to Motown.
Westbrook. Piñeiro. Tomorrow.
[actually posted ~9:44p]
In 25 words or less: On the eve of the trade deadline, the Mariners pull off a come-from-behind win. Really.
This one featured CC Sabathia going up against Ryan Franklin. It also featured Randy Winn being scratched out of the starting lineup and riding pine, more than likely awaiting a trade, since he did go 4-for-5 the night before. That'll impress people. Jeremy Reed wasn't in the starting lineup either, possibly due to the mild concussion the night before, but more than likely because Mike Hargrove wants him to never develop his hitting against lefthanded pitchers.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B+
Franklin had little trouble. Grady Sizemore grounded to Richie Sexson at first, who knocked the ball down and underhanded over to a covering Franklin in time. Ron Belliard flew out on the second pitch to Ichiro up against the wall in rightcenter. Jhonny Peralta poked the second pitch into leftfield for a single. Victor Martinez grounded to Mike Morse at short, who stepped on the bag at second for the forceout.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Nothing much for a start. Ichiro got the hitters' counts and grounded to Ben Broussard along the first-base line, and Broussard stepped on the bag for the out. Willie Bloomquist popped the second pitch high to Belliard in shallow rightfield. Raul Ibañez got behind 0-2 and eventually took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B+
Franklin weather the leadoff hitter. Jeff Liefer walked on a 3-1 pitch outside. Aaron Boone whiffed on a 2-2 slider. Ben Broussard grounded to second, and Yuniesky Betancourt went to second, but Broussard beat Morse's throw back to first (4-6 fielder's choice). Casey Blake took an 0-2 pitch over the inside corner.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
This inning was a little too quick. Richie Sexson flew out high to Sizemore in shallow centerfield. Adrian Beltre lined the first pitch deep to leftfield, where Jason Dubois reached up and made the catch on the track. Mike Morse popped the second pitch high to Sizemore in centerfield.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
Franklin got moderately rocked. Jason Dubois lined a 1-2 pitch over Betancourt and into rightfield for a single. Sizemore tagged the first pitch down the rightfield line and toward the corner for a double, moving Dubois to third. Belliard lined the second pitch into leftfield for a double, scoring Dubois and Sizemore.
»» INDIANS 2, MARINERS 0
Peralta grounded to a diving Beltre, who threw a bit toward the home plate side of first, but Sexson was able to pull it down and tag Peralta, and Belliard held at second. Martinez popped the second pitch to centerfield, moving Belliard at third, who beat a throw. Liefer grounded out to second.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Nothing again. Scott Spiezio couldn't hold a checkswing on a 2-2 pitch as the fans were already bored at the Safe and doing the incorrigible Wave. Betancourt fouled off a quartet of 0-2 pitches and later grounded a 1-2 pitch to short. Olivo got ahead 2-0 and whiffed on a 2-2 pitch.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B
Franklin avoided more of a jam. Boone flew out to Ichiro in rightfield on the second pitch. Broussard popped the second pitch into shallow rightcenter, but it was a 'tweener and fell in for a single. Blake doubled a 1-2 pitch down the leftfield line, moving Broussard over to third. Dubois worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing. Sizemore got ahead 2-0 and wound up grounding out to second.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
Scoring happened. Ichiro ripped the 2-1 pitch off the windows of the Hit It Here Cafe in rightfield (428 feet), with Dave Niehaus saying "it almost landed in somebody's soup out there!"
»» INDIANS 2, MARINERS 1
Bloomquist grounded out to short on the second pitch. Ibañez whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball. Sexson got ahead 3-0 and later lined the 3-1 pitch to leftfield for a single. Beltre popped the second pitch high to Belliard.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B+
Franklin had an inning much like his previous ones. Belliard foul-tipped an 0-2 pitch before reaching on a pitch and popping out to Sexson at first. Peralta hit a high fly to leftcenter, where Bloomquist laid out for the ball but missed, and Peralta coasted into second with a double. Martinez got ahead 2-0 and eventually grounded a 2-2 pitch to Sexson along the first base line, who underhanded to a covering Franklin. Liefer fouled off an 0-2 pitch before whiffing on the next pitch.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
Morse hit a high fly to centerfield on the second pitch that just kept carrying over the centerfield wall, making a winner out of
»» INDIANS 2, MARINERS 2
Spiezio popped out foul to Peralta in foul ground. Betancourt bounced out to third on the second pitch. Olivo popped the second pitch high to rightfield, where Blake made the catch.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B
Franklin got some help. Boone got behind 0-2 but worked the count full before whiffing. Broussard got behind 0-2 and lined a 1-2 pitch through the left side for a single. Blake lined a 1-2 pitch into leftfield for a single, and Broussard tried to take third, but was nailed by a strong throw from Ibañez. Blake barely beat a follow-up throw to second on the same play. Dubois took a 2-2 pitch barely outside before whiffing on a full count.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B
Holy hell, it's a lead! Ichiro mashed the 1-1 pitch out of the yard to rightfield. What the f#($??! Seriously. Anyway, the Mariners had the lead.
»» MARINERS 3, INDIANS 2
Bloomquist grounded the second pitch to short. Ibañez got behind 0-2 but worked the count full. He ended up fouling off a pitch, then grounding right to third. Sexson fouled off a 2-2 pitch before checking his swing on a full-count pitch for a walk. Beltre took a 1-2 pitch in the dirt that got away from Martinez, and Sexson moved to second. Martinez' throw to second was low and got past, but it was backed up. Beltre lined a full-count pitch into centerfield, where Sizemore made a diving catch.
TOP 7TH
Grade: B+
The pitching kept holding on. Sizemore worked a 1-2 count full, then took the next pitch low and away for a walk. Belliard popped a 1-2 pitch high to rightfield. Peralta got behind 0-2 and couldn't check his swing on a 1-2 pitch, resulting in a strikeout.
Ron Villone came in for Franklin. Martinez got ahead 2-0 and ended up whiffing on a 2-2 pitch high and outside.
Franklin's line: 6 2/3 innings, 2 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, 118 pitches (77 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C-
Unfortunately there was no tacking-on of runs. Morse grounded out on the second pitch to third. Spiezio popped out to Blake along the rightfield line. Betancourt popped to Peralta in shallow centerfield.
Sabathia's line: 7 innings, 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 100 pitches (64 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: B-
The bullpen tried to hold it down. Liefer grounded out to second. Boone slapped a pitch up the middle for a single. Broussard took the 3-1 pitch up and in for a walk.
JJ Putz came in for Villone. Blake walked on a full-count pitch outside. Dubois got behind 0-2 and took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner. Sizemore got behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 2-2 fastball up and away.
Villone's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 17 pitches (8 strikes)
Putz' line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 16 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
Bobby Howry came in for Sabathia. Olivo flew out high to leftfield on the second pitch. Ichiro whiffed over an 0-2 pitch. Bloomquist chopped the first pitch to second.
Howry's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 6 pitches (6 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: A-
Eddie Guardado came in for Putz. Belliard worked an 0-2 count and took a full-count pitch outside. Peralta flew out high to rightfield. Martinez popped the second pitch high and foul to Betancourt along the rightfield line. Jose Hernandez hit for Liefer. He took a 1-2 pitch over the inside corner. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 17 pitches (11 strikes)
---
Gameball: Ryan Franklin.
I and many other people have complained oodles about the various habits of Ryan Franklin this year. Today was a solid start. Sure, he did have more than a few runners to deal with (9 hits, 2 walks), but a rarity came along with the performance as he struck out seven batters. Whoa, Ryan, where's the fire? Anyway, the seven strikeouts were a big bonus. Also an even bigger bonus than that was the big goose egg under the "HR" column in Franklin's line. He recorded more groundouts than flyball outs, so the homer stat is less surprising when you consider that first. Still, Ryan didn't let the nine hits rattle him in any inning other than the third. Much like Jamie Moyer has been lately, Franklin proved to be slithery (I'm using that word way too much) in getting out of jams or anything resembling a jam other than the third inning. There were many points along the way where Franklin could have let it get worse, but for whatever reason, he had it going today, and to hold the Indians to two runs despite being touched up for nine hits is no small accomplishment.
Goat: Willie Bloomquist.
Well, an 0-for-4 out of Bloomquist certainly hasn't happened in a while, but that's to his credit. In this game, though, he went 0-for-4 and none of his outs were fielded by outfielders. He hit a high fly into shallow rightfield, but that was caught by second baseman Ron Belliard. The other outs didn't get out of the infield. As I've said a few times, we've bagged on Bloomquist for his cast overratedness and South Kitsapitude for the last few years, but over the past couple weeks, I've had no choice but to shut up. He's been helping my team win, for goodness' sakes. I do have a slight grip on reality, you know. All of this being said, I hope Willie is off and traded by the time the deadline rolls around tomorrow. Why wouldn't he be? And hey, if they're really concerned about Jeremy Reed's concussion (I think it'll be minor, but bear with me here), they can still ship Bloomquist off and have Ichiro play centerfield. I'd be all for a Snelling/Ichiro/Ibañez outfield. I'm more for a centerfielder that covers a ton of ground than I am for the strongest arm being in rightfield, but I've made that case here in the past.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 74-29 .718 -- W2
2003 63-40 .612 11 W2
2002 62-41 .602 12 L1
2000 60-43 .583 14 W2
2005 45-58 .437 29 W1
2004 39-64 .379 35 L2
I sat there for the first three innings after CC Sabathia had set down the first nine batters and Cleveland had put up a three-spot in the third, and I thought, "well, this one's done. Looks like another loss to me. Oh well." Ichiro's not supposed to hit balls off the Hit It Here Cafe. Ichiro's not supposed to have multi-homer games. Ichiro's not supposed to account for half of your team's hits in a game. Ichiro is supposed to score runs, but not when he's driving himself in to score. You could say this game on offense was a step out of the comfort zone for Ichiro, but he's surprised us so many times that nothing should really surprise us about him anymore. Like I mentioned a couple days ago, one of these days the Mariners might be down 18-1 and Ichiro might climb up the wall and stand on top of it to rob a homer, or he might climb the foul pole and rob a homer. Could you imagine if he climbed the Pesky pole (don't think too long about that sequence of words) and robbed a homer from wrapping around the pole? That'd be beyond crazy, and probably against official baseball rules, which I really should read before I think up of a scenario so odd and outrageous as this.
Offensively, I like to point out anyone that had a multi-hit game for the Mariners. Ichiro was the only batter to do so for the Mariners. This will be reserved today for any Mariner that actually got any hit. Richie Sexson hit a single with two out in the fourth. Mike Morse cranked a leadoff homer out to centerfield in the fifth. Ichiro's homers in the fourth and sixth sandwiched Morse's fifth-inning blast. Given the usual plight of the Mariners and the long ball this season, it's ironic to see that the Mariners scored all three of their runs with three solo shots. It's actually kind of hilarious. I think if I was a Cleveland fan, I'd be pretty ticked over such a fact.
Since I want to get some more material here, I guess I'll nit-pick at the bullpen. In 2 1/3 innings today, Mariner relievers gave up a total of three walks. They luckily offset that by striking out four batters and allowing only one hit. Each of Ron Villone, JJ Putz, and Eddie Guardado surrendered a walk. It may not seem like much, but things like that eventually haunt you if they keep happening ("duh" statement of the year, I know). Of course, out of those three pitchers walking batters, I'm the most concerned about JJ Putz walking batters, given his propensity to give up big homers this year, though he went with a big non-play of a grounder the other day which I thought was a nice change of pace. The point is, relief walks are bad, though we know that already. Ron Villone's going to walk people because he's nuts, Eddie Guardado might walk people just to keep you on your toes, but JJ Putz gets thrown into a lot of key situations where he just can't afford to walk people no matter what. Don't walk people, JJ. Thanks.
Randy Winn grabbed pine in this game, and Raul Ibañez started in leftfield, as mentioned. In the sixth inning, with Ben Broussard on first, Casey Blake lined a single to leftfield, and Broussard rounded second and headed for third. Ibañez came up throwing and gunned down Broussard at third by about seven feet. What am I saying? Ben Broussard is safe if Randy Winn is out there playing leftfield today. Broussard missed out on the memo that Randy Winn wasn't out there, and that's a big play since it could have been a first-and-third situation with one out or a second-and-third situation with one out and the game tied at 2-2. That was a big play. The Indians could have been a deep fly ball away from taking a 3-2 lead at that point. That's not too comfortable a situation, to say the least.
Well, the best-case scenario we have here is that we get a carbon copy of the Baltimore series, with the Mariners losing the first two and taking the back half of the series. Sure, the first half of it was bad, but maybe, just maybe the Mariners can salvage a split out of this before taking Monday off and going to Motown.
Westbrook. Piñeiro. Tomorrow.
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