Wednesday, July 20, 2005
GAME 92: BLUE JAYS 12, MARINERS 10
Blue Jays 12, Mariners 10
In 25 words or less: The offense certainly wasn't the problem. This one makes you wonder how long it'll be before Aaron Sele is pitching to retain his job again.
This one featured Aaron Sele going up against Ted Lilly. Miguel Olivo was 4-for-5 lifetime against Lilly with three homers going into this game, but nonetheless rode pine. Ludicrous.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C
Not much of a banner start. Ichiro mashed the 1-0 pitch foul into the upper deck along the rightfield line and eventually chopped out to third. Randy Winn smacked the second pitch through the hole on the left side for a single. Raul Ibañez couldn't hold up on a 2-2 pitch up and in. Winn stole second standing up on the 0-2 pitch to Richie Sexson, who later took a full-count pitch over the outside corner.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C+
A rocky but scoreless inning for Sele. Russ Adams ripped an 0-2 curve into centerfield for a single. Frank Catalanotto got behind and was nearly beaned on an 0-2 pitch. He later served a hanging 2-2 curve to the opposite field (left) for a single, moving Adams to second. Vernon Wells rolled a 2-0 pitch to Mike Morse, who started the 6-4-3 double play, which was very well-timed. Shea Hillenbrand worked a 1-2 count full, though he took a questionable 2-2 ball over the outside corner and later somehow fouled a ball off his helmet, which Ron Fairly had a thing or two to say about. He walked on a dirtball curve low and outside. Aaron Hill lined out to Ichiro in rightfield (mercifully).
TOP 2ND
Grade: B+
It's an early-inning scoring semi-bonanza! Adrian Beltre mashed the high and outside first pitch over the wall in centerfield.
»» MARINERS 1, BLUE JAYS 0
Mike Morse got the hitters' counts and walked on an inside pitch. Morse broke for second with a horrible jump on the 0-1 pitch to Jeremy Reed and got the bag, with the throw coming in too high. Reed walked on a 3-1 pitch up and outside. Jose Lopez got ahead 2-0 and whiffed on a 2-1 bunt attempt. He popped to Eric Hinske in foul territory along the rightfield line. Pat Borders, getting a warm ovation on the heels of his Toronto doings over a decade later, singled through the right side thanks to Orlando Hudson vacating the hole to cover second for an unknown reason.
»» MARINERS 2, BLUE JAYS 0
Ichiro ripped the first pitch to the track in rightcenter, deep enough to score Reed.
»» MARINERS 3, BLUE JAYS 0
Winn lined the 2-0 pitch right into Hudson's glove.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: F
Sele cranked the knob to the setting of "suck." Gregg Zaun walked on a full-count pitch up and away. Alex(is) Rios was beaned on the left elbow on the first pitch. Eric Hinske flew out to Winn near the leftfield line. Orlando Hudson chopped the 1-1 pitch deep into the hole on the right side, where Lopez was able to get to it, but had no play as the bases were loaded. Adams flew out to Reed in leftcenter on the first pitch, deep enough to plate Zaun as Reed threw to third.
»» MARINERS 3, BLUE JAYS 1
Catalanotto nearly ripped the second pitch down the rightfield line, but instead ripped the next pitch up the middle for a single to score Rios. The throw from Reed went to third, and the throw hit Hudson and nearly got past Beltre. Catalanotto went to second as a result of the throw.
»» MARINERS 3, BLUE JAYS 2
Wells got behind 0-2, but later clubbed a double deep down the leftfield line to score Hudson and Catalanotto.
»» BLUE JAYS 4, MARINERS 3
Hillenbrand lined the first pitch to deep rightfield, where Ichiro leaped while running backward and reached up to make the catch.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C
Not much of a blip on the radar here. Ibañez popped out high to Hinske near the mound on the first pitch. Sexson took the first-pitch strike, fouled off the next pitch, then whiffed at the next pitch over the outside corner. Beltre ripped the second pitch into centerfield for a single. Morse flew out to rightfield.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: D+
Hill got behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Zaun got ahead 3-1 and walked. Rios flew out to Winn in leftcenter on the run. Zaun went to second on an 0-2 dirtball curve that got away from Borders. After a mound meeting with Borders, Sele served up a high pitch that Hinske blasted hard and high into rightfield, off of one of the suites just below the fifth deck. Zaun also scored.
»» BLUE JAYS 6, MARINERS 3
Hudson lined out to leftfield on the first pitch.
Sele's line: 3 innings, 6 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout, 70 pitches (42 strikes)
TOP 4TH
Grade: C
This wasn't encouraging given how the Blue Jays had stormed back. Reed flew out to Hudson at second. Lopez reached on a pitch low and outside and did the same. Borders walked on four pitches. Ichiro got ahead 2-0, but hit a very hard grounder to Hinske at first, who was near the bag and stepped on it for the out.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Sele. Adams grounded the second pitch to Morse at short, who bounced it over to first, and Sexson tried to scoop it but it bounced out. Morse was charged with the error on the play. Catalanotto flew out high to centerfield on a 2-0 pitch. Wells smoked a pitch through the mound for a single (Hasegawa probably should have knocked it down), and Adams scooted to third (Reed's throw hit him). Hillenbrand flew out to Lopez on the outfield "grass" along the rightfield line. Hill got ahead 3-1 and walked on a full count pitch low and away to load the bases. Zaun popped up to Lopez in shallow leftfield.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
A sign of life. Winn lined a pitch over the leftfield bullpen and into the first few rows of seats to put a mark on the scoreboard.
»» BLUE JAYS 6, MARINERS 4
Ibañez rolled out to second. Sexson lined a first-pitch single to leftfield, shorthopping Catalanotto. Beltre took a 1-2 slow curve over the outer half of the plate. Morse lined his second pitch into the gap in leftcenter, but Wells made a nice running catch to rob Morse of a double and an RBI.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: D
Hasegawa wouldn't escape the carnage this time, and the two-out thing just made it worse. Rios fouled off a 3-1 pitch before taking the next pitch at the knees. Hinske lined out to leftfield on the first pitch. Hudson gapped a 2-2 pitch into rightcenter for a double. Adams got behind 0-2, took a couple of balls, watched as Borders and Hasegawa conferred on the mound, then lined a single into leftfield. Hudson scored easily, but for some reason Winn and his noodle arm got the bright idea to throw the ball to the plate, though Beltre probably should have cut it off as well. Nonetheless, Adams moved to second on the throw.
»» BLUE JAYS 7, MARINERS 4
Catalanotto hit the 0-2 pitch over Ichiro's head and off the wall on a bounce to score Adams. Catalanotto coasted in to second base.
»» BLUE JAYS 8, MARINERS 4
Wells smoked the second pitch (hanging offspeed) into the gap in leftcenter, and Catalanotto scored easily, and Wells had the double.
»» BLUE JAYS 9, MARINERS 4
Hillenbrand stung his 3-1 pitch up the middle and into centerfield to score Wells.
»» BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 4
Hill tapped the 2-2 pitch back to the mound to end the inning.
Hasegawa's line: 2 innings, 4 runs, 6 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 49 pitches (28 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Grade: A
The Mariners fired back. Reed barely missed a homer to centerfield by about a foot, hitting near the top of the wall. He coasted into third with a triple. Lopez fouled off a 1-1 pitch, and got some trainer attention, prompting some speculation about the hamate injury he'd suffered from earlier in the season. He stayed in the game, working a 1-2 count full and then flying out deeply enough to leftfield to score Reed.
»» BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 5
Jason Frasor came in for Lilly. Borders rolled a single under a diving Adams at short. Ichiro hit a 1-2 pitch over Rios' head in rightfield for a double, and Borders scored.
»» BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 6
Winn grounded out hard to second, moving Ichiro to third. Ibañez got behind 0-2 and fouled off six pitches with two strikes on him, working the count full before chopping the ball very high to third, and the throw from third pulled Hinske off the bag at first, finishing off a 12-pitch at-bat. Ichiro scored.
»» BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 7
Sexson creamed the first pitch over the wall in rightfield to bring the Mariners dangerously close to tying the game.
»» BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 9
Beltre reached on a 2-2 pitch and hit it off the first-base bag, where Hinske played the carom behind the bag and tossed to a covering Frasor. Weird play.
Lilly's line: 5 1/3 innings, 5 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, 96 pitches (57 strikes)
Frasor's line: 2/3 inning, 4 runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 26 pitches (19 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
Matt Thornton came in for Hasegawa. Zaun singled up the middle into centerfield. Rios flew out high down the rightfield line on a 3-1 pitch. Zaun scooted to second on a passed ball by Borders on a 1-0 pitch to Hinske that went off his glove on a very catchable pitch. Hinske mashed a full-count pitch over the wall in rightfield, not quite as high this time, but still very much a homer.
»» BLUE JAYS 12, MARINERS 9
Hudson fouled off a 2-2 pitch before singling past a diving Sexson and into rightfield. Bryan Price made a visit to the mound. Adams got ahead 2-0 and chopped a full-count pitch into a 4-6 fielder's choice.
Julio Mateo came in for Thornton. Reed Johnson came in to pinch hit for Catalanotto. Johnson got behind 0-2. Adams took off for second on the 1-2 pitch and was nailed on a one-hop throw by Borders that was picked off the infield by Lopez, who applied the tag.
Thornton's line: 2/3 inning, 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 27 pitches (15 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C
Justin Speier came in for Frasor. Morse flew out to rightfield. Reed got behind 0-2 and lined out two pitches later to Hillenbrand at third. Lopez singled on the first pitch past the shortstop. Borders lined a 1-2 pitch to centerfield.
Speier's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B+
Mateo at least held down the fort. Johnson air-bunted the first-pitch between first base and the mound, and Lopez had to charge and shovel over to Sexson, but it wasn't quite in time as Johnson got the single. Wells got ahead 2-0 but ended up flying out to shallow center. Hillenbrand flew out to center on the first pitch, but Johnson nearly didn't get back to first in time. Reed's throw back to first was a bit off, but Borders backed up the throw. Johnson took off on the first pitch to Hill and was nailed by a perfect throw from Borders.
TOP 8TH
Grade: B-
Scott Schoeneweis came in for Speier. Ichiro chopped a ball to second, and Hudson made the quick play for the out. Winn hit a very high chopper to Hillenbrand on the infield, but he had absolutely no play, and Winn pocketed the single. Ibañez hit a low liner to rightfield, and Rios dove for the ball but trapped it, and Winn moved to second.
Miguel Batista came in for Schoeneweis. Sexson got behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch that nearly scraped the inside corner. He smacked the next pitch into rightfield for a single to score Winn and moved Ibañez to second.
»» BLUE JAYS 12, MARINERS 10
Beltre flew out to a running Johnson in the leftcenter gap on the first pitch. Batista's 1-1 pitch to Morse was way outside and went to the backstop, moving Ibañez to third and Sexson to second. Morse fouled off a pitch, then nubbed in front of the plate, but Batista picked it up and threw to first in time.
Schoeneweis' line: 1/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (6 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B-
No damage here. Hill popped one near the plate, and it was caught by Borders in foul ground. Zaun got ahead 2-0 but ended up flew out high and foul to Beltre. Rios stung a double down the leftfield line.
Ron Villone came in for Mateo. Hinske fouled off a 2-0 pitch but ended up whiffing on a pitch down and in.
Mateo's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 20 pitches (12 strikes)
Villone's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 8 pitches (6 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C+
It had a morsel of hope. Reed grounded out to short. Chris Snelling came on to pinch hit for Lopez. He got ahead 2-0 and rocketed the 2-1 pitch into the gap in rightcenter for a double. Scott Spiezio inexplicably was put in to pinch hit for Borders. He got ahead 3-1, foul-tipped the next pitch into Zaun's glove, then took a pitch over the outside corner for strike three. Ichiro grounded out to short on a bang-bang play. Ballgame.
Batista's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 30 pitches (18 strikes)
---
Gameball: Richie Sexson.
Randy Winn would be here if not for coming up with the brilliant idea to try to throw Orlando Hudson out at the plate. Know your arm, Randy. It's really the only thing I've consistently disliked about Winn, but when he just stays within himself when it comes to the arm, it's not bad, since he can run down balls fairly well and stuff and hit in spurts. Thus, Richie Sexson gets the nod, even though it's a semi-obvious gameball, but Winn had three hits as well, so I can pass that off as an excuse. Sexson went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs, though striking out twice. It's a more customary good outing for Sexson compared to the 1-for-3 games he was having in the Angels series where he'd walk three times in the game. Two singles and a blast from Sexson; there's a good day at the office for Sexson.
Goat: Aaron Sele.
Not that Shigetoshi Hasegawa was any better, but Sele was just terrible. He's been surprisingly good for most of this year, sure, but lately he's stunk it up, and this outing was pathetic. He kicked away the Mariners' early three-run lead in the very half inning after they'd accumulated it. He then gave up two more runs in the third inning on his way out just to dig the hole deeper. Somebody's 6-10 here, somebody's lost each of their last five starts, and somebody hasn't recorded a win since June 15th. I'll give you a hint -- his last name rhymes with that of Itula Mili. We haven't complained about a ten-loss pitcher since...Ryan Franklin. Seriously, I wonder when this guy's going to have to pitch for his job again. Could we have possibly come full circle with Aaron Sele in two months?
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 66-26 .717 -- L1
2002 58-34 .630 8 W1
2003 57-35 .620 9 L1
2000 54-38 .587 12 W1
2005 41-51 .446 25 L1
2004 35-57 .380 31 L1
The Mariners have mirrored the 2004 Mariners' habits for the past six games. If you're like me, and your only goal for the Mariners is to be 14 wins better than the year before, things like this disturb you.
Another disturbing thing is that each of the Mariners' first three pitchers in the game (Sele/Hasegawa/Thornton) all gave up runs in the half-inning right after the Mariners had scored runs for them. There are ways to win ballgames, and there are ways to lose ballgames. The philosophy of "give it right back" does not fit under the umbrella of winning ways. They got the offense down pat pretty well, and I was glad to see the Mariners chase Ted Lilly, but the pitching for the first half of this game was absolutely inept.
We even got a bit of the unexpected in this game. Raise your hand if you ever thought Pat Borders would end two straight innings by gunning down a runner at second? He did get some help on the throw in the sixth that was picked off the ground by Jose Lopez, but the second throw was right there. Add that to the 2-for-3 day with an RBI and a walk at the plate, along with the warm ovation given by the Toronto fans thanks to his piece in the fabric of Toronto sports lore, I'm really wondering why I didn't give him the gameball tonight. I wish I would've now, but it's late now and I don't feel like changing it.
Not sure if this was unexpected or not, but raise your hand if you were a big fan of pinch-hitting for Borders, who'd had two hits on the night already, just so you could go righty-lefty with Scott freakin' Spiezio? Anyone like this move? I don't have any head-to-head splits for Spiezio against Miguel Batista, but I'd hesitate to say they'd mean anything because if he'd hit three homers against him in 2002 or something, the year right now is 2005, and Scott Spiezio can't hit. Plain and simple. Therefore, to bring Spiezio to the plate representing the tying run with one out in the ninth is just unconscionable to me. Even though he's a righty, any close-and-late situation where the Mariners are behind makes me want a Bucky Jacobsen at the plate or something. Of course, maybe if the Mariners carried 11 pitchers instead of 12, they could have another lefty bat on the bench in that situation that's worth a damn.
Congrats to the Mariner offense. Five starters had multi-hit games. Winn and Sexson had three hits apiece. Ibañez, Beltre, and Borders had two apiece. Morse was the only hitter that went hitless. The second through fifth hitters combined for a grand 10-for-20 (pretty good) with three homers and six RBIs. I don't know where else to fit this in, but Winn's average has creeped back up again, and now it's sitting at .273. Beltre's 2-for-5 day leaves him at .264. Weirdly, Sexson's day leaves him at .264. Given Sexson's usual season-end lines from years past, I don't expect Sexson to finish as high as .264. I'm thinking more along the lines of .250 or something, but I'll take .264, though that may or may not coincide with a power drop.
Well, I'm praying that the MLB.tv feed doesn't devolve into a slideshow for the middle game of this series once I get home and see the last two innings or so. Unless Gustavo Chacin works really deep into the game, I won't get to come home and be welcomed by the sight of his Antoine Carr glasses.
Franklin. Chacin. Today.
In 25 words or less: The offense certainly wasn't the problem. This one makes you wonder how long it'll be before Aaron Sele is pitching to retain his job again.
This one featured Aaron Sele going up against Ted Lilly. Miguel Olivo was 4-for-5 lifetime against Lilly with three homers going into this game, but nonetheless rode pine. Ludicrous.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C
Not much of a banner start. Ichiro mashed the 1-0 pitch foul into the upper deck along the rightfield line and eventually chopped out to third. Randy Winn smacked the second pitch through the hole on the left side for a single. Raul Ibañez couldn't hold up on a 2-2 pitch up and in. Winn stole second standing up on the 0-2 pitch to Richie Sexson, who later took a full-count pitch over the outside corner.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C+
A rocky but scoreless inning for Sele. Russ Adams ripped an 0-2 curve into centerfield for a single. Frank Catalanotto got behind and was nearly beaned on an 0-2 pitch. He later served a hanging 2-2 curve to the opposite field (left) for a single, moving Adams to second. Vernon Wells rolled a 2-0 pitch to Mike Morse, who started the 6-4-3 double play, which was very well-timed. Shea Hillenbrand worked a 1-2 count full, though he took a questionable 2-2 ball over the outside corner and later somehow fouled a ball off his helmet, which Ron Fairly had a thing or two to say about. He walked on a dirtball curve low and outside. Aaron Hill lined out to Ichiro in rightfield (mercifully).
TOP 2ND
Grade: B+
It's an early-inning scoring semi-bonanza! Adrian Beltre mashed the high and outside first pitch over the wall in centerfield.
»» MARINERS 1, BLUE JAYS 0
Mike Morse got the hitters' counts and walked on an inside pitch. Morse broke for second with a horrible jump on the 0-1 pitch to Jeremy Reed and got the bag, with the throw coming in too high. Reed walked on a 3-1 pitch up and outside. Jose Lopez got ahead 2-0 and whiffed on a 2-1 bunt attempt. He popped to Eric Hinske in foul territory along the rightfield line. Pat Borders, getting a warm ovation on the heels of his Toronto doings over a decade later, singled through the right side thanks to Orlando Hudson vacating the hole to cover second for an unknown reason.
»» MARINERS 2, BLUE JAYS 0
Ichiro ripped the first pitch to the track in rightcenter, deep enough to score Reed.
»» MARINERS 3, BLUE JAYS 0
Winn lined the 2-0 pitch right into Hudson's glove.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: F
Sele cranked the knob to the setting of "suck." Gregg Zaun walked on a full-count pitch up and away. Alex(is) Rios was beaned on the left elbow on the first pitch. Eric Hinske flew out to Winn near the leftfield line. Orlando Hudson chopped the 1-1 pitch deep into the hole on the right side, where Lopez was able to get to it, but had no play as the bases were loaded. Adams flew out to Reed in leftcenter on the first pitch, deep enough to plate Zaun as Reed threw to third.
»» MARINERS 3, BLUE JAYS 1
Catalanotto nearly ripped the second pitch down the rightfield line, but instead ripped the next pitch up the middle for a single to score Rios. The throw from Reed went to third, and the throw hit Hudson and nearly got past Beltre. Catalanotto went to second as a result of the throw.
»» MARINERS 3, BLUE JAYS 2
Wells got behind 0-2, but later clubbed a double deep down the leftfield line to score Hudson and Catalanotto.
»» BLUE JAYS 4, MARINERS 3
Hillenbrand lined the first pitch to deep rightfield, where Ichiro leaped while running backward and reached up to make the catch.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C
Not much of a blip on the radar here. Ibañez popped out high to Hinske near the mound on the first pitch. Sexson took the first-pitch strike, fouled off the next pitch, then whiffed at the next pitch over the outside corner. Beltre ripped the second pitch into centerfield for a single. Morse flew out to rightfield.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: D+
Hill got behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Zaun got ahead 3-1 and walked. Rios flew out to Winn in leftcenter on the run. Zaun went to second on an 0-2 dirtball curve that got away from Borders. After a mound meeting with Borders, Sele served up a high pitch that Hinske blasted hard and high into rightfield, off of one of the suites just below the fifth deck. Zaun also scored.
»» BLUE JAYS 6, MARINERS 3
Hudson lined out to leftfield on the first pitch.
Sele's line: 3 innings, 6 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout, 70 pitches (42 strikes)
TOP 4TH
Grade: C
This wasn't encouraging given how the Blue Jays had stormed back. Reed flew out to Hudson at second. Lopez reached on a pitch low and outside and did the same. Borders walked on four pitches. Ichiro got ahead 2-0, but hit a very hard grounder to Hinske at first, who was near the bag and stepped on it for the out.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Sele. Adams grounded the second pitch to Morse at short, who bounced it over to first, and Sexson tried to scoop it but it bounced out. Morse was charged with the error on the play. Catalanotto flew out high to centerfield on a 2-0 pitch. Wells smoked a pitch through the mound for a single (Hasegawa probably should have knocked it down), and Adams scooted to third (Reed's throw hit him). Hillenbrand flew out to Lopez on the outfield "grass" along the rightfield line. Hill got ahead 3-1 and walked on a full count pitch low and away to load the bases. Zaun popped up to Lopez in shallow leftfield.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
A sign of life. Winn lined a pitch over the leftfield bullpen and into the first few rows of seats to put a mark on the scoreboard.
»» BLUE JAYS 6, MARINERS 4
Ibañez rolled out to second. Sexson lined a first-pitch single to leftfield, shorthopping Catalanotto. Beltre took a 1-2 slow curve over the outer half of the plate. Morse lined his second pitch into the gap in leftcenter, but Wells made a nice running catch to rob Morse of a double and an RBI.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: D
Hasegawa wouldn't escape the carnage this time, and the two-out thing just made it worse. Rios fouled off a 3-1 pitch before taking the next pitch at the knees. Hinske lined out to leftfield on the first pitch. Hudson gapped a 2-2 pitch into rightcenter for a double. Adams got behind 0-2, took a couple of balls, watched as Borders and Hasegawa conferred on the mound, then lined a single into leftfield. Hudson scored easily, but for some reason Winn and his noodle arm got the bright idea to throw the ball to the plate, though Beltre probably should have cut it off as well. Nonetheless, Adams moved to second on the throw.
»» BLUE JAYS 7, MARINERS 4
Catalanotto hit the 0-2 pitch over Ichiro's head and off the wall on a bounce to score Adams. Catalanotto coasted in to second base.
»» BLUE JAYS 8, MARINERS 4
Wells smoked the second pitch (hanging offspeed) into the gap in leftcenter, and Catalanotto scored easily, and Wells had the double.
»» BLUE JAYS 9, MARINERS 4
Hillenbrand stung his 3-1 pitch up the middle and into centerfield to score Wells.
»» BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 4
Hill tapped the 2-2 pitch back to the mound to end the inning.
Hasegawa's line: 2 innings, 4 runs, 6 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 49 pitches (28 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Grade: A
The Mariners fired back. Reed barely missed a homer to centerfield by about a foot, hitting near the top of the wall. He coasted into third with a triple. Lopez fouled off a 1-1 pitch, and got some trainer attention, prompting some speculation about the hamate injury he'd suffered from earlier in the season. He stayed in the game, working a 1-2 count full and then flying out deeply enough to leftfield to score Reed.
»» BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 5
Jason Frasor came in for Lilly. Borders rolled a single under a diving Adams at short. Ichiro hit a 1-2 pitch over Rios' head in rightfield for a double, and Borders scored.
»» BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 6
Winn grounded out hard to second, moving Ichiro to third. Ibañez got behind 0-2 and fouled off six pitches with two strikes on him, working the count full before chopping the ball very high to third, and the throw from third pulled Hinske off the bag at first, finishing off a 12-pitch at-bat. Ichiro scored.
»» BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 7
Sexson creamed the first pitch over the wall in rightfield to bring the Mariners dangerously close to tying the game.
»» BLUE JAYS 10, MARINERS 9
Beltre reached on a 2-2 pitch and hit it off the first-base bag, where Hinske played the carom behind the bag and tossed to a covering Frasor. Weird play.
Lilly's line: 5 1/3 innings, 5 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, 96 pitches (57 strikes)
Frasor's line: 2/3 inning, 4 runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 26 pitches (19 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
Matt Thornton came in for Hasegawa. Zaun singled up the middle into centerfield. Rios flew out high down the rightfield line on a 3-1 pitch. Zaun scooted to second on a passed ball by Borders on a 1-0 pitch to Hinske that went off his glove on a very catchable pitch. Hinske mashed a full-count pitch over the wall in rightfield, not quite as high this time, but still very much a homer.
»» BLUE JAYS 12, MARINERS 9
Hudson fouled off a 2-2 pitch before singling past a diving Sexson and into rightfield. Bryan Price made a visit to the mound. Adams got ahead 2-0 and chopped a full-count pitch into a 4-6 fielder's choice.
Julio Mateo came in for Thornton. Reed Johnson came in to pinch hit for Catalanotto. Johnson got behind 0-2. Adams took off for second on the 1-2 pitch and was nailed on a one-hop throw by Borders that was picked off the infield by Lopez, who applied the tag.
Thornton's line: 2/3 inning, 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 27 pitches (15 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C
Justin Speier came in for Frasor. Morse flew out to rightfield. Reed got behind 0-2 and lined out two pitches later to Hillenbrand at third. Lopez singled on the first pitch past the shortstop. Borders lined a 1-2 pitch to centerfield.
Speier's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B+
Mateo at least held down the fort. Johnson air-bunted the first-pitch between first base and the mound, and Lopez had to charge and shovel over to Sexson, but it wasn't quite in time as Johnson got the single. Wells got ahead 2-0 but ended up flying out to shallow center. Hillenbrand flew out to center on the first pitch, but Johnson nearly didn't get back to first in time. Reed's throw back to first was a bit off, but Borders backed up the throw. Johnson took off on the first pitch to Hill and was nailed by a perfect throw from Borders.
TOP 8TH
Grade: B-
Scott Schoeneweis came in for Speier. Ichiro chopped a ball to second, and Hudson made the quick play for the out. Winn hit a very high chopper to Hillenbrand on the infield, but he had absolutely no play, and Winn pocketed the single. Ibañez hit a low liner to rightfield, and Rios dove for the ball but trapped it, and Winn moved to second.
Miguel Batista came in for Schoeneweis. Sexson got behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch that nearly scraped the inside corner. He smacked the next pitch into rightfield for a single to score Winn and moved Ibañez to second.
»» BLUE JAYS 12, MARINERS 10
Beltre flew out to a running Johnson in the leftcenter gap on the first pitch. Batista's 1-1 pitch to Morse was way outside and went to the backstop, moving Ibañez to third and Sexson to second. Morse fouled off a pitch, then nubbed in front of the plate, but Batista picked it up and threw to first in time.
Schoeneweis' line: 1/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (6 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B-
No damage here. Hill popped one near the plate, and it was caught by Borders in foul ground. Zaun got ahead 2-0 but ended up flew out high and foul to Beltre. Rios stung a double down the leftfield line.
Ron Villone came in for Mateo. Hinske fouled off a 2-0 pitch but ended up whiffing on a pitch down and in.
Mateo's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 20 pitches (12 strikes)
Villone's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 8 pitches (6 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C+
It had a morsel of hope. Reed grounded out to short. Chris Snelling came on to pinch hit for Lopez. He got ahead 2-0 and rocketed the 2-1 pitch into the gap in rightcenter for a double. Scott Spiezio inexplicably was put in to pinch hit for Borders. He got ahead 3-1, foul-tipped the next pitch into Zaun's glove, then took a pitch over the outside corner for strike three. Ichiro grounded out to short on a bang-bang play. Ballgame.
Batista's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 30 pitches (18 strikes)
---
Gameball: Richie Sexson.
Randy Winn would be here if not for coming up with the brilliant idea to try to throw Orlando Hudson out at the plate. Know your arm, Randy. It's really the only thing I've consistently disliked about Winn, but when he just stays within himself when it comes to the arm, it's not bad, since he can run down balls fairly well and stuff and hit in spurts. Thus, Richie Sexson gets the nod, even though it's a semi-obvious gameball, but Winn had three hits as well, so I can pass that off as an excuse. Sexson went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs, though striking out twice. It's a more customary good outing for Sexson compared to the 1-for-3 games he was having in the Angels series where he'd walk three times in the game. Two singles and a blast from Sexson; there's a good day at the office for Sexson.
Goat: Aaron Sele.
Not that Shigetoshi Hasegawa was any better, but Sele was just terrible. He's been surprisingly good for most of this year, sure, but lately he's stunk it up, and this outing was pathetic. He kicked away the Mariners' early three-run lead in the very half inning after they'd accumulated it. He then gave up two more runs in the third inning on his way out just to dig the hole deeper. Somebody's 6-10 here, somebody's lost each of their last five starts, and somebody hasn't recorded a win since June 15th. I'll give you a hint -- his last name rhymes with that of Itula Mili. We haven't complained about a ten-loss pitcher since...Ryan Franklin. Seriously, I wonder when this guy's going to have to pitch for his job again. Could we have possibly come full circle with Aaron Sele in two months?
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 66-26 .717 -- L1
2002 58-34 .630 8 W1
2003 57-35 .620 9 L1
2000 54-38 .587 12 W1
2005 41-51 .446 25 L1
2004 35-57 .380 31 L1
The Mariners have mirrored the 2004 Mariners' habits for the past six games. If you're like me, and your only goal for the Mariners is to be 14 wins better than the year before, things like this disturb you.
Another disturbing thing is that each of the Mariners' first three pitchers in the game (Sele/Hasegawa/Thornton) all gave up runs in the half-inning right after the Mariners had scored runs for them. There are ways to win ballgames, and there are ways to lose ballgames. The philosophy of "give it right back" does not fit under the umbrella of winning ways. They got the offense down pat pretty well, and I was glad to see the Mariners chase Ted Lilly, but the pitching for the first half of this game was absolutely inept.
We even got a bit of the unexpected in this game. Raise your hand if you ever thought Pat Borders would end two straight innings by gunning down a runner at second? He did get some help on the throw in the sixth that was picked off the ground by Jose Lopez, but the second throw was right there. Add that to the 2-for-3 day with an RBI and a walk at the plate, along with the warm ovation given by the Toronto fans thanks to his piece in the fabric of Toronto sports lore, I'm really wondering why I didn't give him the gameball tonight. I wish I would've now, but it's late now and I don't feel like changing it.
Not sure if this was unexpected or not, but raise your hand if you were a big fan of pinch-hitting for Borders, who'd had two hits on the night already, just so you could go righty-lefty with Scott freakin' Spiezio? Anyone like this move? I don't have any head-to-head splits for Spiezio against Miguel Batista, but I'd hesitate to say they'd mean anything because if he'd hit three homers against him in 2002 or something, the year right now is 2005, and Scott Spiezio can't hit. Plain and simple. Therefore, to bring Spiezio to the plate representing the tying run with one out in the ninth is just unconscionable to me. Even though he's a righty, any close-and-late situation where the Mariners are behind makes me want a Bucky Jacobsen at the plate or something. Of course, maybe if the Mariners carried 11 pitchers instead of 12, they could have another lefty bat on the bench in that situation that's worth a damn.
Congrats to the Mariner offense. Five starters had multi-hit games. Winn and Sexson had three hits apiece. Ibañez, Beltre, and Borders had two apiece. Morse was the only hitter that went hitless. The second through fifth hitters combined for a grand 10-for-20 (pretty good) with three homers and six RBIs. I don't know where else to fit this in, but Winn's average has creeped back up again, and now it's sitting at .273. Beltre's 2-for-5 day leaves him at .264. Weirdly, Sexson's day leaves him at .264. Given Sexson's usual season-end lines from years past, I don't expect Sexson to finish as high as .264. I'm thinking more along the lines of .250 or something, but I'll take .264, though that may or may not coincide with a power drop.
Well, I'm praying that the MLB.tv feed doesn't devolve into a slideshow for the middle game of this series once I get home and see the last two innings or so. Unless Gustavo Chacin works really deep into the game, I won't get to come home and be welcomed by the sight of his Antoine Carr glasses.
Franklin. Chacin. Today.
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