Sunday, July 17, 2005
GAME 91: MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 2
Mariners 8, Orioles 2
In 25 words or less: It took a while for somebody to pull a Meche, only it wasn't Gil Meche. After that, there was no looking back.
This one featured Sir Sidney Ponson of Aruba going up against Gil Meche. The Mariners were hoping to salvage a split in the first series after the All-Star break. Gil Meche, as we know, isn't the most consistent starting pitcher.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B+
It started out okay. Brian Roberts got ahead 2-0, but ended up bouncing out to first. Larry Bigbie fouled off an 0-2 pitch before grounding out to second. Melvin Mora grounded a ball down the third-base line where Adrian Beltre gloved it, but it was a long throw across and wasn't in time. Miguel Tejada flew out high to centerfield.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C+
The Mariners wouldn't jump on Ponson like they did with Bruce Chen the night before. Ichiro lined out to center on a 2-0 pitch. Randy Winn singled into leftcenter. Raul Ibañez grounded a ball under a diving BJ Surhoff at first, but it was gloved by a diving Roberts in the hole, and Surhoff got up, went to first, and received the throw in time. Richie Sexson whiffed at a 2-0 pitch, then bounced out to short on 3-1.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C
Not again. Rafael Palmeiro golfed the second pitch of the inning just over the wall in rightfield. Uh-oh.
»» ORIOLES 1, MARINERS 0
BJ Surhoff grounded out to second. Jay Gibbons grounded a ball to a diving Jose Lopez, who tried to throw to second, but it was a bit low and got by Sexson. It went as a single. Luis Matos got behind 0-2 and would fly out to rightfield. Sal Fasano flew out high to Lopez on the outfield grass.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
Sleepy bats. Adrian Beltre flew out high to leftfield on an 0-2 pitch. Jeremy Reed got ahead 3-0 and took the 3-1 pitch way outside for a walk. Mike Morse got behind 0-2 and ended up grounding a ball to second, which started an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B-
This could have been a lot worse. Roberts bounced a single up the middle. Bigbie grounded a ball to Beltre, who threw low from his knee to second, and Lopez dug the throw and completed the 5-4-3 double play. Not helping matters, Meche walked Mora on four pitches. Tejada smoked a single to leftfield, and Mora moved to second. Palmeiro whiffed on a 3-1 pitch, and took a full-count waist-high pitch over the outside corner for strike three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Again, not a lot. Jose Lopez flew out to Tejada in shallow leftfield. Miguel Olivo fouled off a 2-0 pitch, and later flew out to shallow centerfield. Ichiro flew out near the leftfield line on the first pitch.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B-
Meche was walking the tightrope. Surhoff worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Gibbons got behind 0-2, and later bounced a ball to Sexson, who stepped on the bag for the out as Surhoff made his way to Sexson. Matos grounded out to second on the first pitch, and Surhoff moved to third. Fasano flew out high to Reed in leftcenter.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
The Mariner bats had been nothing short of boring. Winn grounded out to first. Ibañez foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into the catcher's glove. Sexson grounded out hard to third.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
Again, Meche was cutting it close. Roberts worked an 0-2 count for a walk (really). The second pitch to Bigbie got away from Olivo (wild pitch), and Roberts went to second. Bigbie ended up flying out to left. Mora hit a fly to center, but Reed came in and made a great diving catch. Tejada bounced out to second.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C
They might have had a chance to get on the board. Beltre grounded the first pitch to Surhoff, who underhanded to Ponson for the out. Reed hit a ball to the track in rightcenter, where Gibbons didn't reach out far enough for the ball, and probably would have had it. Instead, the ball bounces into the stands, and Reed gets credit for the double. Morse flew out to centerfield. The first pitch to Lopez ate dirt and got away from Fasano, allowing Reed to move to third. Lopez whiffed on a 2-2 pitch outside.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B
Meche still was playing with a degree of fire. Palmeiro got ahead 2-0 and walked on a full count. Surhoff grounded the second pitch to the right side, where Sexson made a diving stop, tagged the bag with his glove, then threw to second, where Morse laid the tag down on Palmeiro's foot for the 3-6 double play. Gibbons flew out to left.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: A
It's nice to see it happen to the other guy for once. Olivo tagged a 1-1 pitch foul down the leftfield line. On 2-2, he looped a single into leftcenter. Olivo broke for second on the first pitch to Ichiro, and Fasano threw the ball into centerfield, though Tejada was also late to cover. As a result of the throw, Olivo took third. Ichiro flew out to center on the second pitch, and it was deep enough for Olivo to score and tie the game.
»» ORIOLES 1, MARINERS 1
Winn was beaned somewhere around his right hip (probably his jersey) and took his base. Ibañez took a four-pitch walk, and pitching coach Ray Miller visited the mound. Sexson singled up the middle, and Winn easily scored. Ibañez attempted to go from first to third on the play, and drew a throw from Matos in centerfield. He beat it, and Sexson alertly broke for second and beat the subsequent throw as well.
»» MARINERS 2, ORIOLES 1
Beltre was intentionally walked. Reed fouled off an 0-2 pitch before whiffing on a ball up and outside. Morse hit a soft bloop single into rightcenter, and both Ibañez and Sexson scored.
»» MARINERS 4, ORIOLES 1
Lopez doubled down the leftfield line past a diving Mora. Beltre crossed the plate.
»» MARINERS 5, ORIOLES 1
Todd Williams (former Mariner) came in for Ponson. Olivo, up for the second time in the inning, grounded out to short.
Ponson's line: 5 2/3 innings, 5 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 88 pitches (56 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: B-
Meche would finish up. Matos flew out to Morse on the outfield grass. Fasano bounced out to third on a 2-0 pitch.
Matt Thornton came in for Meche. Roberts got ahead 3-0 and took the 3-1 delivery up and in for a walk. Thankfully, Bigbie whiffed on 1-2 pitch up and away.
Meche's line: 6 2/3 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 4 walks, 1 strikeout, 101 pitches (60 strikes)
Thornton's line: 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 9 pitches (4 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B+
Add-on! Ichiro worked a 1-2 count full before grounding out to third. Winn dribbled the first pitch between the mound and first, and Williams dove for the ball and took out a divot on the grass, but couldn't shovel over to first (single for Winn). Ibañez stung the first pitch through Tejada's legs at short (error), and Winn moved to third. Sexson flew out near the track in rightfield, and Winn scored easily from third.
»» MARINERS 6, ORIOLES 1
Beltre got behind 0-2 and checkswung on a 2-2 pitch, or so he thought. The ball got past Fasano, and Beltre ran after the umpire finally signaled that he'd swung. He got to first safely, and Ibañez moved to second.
Steve Kline came in for Williams. Reed dropped a 2-0 pitch into rightfield for a single to score Ibañez and move Beltre to third.
»» MARINERS 7, ORIOLES 1
Morse worked an 0-2 count for a walk, which is always a good at-bat when it goes your way. Lopez grounded out to third on an 0-2 pitch.
Williams' line: 1 inning, 2 runs (unearned), 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (11 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: B-
Jeff Nelson came in for Thornton. Mora tagged a 2-0 pitch down the leftfield line for a double. Tejada tapped the ball in front of the mound, and Nelson hesitated a bit, and barely got Tejada out at first.
Ron Villone came in for Nelson. Palmeiro whiffed on a very high 1-2 pitch. Surhoff worked a 1-2 count full and singled hard through the left side, too hard to score Mora from second, so he held at third. Gibbons fouled off an 0-2 pitch and would fly out near the wall in rightfield.
Nelson's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (3 strikes)
Villone's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (11 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B
Then the improbable happened. Olivo hit a 1-0 pitch just over the wall into the left side of the Mariners' bullpen in leftcenter.
»» MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 1
Ichiro worked an 0-2 count full, then chopped a ball to new shortstop Chris Gomez, who double-clutched and therefore didn't have a chance to throw Ichiro out at first (single). Winn grounded a ball to third, and Mora tried to turn the double play, but the Orioles only got the out at second for a 5-4 fielder's choice. Ibañez grounded hard to first, and Surhoff tried to turn the double play. Winn was out at second, but Gomez bounced his throw into the dugout (error), and Ibañez went to second. Scott Spiezio came in to hit for Sexson, and flew out high on the infield to Surhoff, who made a completely unnecessary basket catch. That or the sun was horrific.
Kline's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 30 pitches (17 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B-
Eddie Guardado came in for Nelson to get some much-needed work. Matos flew out to rightfield on the first pitch. Fasano lined an 0-2 pitch off the tip of a jumping Morse's glove and into leftfield for a single. Roberts got behind 0-2 and hit a fly ball on 1-2 that went toward leftcenter. Winn appeared to camp under it and slowly drift, but he reached to his left and didn't catch it as it came down. Roberts coasted into second with the double, and Fasano went to third. Eli Marrero came in to pinch-hit for Bigbie. He flew out to Reed in rightcenter, and Fasano scored. Reed's throw to third held Roberts at second.
»» MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 2
Mora fouled off a 2-0 pitch. On the next pitch, he flew out high to shallow rightfield. There was some minor confusion between Lopez and Ichiro as to who would catch the ball, but Lopez backed away at the last second and Ichiro made the catch. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 16 pitches (12 strikes)
---
Gameball: Randy Winn.
I want this guy to get the ol' average back up near .300 again. He'd cooled off quite a bit lately, taking the average from near .300, and after this 2-for-4 day, he's sitting at .268. As you might suspect, I'm letting the weird fly ball double by Brian Roberts slide. Winn scored two of the Mariners' runs and got aboard via singles in the first and seventh as well as a beanball in the sixth and a fielder's choice in the eighth. When Ichiro's not getting aboard as much as everyone would like him to, someone's gotta pick up the slack a bit. Randy Winn getting two hits helps the cause. It also gives the meat of the order something to drive in. Richie Sexson tacked on a couple of RBIs today, and the runner driven in both times was Randy Winn, in the sixth and seventh. Somebody's got to set the table, and if Ichiro's not doing it, it's good to know that someone else did. Hoorah to Randy Winn.
Goat: Adrian Beltre.
He was intentionally walked and scored off of it. He reached base in the seventh on the strikeout pitch that got away from Sal Fasano behind the plate. He and Raul Ibañez were the only Mariner starters without hits. This isn't an infuriating goat today or anything, it's just that it has to be somebody. The usual sources of Jose Lopez and definitely Miguel Olivo decided to actually do something today, so I can't go to the ol' trustee goat paragraph for those guys, and Gil Meche didn't lose his mind on the mound. It's a tough go for the goat today, but it has to be somebody. Meanwhile, Ibañez has a weird line, scoring twice despite going 0-for-4. He walked and came around, and later got aboard on a fielder's choice and came around to score. As for Beltre, no grind-it-out at-bats today, but oh well. Maybe he'll light it up in Toronto.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 66-25 .725 -- W2
2002 57-34 .626 9 L1
2003 57-34 .626 9 W1
2000 53-38 .582 13 L1
2005 41-50 .451 25 W2
2004 35-56 .385 31 W2
In a totally random note, the White Sox (61-29) right now are only four wins off the pace of the 2001 Mariners (65-25). I'm not kidding you.
The Mariners of 2005 have mirrored the win-loss sequence of the Mariners of 2004 for the last five games. Hence, they still maintain a pace six games better than their horrendous predecessors. At this point last year, the Mariners were busy reeling off a stretch of four wins in five games. I don't remember it. Apparently there was a stretch in a long homestand where they won four of five from the Red Sox, Indians, and A's. Oh yeah, I was in the sticks in Oregon at this point last year. I drove back home on the same night where Vladimir Guerrero took an inside pitch from Bobby Madritsch a little too seriously. I miss Bobby Madritsch.
Gil Meche had a very weird outing. He had a lot of elements that would usually give way to the big inning, but it never materialized as a whole. In the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, the leadoff batter reached base every time. Rafael Palmeiro homered to lead off the second, and Brian Roberts bounced a single up the middle in the third. The other three innings started with walks, accounting for three of Meche's four walks. The other was a four-pitch walk to Melvin Mora in the third right after the Mariners had turned a double play. Amazingly, Gil Meche took advantage three times of the latter half of Levine's Law. Do I still lament at how Meche can get two strikes on a guy and never seem to strike the guy out, despite his reputation as a power pitcher? Of course. When a supposed strikeout guy walks four and strikes out only one, you gotta wonder about that. Still, for the second straight game, the Mariners' starting pitcher proved to be incredibly slithery. There were jams that Jamie Moyer had no business getting out of last night, and Meche won't get away with walking the leadoff guy as often as he did today. How odd is it that Meche has won for the fifth time in seven starts and I still don't feel safe with him out there?
As for the bats, three Mariners had two hits apiece. Their names are Randy Winn (gameball), Jeremy Reed, and Miguel Olivo. Reed bounced a ball over the fence for a double in the fifth, and he dumped a single into rightfield to score the Mariners' seventh run in the seventh. Olivo started the parade in the sixth with a looper of a single, then homered to lead off the eighth. Usually if you have three Mariners with multi-hit games, you think maybe Ichiro, Ibañez, and Sexson or Winn as the guilty parties. Today, Reed and Olivo are the unlikely contributors, and hitters 6 through 9 in the lineup go 6-for-14 with 5 RBIs and 2 walks.
I nearly fell asleep watching the game around the fourth and fifth inning. With how the games usually have gone this year, I thought the Mariners just might lose it 1-0. Sidney Ponson came in with a horrible opposing batting average, and the numbers didn't catch up to him until the sixth. Then that snowball thing happened. Just for kicks, does anyone else remember the Sidney Ponson Era in San Francisco? Yes, 'twas a distant memory.
Miguel Olivo will be showing on Tuesday's Pump with an average of .156. He's just about to my non-wrestling season high school weight. If he piles on about 15 to 20 points to that, he'll finally be hitting my weight. Of course, if he does that, I'm pretty sure Pat Borders would be seeing less playing time because that'd be a semi-torrid streak for Olivo. You know what they should do with him? They should do the reverse Dan Wilson. Wilson used to be a hockey goalie at one time. They should put a bunch of pads on Olivo and have hockey players fire a bunch of pucks at him at high speeds and see what happens. It couldn't hurt, right?
So it's an off day tomorrow before three at the SkyDome, now known as the Rogers Centre, with the scoreboards on the wall in play that kinda weird me out and stuff. The game times aren't too bad if you're in the Northwest, but if you're over here in Hawaii...let's just say I'll have to wait until MLB.tv archives the games before I can watch them. I'll only be able to see live action if the games on Tuesday and Wednesday go extras. The game times for me are 1:07pm for the first two, and a grandiose 6:37am start on Thursday. Archive city.
Sele. Lilly. Tuesday.
In 25 words or less: It took a while for somebody to pull a Meche, only it wasn't Gil Meche. After that, there was no looking back.
This one featured Sir Sidney Ponson of Aruba going up against Gil Meche. The Mariners were hoping to salvage a split in the first series after the All-Star break. Gil Meche, as we know, isn't the most consistent starting pitcher.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B+
It started out okay. Brian Roberts got ahead 2-0, but ended up bouncing out to first. Larry Bigbie fouled off an 0-2 pitch before grounding out to second. Melvin Mora grounded a ball down the third-base line where Adrian Beltre gloved it, but it was a long throw across and wasn't in time. Miguel Tejada flew out high to centerfield.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C+
The Mariners wouldn't jump on Ponson like they did with Bruce Chen the night before. Ichiro lined out to center on a 2-0 pitch. Randy Winn singled into leftcenter. Raul Ibañez grounded a ball under a diving BJ Surhoff at first, but it was gloved by a diving Roberts in the hole, and Surhoff got up, went to first, and received the throw in time. Richie Sexson whiffed at a 2-0 pitch, then bounced out to short on 3-1.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C
Not again. Rafael Palmeiro golfed the second pitch of the inning just over the wall in rightfield. Uh-oh.
»» ORIOLES 1, MARINERS 0
BJ Surhoff grounded out to second. Jay Gibbons grounded a ball to a diving Jose Lopez, who tried to throw to second, but it was a bit low and got by Sexson. It went as a single. Luis Matos got behind 0-2 and would fly out to rightfield. Sal Fasano flew out high to Lopez on the outfield grass.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
Sleepy bats. Adrian Beltre flew out high to leftfield on an 0-2 pitch. Jeremy Reed got ahead 3-0 and took the 3-1 pitch way outside for a walk. Mike Morse got behind 0-2 and ended up grounding a ball to second, which started an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B-
This could have been a lot worse. Roberts bounced a single up the middle. Bigbie grounded a ball to Beltre, who threw low from his knee to second, and Lopez dug the throw and completed the 5-4-3 double play. Not helping matters, Meche walked Mora on four pitches. Tejada smoked a single to leftfield, and Mora moved to second. Palmeiro whiffed on a 3-1 pitch, and took a full-count waist-high pitch over the outside corner for strike three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Again, not a lot. Jose Lopez flew out to Tejada in shallow leftfield. Miguel Olivo fouled off a 2-0 pitch, and later flew out to shallow centerfield. Ichiro flew out near the leftfield line on the first pitch.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B-
Meche was walking the tightrope. Surhoff worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Gibbons got behind 0-2, and later bounced a ball to Sexson, who stepped on the bag for the out as Surhoff made his way to Sexson. Matos grounded out to second on the first pitch, and Surhoff moved to third. Fasano flew out high to Reed in leftcenter.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
The Mariner bats had been nothing short of boring. Winn grounded out to first. Ibañez foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into the catcher's glove. Sexson grounded out hard to third.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
Again, Meche was cutting it close. Roberts worked an 0-2 count for a walk (really). The second pitch to Bigbie got away from Olivo (wild pitch), and Roberts went to second. Bigbie ended up flying out to left. Mora hit a fly to center, but Reed came in and made a great diving catch. Tejada bounced out to second.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C
They might have had a chance to get on the board. Beltre grounded the first pitch to Surhoff, who underhanded to Ponson for the out. Reed hit a ball to the track in rightcenter, where Gibbons didn't reach out far enough for the ball, and probably would have had it. Instead, the ball bounces into the stands, and Reed gets credit for the double. Morse flew out to centerfield. The first pitch to Lopez ate dirt and got away from Fasano, allowing Reed to move to third. Lopez whiffed on a 2-2 pitch outside.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B
Meche still was playing with a degree of fire. Palmeiro got ahead 2-0 and walked on a full count. Surhoff grounded the second pitch to the right side, where Sexson made a diving stop, tagged the bag with his glove, then threw to second, where Morse laid the tag down on Palmeiro's foot for the 3-6 double play. Gibbons flew out to left.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: A
It's nice to see it happen to the other guy for once. Olivo tagged a 1-1 pitch foul down the leftfield line. On 2-2, he looped a single into leftcenter. Olivo broke for second on the first pitch to Ichiro, and Fasano threw the ball into centerfield, though Tejada was also late to cover. As a result of the throw, Olivo took third. Ichiro flew out to center on the second pitch, and it was deep enough for Olivo to score and tie the game.
»» ORIOLES 1, MARINERS 1
Winn was beaned somewhere around his right hip (probably his jersey) and took his base. Ibañez took a four-pitch walk, and pitching coach Ray Miller visited the mound. Sexson singled up the middle, and Winn easily scored. Ibañez attempted to go from first to third on the play, and drew a throw from Matos in centerfield. He beat it, and Sexson alertly broke for second and beat the subsequent throw as well.
»» MARINERS 2, ORIOLES 1
Beltre was intentionally walked. Reed fouled off an 0-2 pitch before whiffing on a ball up and outside. Morse hit a soft bloop single into rightcenter, and both Ibañez and Sexson scored.
»» MARINERS 4, ORIOLES 1
Lopez doubled down the leftfield line past a diving Mora. Beltre crossed the plate.
»» MARINERS 5, ORIOLES 1
Todd Williams (former Mariner) came in for Ponson. Olivo, up for the second time in the inning, grounded out to short.
Ponson's line: 5 2/3 innings, 5 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 88 pitches (56 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: B-
Meche would finish up. Matos flew out to Morse on the outfield grass. Fasano bounced out to third on a 2-0 pitch.
Matt Thornton came in for Meche. Roberts got ahead 3-0 and took the 3-1 delivery up and in for a walk. Thankfully, Bigbie whiffed on 1-2 pitch up and away.
Meche's line: 6 2/3 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 4 walks, 1 strikeout, 101 pitches (60 strikes)
Thornton's line: 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 9 pitches (4 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B+
Add-on! Ichiro worked a 1-2 count full before grounding out to third. Winn dribbled the first pitch between the mound and first, and Williams dove for the ball and took out a divot on the grass, but couldn't shovel over to first (single for Winn). Ibañez stung the first pitch through Tejada's legs at short (error), and Winn moved to third. Sexson flew out near the track in rightfield, and Winn scored easily from third.
»» MARINERS 6, ORIOLES 1
Beltre got behind 0-2 and checkswung on a 2-2 pitch, or so he thought. The ball got past Fasano, and Beltre ran after the umpire finally signaled that he'd swung. He got to first safely, and Ibañez moved to second.
Steve Kline came in for Williams. Reed dropped a 2-0 pitch into rightfield for a single to score Ibañez and move Beltre to third.
»» MARINERS 7, ORIOLES 1
Morse worked an 0-2 count for a walk, which is always a good at-bat when it goes your way. Lopez grounded out to third on an 0-2 pitch.
Williams' line: 1 inning, 2 runs (unearned), 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (11 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: B-
Jeff Nelson came in for Thornton. Mora tagged a 2-0 pitch down the leftfield line for a double. Tejada tapped the ball in front of the mound, and Nelson hesitated a bit, and barely got Tejada out at first.
Ron Villone came in for Nelson. Palmeiro whiffed on a very high 1-2 pitch. Surhoff worked a 1-2 count full and singled hard through the left side, too hard to score Mora from second, so he held at third. Gibbons fouled off an 0-2 pitch and would fly out near the wall in rightfield.
Nelson's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (3 strikes)
Villone's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (11 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B
Then the improbable happened. Olivo hit a 1-0 pitch just over the wall into the left side of the Mariners' bullpen in leftcenter.
»» MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 1
Ichiro worked an 0-2 count full, then chopped a ball to new shortstop Chris Gomez, who double-clutched and therefore didn't have a chance to throw Ichiro out at first (single). Winn grounded a ball to third, and Mora tried to turn the double play, but the Orioles only got the out at second for a 5-4 fielder's choice. Ibañez grounded hard to first, and Surhoff tried to turn the double play. Winn was out at second, but Gomez bounced his throw into the dugout (error), and Ibañez went to second. Scott Spiezio came in to hit for Sexson, and flew out high on the infield to Surhoff, who made a completely unnecessary basket catch. That or the sun was horrific.
Kline's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 30 pitches (17 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B-
Eddie Guardado came in for Nelson to get some much-needed work. Matos flew out to rightfield on the first pitch. Fasano lined an 0-2 pitch off the tip of a jumping Morse's glove and into leftfield for a single. Roberts got behind 0-2 and hit a fly ball on 1-2 that went toward leftcenter. Winn appeared to camp under it and slowly drift, but he reached to his left and didn't catch it as it came down. Roberts coasted into second with the double, and Fasano went to third. Eli Marrero came in to pinch-hit for Bigbie. He flew out to Reed in rightcenter, and Fasano scored. Reed's throw to third held Roberts at second.
»» MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 2
Mora fouled off a 2-0 pitch. On the next pitch, he flew out high to shallow rightfield. There was some minor confusion between Lopez and Ichiro as to who would catch the ball, but Lopez backed away at the last second and Ichiro made the catch. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 16 pitches (12 strikes)
---
Gameball: Randy Winn.
I want this guy to get the ol' average back up near .300 again. He'd cooled off quite a bit lately, taking the average from near .300, and after this 2-for-4 day, he's sitting at .268. As you might suspect, I'm letting the weird fly ball double by Brian Roberts slide. Winn scored two of the Mariners' runs and got aboard via singles in the first and seventh as well as a beanball in the sixth and a fielder's choice in the eighth. When Ichiro's not getting aboard as much as everyone would like him to, someone's gotta pick up the slack a bit. Randy Winn getting two hits helps the cause. It also gives the meat of the order something to drive in. Richie Sexson tacked on a couple of RBIs today, and the runner driven in both times was Randy Winn, in the sixth and seventh. Somebody's got to set the table, and if Ichiro's not doing it, it's good to know that someone else did. Hoorah to Randy Winn.
Goat: Adrian Beltre.
He was intentionally walked and scored off of it. He reached base in the seventh on the strikeout pitch that got away from Sal Fasano behind the plate. He and Raul Ibañez were the only Mariner starters without hits. This isn't an infuriating goat today or anything, it's just that it has to be somebody. The usual sources of Jose Lopez and definitely Miguel Olivo decided to actually do something today, so I can't go to the ol' trustee goat paragraph for those guys, and Gil Meche didn't lose his mind on the mound. It's a tough go for the goat today, but it has to be somebody. Meanwhile, Ibañez has a weird line, scoring twice despite going 0-for-4. He walked and came around, and later got aboard on a fielder's choice and came around to score. As for Beltre, no grind-it-out at-bats today, but oh well. Maybe he'll light it up in Toronto.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 66-25 .725 -- W2
2002 57-34 .626 9 L1
2003 57-34 .626 9 W1
2000 53-38 .582 13 L1
2005 41-50 .451 25 W2
2004 35-56 .385 31 W2
In a totally random note, the White Sox (61-29) right now are only four wins off the pace of the 2001 Mariners (65-25). I'm not kidding you.
The Mariners of 2005 have mirrored the win-loss sequence of the Mariners of 2004 for the last five games. Hence, they still maintain a pace six games better than their horrendous predecessors. At this point last year, the Mariners were busy reeling off a stretch of four wins in five games. I don't remember it. Apparently there was a stretch in a long homestand where they won four of five from the Red Sox, Indians, and A's. Oh yeah, I was in the sticks in Oregon at this point last year. I drove back home on the same night where Vladimir Guerrero took an inside pitch from Bobby Madritsch a little too seriously. I miss Bobby Madritsch.
Gil Meche had a very weird outing. He had a lot of elements that would usually give way to the big inning, but it never materialized as a whole. In the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, the leadoff batter reached base every time. Rafael Palmeiro homered to lead off the second, and Brian Roberts bounced a single up the middle in the third. The other three innings started with walks, accounting for three of Meche's four walks. The other was a four-pitch walk to Melvin Mora in the third right after the Mariners had turned a double play. Amazingly, Gil Meche took advantage three times of the latter half of Levine's Law. Do I still lament at how Meche can get two strikes on a guy and never seem to strike the guy out, despite his reputation as a power pitcher? Of course. When a supposed strikeout guy walks four and strikes out only one, you gotta wonder about that. Still, for the second straight game, the Mariners' starting pitcher proved to be incredibly slithery. There were jams that Jamie Moyer had no business getting out of last night, and Meche won't get away with walking the leadoff guy as often as he did today. How odd is it that Meche has won for the fifth time in seven starts and I still don't feel safe with him out there?
As for the bats, three Mariners had two hits apiece. Their names are Randy Winn (gameball), Jeremy Reed, and Miguel Olivo. Reed bounced a ball over the fence for a double in the fifth, and he dumped a single into rightfield to score the Mariners' seventh run in the seventh. Olivo started the parade in the sixth with a looper of a single, then homered to lead off the eighth. Usually if you have three Mariners with multi-hit games, you think maybe Ichiro, Ibañez, and Sexson or Winn as the guilty parties. Today, Reed and Olivo are the unlikely contributors, and hitters 6 through 9 in the lineup go 6-for-14 with 5 RBIs and 2 walks.
I nearly fell asleep watching the game around the fourth and fifth inning. With how the games usually have gone this year, I thought the Mariners just might lose it 1-0. Sidney Ponson came in with a horrible opposing batting average, and the numbers didn't catch up to him until the sixth. Then that snowball thing happened. Just for kicks, does anyone else remember the Sidney Ponson Era in San Francisco? Yes, 'twas a distant memory.
Miguel Olivo will be showing on Tuesday's Pump with an average of .156. He's just about to my non-wrestling season high school weight. If he piles on about 15 to 20 points to that, he'll finally be hitting my weight. Of course, if he does that, I'm pretty sure Pat Borders would be seeing less playing time because that'd be a semi-torrid streak for Olivo. You know what they should do with him? They should do the reverse Dan Wilson. Wilson used to be a hockey goalie at one time. They should put a bunch of pads on Olivo and have hockey players fire a bunch of pucks at him at high speeds and see what happens. It couldn't hurt, right?
So it's an off day tomorrow before three at the SkyDome, now known as the Rogers Centre, with the scoreboards on the wall in play that kinda weird me out and stuff. The game times aren't too bad if you're in the Northwest, but if you're over here in Hawaii...let's just say I'll have to wait until MLB.tv archives the games before I can watch them. I'll only be able to see live action if the games on Tuesday and Wednesday go extras. The game times for me are 1:07pm for the first two, and a grandiose 6:37am start on Thursday. Archive city.
Sele. Lilly. Tuesday.
/ Click for main page
