Sunday, July 10, 2005
GAME 86: MARINERS 6, ANGELS 3
Mariners 6, Angels 3
In 25 words or less: Ryan Franklin's offense was introduced to a new and welcome friend. It's name? The big inning.
This one featured Ryan Franklin going up against John Lackey. The night before, the Mariners had a record that was a season-high five games better than the pace of the 2004 Mariners. Could they make it six?
TOP 1ST
Grade: C
The two-out stuff wasn't clicking early. Ichiro chopped one high beside the mound, where Lackey picked it up and threw to first. Randy Winn, fresh off the grand slam the night before, looped a fly ball toward shallow leftfield. Maicer Izturis kept backpedaling and eventually caught the ball going backward, falling down afterward. Raul Ibañez ripped a single past the mound and into centerfield. Richie Sexson fouled back a 3-1 pitch before walking on a full count. Adrian Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: A-
Franklin had to work. Chine Figgins flew out to centerfield. Darin Erstad worked a 1-2 count full, fouling off a lot of pitches before flying out near the track in centerfield. Vladimir Guerrero was jammed on his second pitch, flying out to center.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C-
A disturbing trend was gaining some steam. Jeremy Reed whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball. Willie Bloomquist got behind 0-2 and whiffed at a 1-2 breaking ball low and away. Mike Morse whiffed on a full-count pitch over the outside corner. Lackey had struck out the side.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
No damage would be inflicted. Garret Anderson grounded the first pitch to first. Juan Rivera flew out to leftfield on an 0-2 pitch. Maicer Izturis bounced a single up the middle. Jeff DaVanon got ahead 2-0, and later bounced out to first on a full count.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
Lackey was feeling it. Miguel Olivo whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball outside. Ichiro whiffed on a fastball, and Lackey had struck out six straight hitters. Winn returned everyone to normal sanity, working a 1-2 count full and fouling off a few pitches before grounding out to second, and therefore making contact.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C+
The Angels would get the lead. Jose Molina worked Franklin for a very long at-bat, working a 1-2 count full and fouling off five pitches along the way before nubbing a ball that died near the plate. Franklin had to field and throw very quickly, but had absolutely no play, and it went for a single. Adam Kennedy flew out high to centerfield. Figgins poked a double down the leftfield line and toward the corner, sending Molina to third. Erstad grounded to short, and Morse had no play on Molina going plateward, and the Angels led.
»» ANGELS 1, MARINERS 0
Guerrero flew out high to Reed in leftcenter.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C-
Every hitter faced a 1-2 count and made a play on a 2-2 pitch. Ibañez flew out to left. Sexson bounced one through the hole at short for a single. Beltre hit a laser of a grounder, but right to Figgins at third, who went around the horn for the double play.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
Franklin looked like he might unravel, but plays happened behind him. Anderson walked on four pitches. Rivera fell behind 0-2, and later looped a 2-2 pitch into centerfield. Izturis grounded a ball to second, and Bloomquist tagged Rivera on the basepath, then took a little time throwing to first but still got Izturis for the 4-3 double play. Anderson scooted to third. DaVanon fell behind 0-2 and later hit a very high fly ball to Ichiro, who had a beat on the ball as it drifted further and further back. Ichiro stumbled backward a but in front of the warning track, but thankfully held onto the ball.
TOP 5TH
Grade: A
It snowballed. Reed grounded the first pitch hard to Figgins at third, who made a diving stop and threw him out. Bloomquist dinked a 2-0 pitch into leftcenter for a single. Bloomquist stole second, just under the tag, on the first pitch to Morse. Morse smoked a single into leftfield on the next pitch, and though Rivera had the ball as Bloomquist was just rounding third, Bloomquist barreled home anyway, and just moved wide of the tag, tying the game.
»» ANGELS 1, MARINERS 1
Olivo grounded into what ended up to be a 6-5-4 fielder's choice when Morse let the ground ball go in front of him, but kept going toward third. He was hung up and tagged. Ichiro singled through the hole on the right side, moving Olivo to third. Winn ripped the first pitch and almost drilled Lackey, and the ball traveled into centerfield. Olivo scored, Ichiro went to second, and the Mariners somehow found themselves in the lead again.
»» MARINERS 2, ANGELS 1
Ibañez got behind 0-2 and had a great at-bat, working the count full before dropping one into the gap in leftcenter. Ichiro scored and the Mariners doubled their newfound lead.
»» MARINERS 3, ANGELS 1
Sexson took a 1-2 pitch barely inside. He then ripped the next pitch to the wall in the gap in rightcenter. Winn and Ibañez crossed the plate. This was crazy.
»» MARINERS 5, ANGELS 1
Beltre grounded the first pitch to short to end the inning.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
Franklin would sort of move along. Molina fell behind 0-2, eventually flying out to Morse in leftcenter. Kennedy whiffed on a 1-2 pitch low and away. Figgins fell behind 0-2 and blooped the next pitch into leftcenter for a single. Erstad got a 1-2 dirtball, and Figgins stole second. Erstad grounded out to short on the next pitch.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
This one was amazingly quick. Reed grounded to Figgins deep in the hole on the left side, but he had no play, and it went for a single. Reed broke for second on the first pitch to Bloomquist, but was gunned down by a mile and by a perfect throw from Molina. Bloomquist flew out to right two pitches later. Morse flew out to right on the first pitch. Five pitches, three outs. Quick.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: A-
Franklin showed some strikeout prowess. Guerrero flew out to rightfield on the second pitch. Anderson whiffed on an 0-2 breaking dirtball. Rivera got ahead 2-0 but whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball.
TOP 7TH
Grade: C-
The Mariners looked to be done scoring. Olivo broke his bat on a lineout to the pitcher. Ichiro grounded out hard to first. Winn was caught looking on a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner.
Lackey's line: 7 innings, 5 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, 114 pitches (74 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B-
Franklin wouldn't survive the inning. Izturis fouled off a 3-1 pitch before taking ball four inside. The first pitch to DaVanon was a dirtball, and Izturis skittered to second. Franklin battled back from a 3-0 count to make it full before walking him on a pitch up and out. Curtis Pride came on to pinch hit, and he grounded to Sexson, who threw to second (Morse) to get the forceout, and Izturis scooted to third.
Ron Villone came in for Franklin. Kennedy fell behind 0-2, but would ground a single past Sexson on the right side, and Izturis scored to make it much more interesting.
»» MARINERS 5, ANGELS 2
Figgins grounded the 2-0 pitch to Beltre, who tagged Pride and threw in time to first for the very key 5-3 inning-ending double play.
Franklin's line: 6 1/3 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 112 pitches (70 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C
Brendan Donnelly, fresh off his suspension, came in for Lackey. Ibañez fell behind 0-2, but later slapped a double down the leftfield line. Sexson took a 1-2 pitch that looked inside for strike three. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 fastball that he thought was inside for strike three. Reed fouled off an 0-2 pitch before whiffing at a 1-2 pitch low and away. Donnelly had struck out the side.
Donnelly's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 17 pitches (13 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A-
'Twas a decent inning of relief. Erstad hit a soft liner to second. Guerrero flew out high to Bloomquist in shallow right. Anderson got ahead 2-0, but took the 2-2 offering over the outside corner.
Villone's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (11 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B
Esteban Yan came in for Donnelly. Bloomquist drilled an 0-2 single into centerfield. Bloomquist took second on the 3-0 pitch to Morse, who walked a pitch later anyway. Olivo bunted high into the air on the first pitch. The trouble was, Donnelly went back for it, and it went behind him. Multiple people were going for the ball, but when someone finally got a hold of the ball, no one was left to cover any of the appropriate bases. Olivo got a single out of that. Ichiro flew out to the track in rightfield on an 0-2 pitch, and Bloomquist came across the plate.
»» MARINERS 6, ANGELS 2
Winn fouled off an 0-2 pitch before grounding to Donnelly just off the mound, and he threw home, where Morse was tagged out. Ibañez hit a high pop to Izturis in shallow leftfield.
Yan's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 24 pitches (18 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: B-
JJ Putz came in for Villone. Rivera mashed a pitch into the first row in centerfield.
»» MARINERS 6, ANGELS 3
Izturis grounded out to short. DaVanon fouled off a few pitches before flying out to left. Bengie Molina fell behind 0-2, and hit a low liner to Bloomquist. Ballgame.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 15 pitches (12 strikes)
---
Gameball: Richie Sexson.
He didn't record a strikeout in the series until he was called out on a pitch that looked inside. He went 2-for-3 in this game with the walk and strikeout. He hit the big two-run double in the fifth. He's 5-for-9 with four walks and one strikeout in the series. Wouldn't it be weird if Sexson walked at a rate four times greater than he struck out for the rest of the season? It's be weird, but he's said they're paying him to take big hacks and mash balls out of the yard, and the strikeouts serve as a secondary indicator to that. He's still swinging at the juicy pitches though.
Goat: JJ Putz.
Far from dyn-o-miiiiite. He didn't turn the entire game over or anything like that, but he's still pitching like he's shaken from the grand slams he was giving up against Boston and New York, Those occurred quite a while ago, but I still don't feel one-fourth as good with Putz out there right now as I did last year. They say he's got closer stuff, but I'm VERY glad Eddie Guardado is healthy right now or else this season imaginably could be worse than last year if Putz had been closing. As for the "closer mentality," they say you have to have a short memory, but I just referred to those grand slams. He might be able to forget that when he's out there on the mound, but he sure isn't pitching like it. All in all, let's hope that JJ gets his confidence back after the All-Star break.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 62-24 .721 -- L1
2003 55-31 .640 7 W1
2002 54-32 .628 8 L1
2000 51-35 .593 11 W2
2005 38-48 .442 24 W3
2004 32-54 .372 30 L9
For the second game in a row, the Mariners set a season high for how far ahead of the 2004 Mariners' pace they are. Right now they are a whole six games up on the pace of the hapless Mariner team of last year. However, it helped that the 2004 team lost nine straight going into the break. Those Mariners won game number 87, so the Mariners will have to win today to keep pace. I know this whole fake reverse chase thing is dumb, but I just want to make sure this team can get further and further away from last year's team. We just want some improvement, that's all.
How about that big inning? Rather than with Randy Winn's grand slam the night before, the Mariners were able to scratch out a run and then keep piling on. I'm not sure which method between the snowball effect or a grand slam is more demoralizing to the opponents' fans. You'd figure from being a Mariner fan for so long that I'd know the answer to a question like that, but unfortunately, that's not the case.
As for Franklin's start, it was completely serviceable. I'll take that start every time he goes out there, except maybe for the three walks, Walks are evil. That aside, he got into the seventh even though I thought he was going to lose it in the 4th when he walked Garret Anderson on four pitches to lead off the inning, and the next hitter singled. Two guys were on and nobody were out, but Franklin was able to wriggle out of the jam. If not for a couple crazy at-bats with a billion foul balls early in the game, I could very well be talking about an eight-inning start by Franklin. Either way, Franklin and the Mariner pitching staff hung up another zero for Vladimir Guerrero in the hits column of the boxscore. That's always good. He can impale against any team not named the Mariners, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Well, after losing the series in Kansas City, the Mariners have taken the first three of a four-game road series against the Angels. Ain't baseball weird?
Meche. Santana. Today.
In 25 words or less: Ryan Franklin's offense was introduced to a new and welcome friend. It's name? The big inning.
This one featured Ryan Franklin going up against John Lackey. The night before, the Mariners had a record that was a season-high five games better than the pace of the 2004 Mariners. Could they make it six?
TOP 1ST
Grade: C
The two-out stuff wasn't clicking early. Ichiro chopped one high beside the mound, where Lackey picked it up and threw to first. Randy Winn, fresh off the grand slam the night before, looped a fly ball toward shallow leftfield. Maicer Izturis kept backpedaling and eventually caught the ball going backward, falling down afterward. Raul Ibañez ripped a single past the mound and into centerfield. Richie Sexson fouled back a 3-1 pitch before walking on a full count. Adrian Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: A-
Franklin had to work. Chine Figgins flew out to centerfield. Darin Erstad worked a 1-2 count full, fouling off a lot of pitches before flying out near the track in centerfield. Vladimir Guerrero was jammed on his second pitch, flying out to center.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C-
A disturbing trend was gaining some steam. Jeremy Reed whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball. Willie Bloomquist got behind 0-2 and whiffed at a 1-2 breaking ball low and away. Mike Morse whiffed on a full-count pitch over the outside corner. Lackey had struck out the side.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
No damage would be inflicted. Garret Anderson grounded the first pitch to first. Juan Rivera flew out to leftfield on an 0-2 pitch. Maicer Izturis bounced a single up the middle. Jeff DaVanon got ahead 2-0, and later bounced out to first on a full count.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
Lackey was feeling it. Miguel Olivo whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball outside. Ichiro whiffed on a fastball, and Lackey had struck out six straight hitters. Winn returned everyone to normal sanity, working a 1-2 count full and fouling off a few pitches before grounding out to second, and therefore making contact.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C+
The Angels would get the lead. Jose Molina worked Franklin for a very long at-bat, working a 1-2 count full and fouling off five pitches along the way before nubbing a ball that died near the plate. Franklin had to field and throw very quickly, but had absolutely no play, and it went for a single. Adam Kennedy flew out high to centerfield. Figgins poked a double down the leftfield line and toward the corner, sending Molina to third. Erstad grounded to short, and Morse had no play on Molina going plateward, and the Angels led.
»» ANGELS 1, MARINERS 0
Guerrero flew out high to Reed in leftcenter.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C-
Every hitter faced a 1-2 count and made a play on a 2-2 pitch. Ibañez flew out to left. Sexson bounced one through the hole at short for a single. Beltre hit a laser of a grounder, but right to Figgins at third, who went around the horn for the double play.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
Franklin looked like he might unravel, but plays happened behind him. Anderson walked on four pitches. Rivera fell behind 0-2, and later looped a 2-2 pitch into centerfield. Izturis grounded a ball to second, and Bloomquist tagged Rivera on the basepath, then took a little time throwing to first but still got Izturis for the 4-3 double play. Anderson scooted to third. DaVanon fell behind 0-2 and later hit a very high fly ball to Ichiro, who had a beat on the ball as it drifted further and further back. Ichiro stumbled backward a but in front of the warning track, but thankfully held onto the ball.
TOP 5TH
Grade: A
It snowballed. Reed grounded the first pitch hard to Figgins at third, who made a diving stop and threw him out. Bloomquist dinked a 2-0 pitch into leftcenter for a single. Bloomquist stole second, just under the tag, on the first pitch to Morse. Morse smoked a single into leftfield on the next pitch, and though Rivera had the ball as Bloomquist was just rounding third, Bloomquist barreled home anyway, and just moved wide of the tag, tying the game.
»» ANGELS 1, MARINERS 1
Olivo grounded into what ended up to be a 6-5-4 fielder's choice when Morse let the ground ball go in front of him, but kept going toward third. He was hung up and tagged. Ichiro singled through the hole on the right side, moving Olivo to third. Winn ripped the first pitch and almost drilled Lackey, and the ball traveled into centerfield. Olivo scored, Ichiro went to second, and the Mariners somehow found themselves in the lead again.
»» MARINERS 2, ANGELS 1
Ibañez got behind 0-2 and had a great at-bat, working the count full before dropping one into the gap in leftcenter. Ichiro scored and the Mariners doubled their newfound lead.
»» MARINERS 3, ANGELS 1
Sexson took a 1-2 pitch barely inside. He then ripped the next pitch to the wall in the gap in rightcenter. Winn and Ibañez crossed the plate. This was crazy.
»» MARINERS 5, ANGELS 1
Beltre grounded the first pitch to short to end the inning.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
Franklin would sort of move along. Molina fell behind 0-2, eventually flying out to Morse in leftcenter. Kennedy whiffed on a 1-2 pitch low and away. Figgins fell behind 0-2 and blooped the next pitch into leftcenter for a single. Erstad got a 1-2 dirtball, and Figgins stole second. Erstad grounded out to short on the next pitch.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
This one was amazingly quick. Reed grounded to Figgins deep in the hole on the left side, but he had no play, and it went for a single. Reed broke for second on the first pitch to Bloomquist, but was gunned down by a mile and by a perfect throw from Molina. Bloomquist flew out to right two pitches later. Morse flew out to right on the first pitch. Five pitches, three outs. Quick.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: A-
Franklin showed some strikeout prowess. Guerrero flew out to rightfield on the second pitch. Anderson whiffed on an 0-2 breaking dirtball. Rivera got ahead 2-0 but whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball.
TOP 7TH
Grade: C-
The Mariners looked to be done scoring. Olivo broke his bat on a lineout to the pitcher. Ichiro grounded out hard to first. Winn was caught looking on a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner.
Lackey's line: 7 innings, 5 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, 114 pitches (74 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B-
Franklin wouldn't survive the inning. Izturis fouled off a 3-1 pitch before taking ball four inside. The first pitch to DaVanon was a dirtball, and Izturis skittered to second. Franklin battled back from a 3-0 count to make it full before walking him on a pitch up and out. Curtis Pride came on to pinch hit, and he grounded to Sexson, who threw to second (Morse) to get the forceout, and Izturis scooted to third.
Ron Villone came in for Franklin. Kennedy fell behind 0-2, but would ground a single past Sexson on the right side, and Izturis scored to make it much more interesting.
»» MARINERS 5, ANGELS 2
Figgins grounded the 2-0 pitch to Beltre, who tagged Pride and threw in time to first for the very key 5-3 inning-ending double play.
Franklin's line: 6 1/3 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 112 pitches (70 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C
Brendan Donnelly, fresh off his suspension, came in for Lackey. Ibañez fell behind 0-2, but later slapped a double down the leftfield line. Sexson took a 1-2 pitch that looked inside for strike three. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 fastball that he thought was inside for strike three. Reed fouled off an 0-2 pitch before whiffing at a 1-2 pitch low and away. Donnelly had struck out the side.
Donnelly's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 17 pitches (13 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A-
'Twas a decent inning of relief. Erstad hit a soft liner to second. Guerrero flew out high to Bloomquist in shallow right. Anderson got ahead 2-0, but took the 2-2 offering over the outside corner.
Villone's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (11 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B
Esteban Yan came in for Donnelly. Bloomquist drilled an 0-2 single into centerfield. Bloomquist took second on the 3-0 pitch to Morse, who walked a pitch later anyway. Olivo bunted high into the air on the first pitch. The trouble was, Donnelly went back for it, and it went behind him. Multiple people were going for the ball, but when someone finally got a hold of the ball, no one was left to cover any of the appropriate bases. Olivo got a single out of that. Ichiro flew out to the track in rightfield on an 0-2 pitch, and Bloomquist came across the plate.
»» MARINERS 6, ANGELS 2
Winn fouled off an 0-2 pitch before grounding to Donnelly just off the mound, and he threw home, where Morse was tagged out. Ibañez hit a high pop to Izturis in shallow leftfield.
Yan's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 24 pitches (18 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: B-
JJ Putz came in for Villone. Rivera mashed a pitch into the first row in centerfield.
»» MARINERS 6, ANGELS 3
Izturis grounded out to short. DaVanon fouled off a few pitches before flying out to left. Bengie Molina fell behind 0-2, and hit a low liner to Bloomquist. Ballgame.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 15 pitches (12 strikes)
---
Gameball: Richie Sexson.
He didn't record a strikeout in the series until he was called out on a pitch that looked inside. He went 2-for-3 in this game with the walk and strikeout. He hit the big two-run double in the fifth. He's 5-for-9 with four walks and one strikeout in the series. Wouldn't it be weird if Sexson walked at a rate four times greater than he struck out for the rest of the season? It's be weird, but he's said they're paying him to take big hacks and mash balls out of the yard, and the strikeouts serve as a secondary indicator to that. He's still swinging at the juicy pitches though.
Goat: JJ Putz.
Far from dyn-o-miiiiite. He didn't turn the entire game over or anything like that, but he's still pitching like he's shaken from the grand slams he was giving up against Boston and New York, Those occurred quite a while ago, but I still don't feel one-fourth as good with Putz out there right now as I did last year. They say he's got closer stuff, but I'm VERY glad Eddie Guardado is healthy right now or else this season imaginably could be worse than last year if Putz had been closing. As for the "closer mentality," they say you have to have a short memory, but I just referred to those grand slams. He might be able to forget that when he's out there on the mound, but he sure isn't pitching like it. All in all, let's hope that JJ gets his confidence back after the All-Star break.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 62-24 .721 -- L1
2003 55-31 .640 7 W1
2002 54-32 .628 8 L1
2000 51-35 .593 11 W2
2005 38-48 .442 24 W3
2004 32-54 .372 30 L9
For the second game in a row, the Mariners set a season high for how far ahead of the 2004 Mariners' pace they are. Right now they are a whole six games up on the pace of the hapless Mariner team of last year. However, it helped that the 2004 team lost nine straight going into the break. Those Mariners won game number 87, so the Mariners will have to win today to keep pace. I know this whole fake reverse chase thing is dumb, but I just want to make sure this team can get further and further away from last year's team. We just want some improvement, that's all.
How about that big inning? Rather than with Randy Winn's grand slam the night before, the Mariners were able to scratch out a run and then keep piling on. I'm not sure which method between the snowball effect or a grand slam is more demoralizing to the opponents' fans. You'd figure from being a Mariner fan for so long that I'd know the answer to a question like that, but unfortunately, that's not the case.
As for Franklin's start, it was completely serviceable. I'll take that start every time he goes out there, except maybe for the three walks, Walks are evil. That aside, he got into the seventh even though I thought he was going to lose it in the 4th when he walked Garret Anderson on four pitches to lead off the inning, and the next hitter singled. Two guys were on and nobody were out, but Franklin was able to wriggle out of the jam. If not for a couple crazy at-bats with a billion foul balls early in the game, I could very well be talking about an eight-inning start by Franklin. Either way, Franklin and the Mariner pitching staff hung up another zero for Vladimir Guerrero in the hits column of the boxscore. That's always good. He can impale against any team not named the Mariners, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Well, after losing the series in Kansas City, the Mariners have taken the first three of a four-game road series against the Angels. Ain't baseball weird?
Meche. Santana. Today.
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