<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Friday, July 15, 2005

GAME 88: ORIOLES 5, MARINERS 3 

Orioles 5, Mariners 3
AP photo -- Elaine Thompson

In 25 words or less: If you have one good offensive inning out of nine, your chances of winning are pretty slim.

This one featured flamethrower Daniel Cabrera against Aaron Sele. Rafael Palmeiro sat on 2998 career hits going into the game, aiming for 3000. Of course, it seems like Palmeiro has had 3000 career hits against the Mariners alone, but apparently that's not the case.

TOP 1ST
Grade: B
Not a bad journey out of the gate. Brian Roberts bounced out to short. Sammy Sosa flew out to Ichiro in rightcenter at the wall. Melvin Mora placed a bunt perfectly along the third-base line, and Adrian Beltre's throw was late, though he didn't have much chance to begin with. Miguel Tejada popped out to shallow center.

BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Not much of a start here for the offense. Ichiro chopped out to short. Randy Winn grounded an 0-2 pitch hard to first. Raul Ibañez flew out near the track in leftfield.

TOP 2ND
Grade: A
Sele had a better inning. Rafael Palmeiro grounded out to Richie Sexson at first, who underhanded to Sele for the putout. Jay Gibbons popped a high foul to Beltre. Luis Matos whiffed on a 1-2 inside pitch.

BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: A
The Mariners looked like they'd carreid over some of the magic from the series against the Angels. Richie Sexson took a 1-2 pitch over the outside half of the plate. Adrian Beltre lined a 2-0 pitch into centerfield for a single. Jeremy Reed took an 0-2 pitch in the ribs, the pitch after he'd shaken off a possible mound meeting between him and catcher Sal Fasano. Willie Bloomquist blooped the first pitch into centerfield to score Beltre. The throw to third base by rightfielder Jay Gibbons went wide and into foul territory, and Reed scored as well. While the Orioles were in pursuit of the ball, no one was covering third base, and Bloomquist ended the play on third base.
»» MARINERS 2, ORIOLES 0
Jose Lopez whiffed at a 1-0 pitch, and apparently he hadn't fouled it off, and the ball bounced through and went to the backstop, scoring Bloomquist from third.
»» MARINERS 3, ORIOLES 0
Lopez hit a grounder to Tejada, who bobbled the ball a bit, and Lopez wound up safe at first on the error. Pat Borders whiffed at a slider outside. Ichiro chopped one to first.

TOP 3RD
Grade: B
Sele walked the tightrope a bit more. Larry Bigbie ripped a 2-0 pitch to leftfield for a single. Sal Fasano hit the first pitch for a shallow fly to Ichiro. Roberts hit a seeing-eye single to rightfield, sending Bigbie to third. Sosa fouled off a few two-strike pitches before whiffing on a full-count inside pitch. Mora got ahead 2-0, but ended up flying out to shallow centerfield.

BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
The Mariners were unfortunately done for the night. Winn bounced out to second. Ibañez got ahead 2-0, but flew out high to short. Sexson fouled off a 2-0 pitch before flying out to shallow center.

TOP 4TH
Grade: C+
Sele faltered a bit. Tejada flew out to center. Palmeiro singled down the rightfield line, good for career hit #2999. Gibbons homered on his second pitch, reaching the rightfield foul pole.
»» MARINERS 3, ORIOLES 2
Matos foul-tipped a 1-2 pitch into Borders' glove for a strikeout. Bigbie grounded out to second.

BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
The Mariner bats had become stagnant. Beltre got behind 0-2, eventually whiffing on a slider low and away. Reed rolled one to third. Bloomquist took a full-count strike.

TOP 5TH
Grade: C
Sele blew the lead. Fasano homered to rightcenter on the first pitch of the inning as the ball just kept carrying over the fence.
»» ORIOLES 3, MARINERS 3
Roberts flew out near the track in center. Sosa whiffed on a full-count curve. Mora got behind 0-2, but took the 2-2 delivery off his left bicep. Tejada flew out to Ichiro on the first pitch.

BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: D+
This one was freakin' quick. Lopez flew out to left on the first pitch. Borders bounced the first pitch up the middle, but Roberts plugged up the hole and got Borders on an off-balance throw. Ichiro grounded the second pitch to third. Yes, that's three outs on four pitches.

TOP 6TH
Grade: C
There went the game. Palmeiro got the hitters' counts, but bounced the 3-1 pitch to Sexson, who underhanded to Sele for the out. It didn't help that Palmeiro stumbled out of the box and had to plant his hands to keep from falling. Gibbons got ahead 3-0 and ripped the 3-1 pitch up the middle for a single. Matos took a full-count pitch low and away for a walk. The first pitch to Bigbie was bounced in front of the plate and got away from Borders, and the runners advanced. Two pitches later, Bigbie flew out to Winn in leftcenter near the track, more than sufficient (and to the right guy) to bring home Gibbons and give the Orioles the lead.
»» ORIOLES 4, MARINERS 3
Matos flew out to shallow right.

Sele's line: 6 innings, 4 runs, 7 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 92 pitches (55 strikes)

BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: D+
More frustration. Winn took a four-pitch walk. Ibañez was jammed and fisted a flyout to Tejada in shallow leftfield. Sexson grounded the second pitch to Mora at third, who rolled up the 5-4-3 double play. That's a killer.

TOP 7TH
Grade: A
Julio Mateo came in for Sele. Roberts flew out to center. Sosa got ahead 2-0, but whiffed on a 2-2 pitch up and in for the hat trick. Mora flew out to left.

BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C-
The bats once again responded with nothing. Beltre got ahead 2-0, but ended up chopping out to third. Reed flew out to Roberts in shallow centerfield. Bloomquist lined out to short on the first pitch.

TOP 8TH
Grade: B
No history here. Tejada popped out foul to Sexson. Palmeiro was behind 1-2, but worked Mateo for a walk as the fans at the Safe booed at the latter, which I can't say elicited any pride in me. Mateo's been doing great all year, and had only walked one guy. I didn't hear JJ Putz drawing the ire of the crowd in the 9th (coming soon). Gibbons foueld off an 0-2 pitch, and later flew out high and foul to Borders. Matos flew out to left on the first pitch.

Mateo's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 30 pitches (17 strikes)

BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
The first last gap wasn't a good one. Lopez fouled off a few two-strike pitches before whiffing badly on a breaking ball low and away. Scott Spiezio came on to pinch-hit, and got ahead 3-0 before taking a full-count breaking ball for strike three. Ichiro flew out to left on the first pitch.

Cabrera's line: 8 innings, 3 runs (2 earned), 2 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 97 pitches (72 strikes)

TOP 9TH
Grade: D
JJ Putz came in for Mateo. Miguel Olivo also came in to catch. Bigbie grounded a ball up the middle to short, and Bloomquist's throw bounced wide of Sexson and into foul territory (E6), allowing Bigbie to skitter to second. Fasano worked a 1-2 count full before taking ball four low and outside. Roberts bunted the first pitch along the third-base line, and Beltre decided to go for the out at first rather than let the ball roll foul. Sosa flew out to left (Winn) on the first pitch, easily allowing Bigbie to score the insurance run.
»» ORIOLES 5, MARINERS 3
Mora worked an 0-2 count for a walk. Really, he did. This is JJ Putz we're talking about here, remember. Tejada fouled off an 0-2 pitch, and chopped the next one to Putz.

Putz' line: 1 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 22 pitches (12 strikes)

BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: D+
BJ Ryan came in for Cabrera. Winn got ahead 2-0, but took the 2-2 pitch looking over the outside corner. Ibañez whiffed through a 2-2 fastball. Sexson whiffed through a 1-2 pitch, which apparently he thought was foul, but was tagged by Fasano to end the game. Ballgame. It didn't feel like it was Seattle's game anyway. Oh yeah, Ryan had struck out the side.

Ryan's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 16 pitches (12 strikes)
---

Gameball: Julio Mateo.
The reason I didn't like the walk to Rafael Palmeiro is because it was a walk in the eighth inning of a one-run game, not because it was a walk to someone trying to get his 3000th hit. I've got your back, Julio. Palmeiro was Mateo's only baserunner through two innings of no-hit ball. Julio Mateo, you are the shiz-nite.

Goat: Richie Sexson.
I hate to pick on him especially after how well he did in the series against the Angels, but that double-play ball to end the sixth was an absolute killer. The Mariners were down by one run at that point with one out, and Randy Winn had drawn a four-pitch leadoff walk. Right about then is supposed to be when the Mariners or any team take advantage of the mental feebleness that one would expect out of a youngster like Daniel Cabrera. It was not to be. Sexson didn't help matters. So, to recap, Sexson hit the one double-play ball, struck out twice, and flew out. He's going to have days like this, and he'd probably earned the right to have one after he went something like 6-for-12 with 6 walks in the series against the Angels before the break.


Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 64-24 .727 -- W2
2003 56-32 .636 8 W1
2002 55-33 .625 9 W1
2000 52-36 .591 12 W1
2005 39-49 .443 25 L1
2004 33-55 .375 31 L1


Yes, fans, these Mariners remain six games better than the pace of the tattered crew from a year ago. Does it seem like they're 13 games worse than the 2000 team? Sixteen worse than the 2002 team? Seventeen worse than the 2003 team? Twenty-five worse than the 2001 team? Well...yes, yes, yes, and yes. I still tell myself that they seem way better than six games above the 2004 skeleton crew, though.

Did Daniel Cabrera handle the Mariners or what? Holy hell. Still, I won't say the Mariners' strategy was purely hacktastic, though that four-pitch fifth inning was a little unnerving, considering Cabrera's a youngun that can lose it a bit mentally and then try to throw the ball instead of pitch it, therefore losing control and everything. Of course, if you start swinging at the first pitch or early in the count for a prolonged length of time, you're also not giving a guy like Cabrera enough chances to mess up. It's different against a Tim Hudson or a Carlos Silva (though it doesn't have to happen against a Cliff Lee), but Daniel Cabrera's a mental newbie when it comes to Major League pitching and hitters and the like. For some reason, I just thought of Freddy Garcia, but I don't want to take that thought much further.

So, let's see how the lineup did in this game. Seven of the starters went hitless. Four of them were hitters 1-4 in the lineup. I don't have to tell you that won't cut it. The only baserunner out of those first four hitters was Randy Winn, who drew the four-pitch walk to lead off the sixth which should have been part of the rally to tie the game at 4-4. Of course, the Mariner bats had decided to pitch a tent in the third inning and call it a night. Worse yet, Winn's aforementioned walk was the only baserunner the Mariners had after the second inning. Yes, Cabrera and BJ Ryan (the ninth) sliced through this Mariner lineup like a blazingly hot knife through butter, or something like that.

The main blame for this one's going on the bats. Aaron Sele had a half-decent outing, and definitely not one that totally put the game out of reach for the Mariners or anything. If you give up four runs as a starter, I'd have to say (speaking obviously from my mind and not from statistical evidence) that you've got a pretty good chance to win, though there's still a decent chance to lose as well. Sele gave up four runs in this game and lost. That'll happen. Of course, if your offense manages one good inning and then only gets one baserunner and no hits for the rest of the game, your hands are pretty much tied unless you almost match the other guy pitch-for-pitch. That said, Sele's wild pitch (or Borders' mis-block) to Larry Bigbie with two on in the 6th was horribly inopportune, and that enabled the go-ahead run to come home on a sacrifice fly. Though you could argue the case that Sele could have gotten through the inning unscathed, it still would have been a tie game and the offense probably still wouldn't have been able to do anything.

Oh man, three more games in this series with Baltimore? Crap. I'm not too hopeful. I'm not too hopeful about the subsequent road trip to the Rogers Centre (fmr. SkyDome) either. What I should do next Thursday is play hooky -- stay home and watch that early game...which, if televised on MLB.tv, would start at 6:37am Hawaiian time for me. Nine-inning breakfast, baby! But yeah, me staying home is not likely. Also, if it's that early a start, I bet it's a DiamondVision in-ballpark game. Not fun. The scoreboards in the gaps of the fences in Toronto creep me out, by the way.

Lopez. Piñeiro. Tonight.

/ Click for main page

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Click for Sports and B's 

home page