Tuesday, July 26, 2005
GAME 98: MARINERS 5, TIGERS 3
Mariners 5, Tigers 3
In 25 words or less: 'Twas a game that ran the spectrum from boring to scintillating to tospy-turvy at points. There were some fireworks as well.
This one featured Nate Robertson going up against Ryan Franklin. If Miguel Olivo gets into a game in this series, we'll get to see two of the better catching arms in the business between Ivan Rodriguez and Miguel Olivo. I remember when I was watching completely meaningless spring training baseball back home and saw the slimmer and trimmer Ivan Rodriguez running the bases, and I didn't think it was him. Needless to say, I didn't have to tell you what question the ESPN crew was asking him. It might have been Gary Miller, whose role has decreased, though is still existent, since that one incident a few years ago with the off-duty police officer. Of course, a home series against the Tigers inevitably reminds me of mid-August during the 2000 season, where the Mariners lost the last two games of a series at home against Cleveland, then dropped three at home against the Tigers (Detroit scored 36 runs in the three games), then the Mariners went to the Jake and got swept in three. The Mariners lost eight straight and went on to lose 11 of 12 games.
But yeah, there was a game to be played. In the near-present.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B-
Franklin had some two-out issues. Brandon Inge fell behind 0-2, took a slider just off the plate, fouled off a pitch, then whiffed on a breaking ball low and away. Carlos Guillen lined out to left. Chris Shelton fisted an 0-2 pitch gently down the rightfield line for a single. Magglio Ordoñez got the hitters' counts, and ended up taking the full-count pitch inside for a walk. Rondell White popped to Jose Lopez on the outfield grass on the right side.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
There was a walk party and a 90-foot dash. Ichiro bounced deep in the hole to second. Randy Winn got ahead 3-0 and took the 3-1 pitch high. Raul Ibañez walked on a 3-1 pitch as well. Richie Sexson got the hitters' counts and took a 3-1 pitch for a high strike. On the full count, Sexson whiffed on a pitch down and in, but Winn stole third, beating Rodriguez' throw, and Ibañez took second as well. Adrian Beltre flew out high to rightfield on the first pitch.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Possibly Franklin's best inning of the night. Ivan Rodriguez flew out lazily to Ichiro on the first pitch. Craig Monroe popped the first pitch to short. Omar Infante got ahead 2-0 and later popped just foul to Beltre near the plate.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
Much like training pilots, the Mariners were in ground school. Jeremy Reed grounded the second pitch to short, and Carlos Guillen's throw pulled first baseman Chris Shelton off the bag a bit, but he reached bag to tag the passing Reed. Willie Bloomquist rolled out to short. Jose Lopez grounded out to third on the second pitch.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A
Even better than Franklin's second inning. Curtis Granderson whiffed on a 1-2 dirtball. Inge whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball low and away. Guillen popped the second pitch high to shallow centerfield, and Bloomquist came down with it.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C
Mild frustration here. Pat Borders took an 0-2 pitch right down the pipe for a strikeout. Ichiro fouled an 0-2 pitch off the ground and himself, then pushed the next pitch up the middle for a single. Winn got the hitters' counts and bounced the 3-1 pitch near the bag at second, where Infante picked it up, stepped on the bag, and threw with ample time to first.
TOP 4TH
Grade: D+
The entire game nearly derailed. Shelton singled into leftfield on the first pitch. Ordoñez fouled off a full-count pitch before taking the next one up and in for a walk. White reached on a low 2-2 pitch and dumped it into centerfield for a single to load the bases. Rodriguez took Reed to the track in centerfield, where the ball was caught, and Shelton scored easily. The remaining runners moved to third and second as well.
»» TIGERS 1, MARINERS 0
Monroe grounded a broken-bat 0-2 pitch to Bloomquist, who charged and threw to first as Ordoñez scored. White remained at second.
»» TIGERS 2, MARINERS 0
Infante whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball over the plate.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B
The turnaround was quick. Ibañez slapped a 2-0 pitch over the shortstop for a single into leftfield. Sexson mashed the second pitch into the visitors' bullpen in leftfield to tie the game. It got out in a hurry.
»» TIGERS 2, MARINERS 2
Beltre clubbed the second pitch (outer half) the other way, a homer to rightcenter. I like this.
»» MARINERS 3, TIGERS 2
Reed singled to centerfield on the first pitch. Bloomquist grounded the first pitch right to first, and Shelton threw to second for the force (3-6), but Reed's takeout slide didn't help Guillen get the throw off (he never did), and neither did some pitcher-covering issues. Lopez blooped the low second pitch into shallow leftfield for a single, and Bloomquist skittered to third. Borders popped the first pitch high to Rodriguez behind the plate. Ichiro popped the 2-0 pitch high to second.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
Franklin didn't even give the runs back. Granderson flew out to left on the second pitch. Inge nearly doubled a full-count pitch into the corner. After fouling off another pitch, Inge took a pitch at the knees over the outside corner for the strikeout. Guillen walked on a full count. Shelton fouled off an 0-2 pitch, took the next one just off the outside corner, fouled off another pitch, then rolled to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C
Sometimes extra-base hits come too late in the inning. Winn took a 1-2 pitch across the outside corner. Ibañez lined out to center on the second pitch. Sexson clubbed a 2-1 pitch to leftfield, where Monroe looked like he might have a running catch, but it went off his glove and toward the wall. Sexson coasted in with a double, which wasn't close due to a bad throw to the infield. Beltre took a 1-2 pitch for a high-and-outside strike. I didn't think it was a strike, but oh well.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B
Franklin escaped damage. Ordoñez whomped a 1-2 pitch off the track and under the manual scoreboard in leftfield for a ground-rule double. White grounded the second pitch to third, where Beltre made a long and strong throw in time. Rodriguez fouled off a 2-0 pitch and nubbed the next pitch past the mound, where it got past Franklin, but Bloomquist charged, scooped, and threw to first in time. Monroe rolled out to third.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C
A baserunner, but no more. Reed flew out to left. Ivan Rodriguez had the trainers attend to him behind the plate, and stayed in the game. Bloomquist smacked the first pitch into centerfield for a single. Lopez took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner for strike three. Borders whiffed badly on a way-outside 0-2 pitch.
TOP 7TH
Grade: D
A bad inning could have been exponentially worse. Infante grounded a 3-1 pitch to third. Granderson bounced out to first, where Sexson stepped on the bag. Inge grounded the second pitch just to Lopez' left into rightfield for a seeing-eye single. Guillen took a high 3-1 pitch for a walk.
Jeff Nelson came in for Franklin. Shelton got the hitters' counts and took the 3-1 pitch high and outside for a walk. Ordoñez got the hitters' counts and a full-count pitch, with which he took up and away (barely) for a walk. Good times. I hate myself.
»» TIGERS 3, MARINERS 3
JJ Putz came in for Nelson. White nubbed the second pitch along the third-base side, where Putz came off the mound, barehanded the ball, and threw in time to first. Whew.
Franklin's line: 6 2/3 innings, 3 runs, 5 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts, 114 pitches (74 strikes)
Nelson's line: 0 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B
What is this thing you call timely hitting? Ichiro got behind 0-2 and ended up nubbing harmlessly back to the mound. Winn dumped the first pitch into leftcenter for a single. Ibañez took the first pitch in the back and took his base.
Fernando Rodney came in for Robertson. Sexson grounded a ball to Inge on the left side, who knocked it down and booted it into foul territory, loading the bases (that went for a single). Beltre tagged the second pitch into leftfield for a single, scoring Winn and leaving the bases still loaded.
»» MARINERS 4, TIGERS 3
Reed fouled off a trio of 2-2 pitches before poking a ball down the third-base line where Inge half-dove, knocked the ball down, stayed with it, tagged third base with his left foot (forcing out Sexson), then threw to first even though he didn't have a chance at Reed. Ibañez scored.
»» MARINERS 5, TIGERS 3
Bloomquist bounced out to second.
Robertson's line: 6 1/3 innings, 5 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, 88 pitches (55 strikes)
Rodney's line: 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 17 pitches (13 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: A-
The relief corps held the Kitties in check. Rodriguez flew out on the second pitch to Ichiro a few feet short of the track in rightfield. Monroe rolled up the middle, where Bloomquist dove to his left and nailed Monroe at first. Infante grounded up the middle to Bloomquist again, who ran over to plug the hole, but threw wide to first, pulling the tall Sexson off the bag.
Ron Villone came in for Putz. Dmitri Young came in to hit for Granderson. Young popped the second pitch high to rightfield.
Putz' line: 1 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (7 strikes)
Villone's line: 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 2 pitches (2 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
The bottom of the lineup went on autopilot waiting for Eddie to get warm. Craig Dingman came in for Rodney. Lopez popped the first pitch high into leftfield for an out. Borders popped the first pitch to Guillen near the leftfield line in shallow left. Ichiro whiffed right over an 0-2 breaking ball.
Dingman's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 5 pitches (5 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B
Eddie Guardado came in for Villone. Inge popped a 3-1 pitch high to rightfield. Guillen popped a 1-2 pitch high to Beltre on the left side. Shelton worked a 1-2 count full and fouled off a pitch before taking one very high and outside. Ordoñez took a 3-1 pitch over the outside corner, then hit a fly ball into the gap in rightcenter that required a running catch by Reed. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 22 pitches (11 strikes)
---
Gameball: Adrian Beltre.
If Adrian can turn this into anything, it'll be great. Do you remember the days of .235-hitting Adrian Beltre earlier this year? He's now at .259. With the homer, he's now up to 12 homers and 49 RBIs, which is still vastly off a pace we expected, but Beltre's got to start somewhere. I guess the one thing I liked out of Beltre was the fact that the homer went out to the opposite field. If he gets on a roll where he starts hitting to rightfield and rightcenter instead of going pull-happy like much of the year (though the one blast a while ago that went a billion feet to centerfield was cool), it could be great great fun. Interesting note here is that Beltre drove in both of the Mariners' go-ahead runs in the game, the third run to make it 3-2 in the fourth, and the run to make it 4-3 in the seventh. Nicely done, o gameball one.
Goat: Jeff Nelson.
Ryan Franklin set the table for Nelson in the seventh, leaving two on with two out. Usually in these situations I have to make up my mind between pinning it on the pitcher that started the mess or the pitcher that prolonged it. Franklin did set the table, but a relief pitcher shouldn't be going out there, falling behind both hitters, and walking the both of them. It was an absolutely abysmal performance -- the opposite of clutch. If Nelson lets it get any worse, or Putz after him, Franklin is on the hook for the loss. Anyway, a type of appearance this horrible is more the exception than the rule with Nelson this year, even given his all-out oldness.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 71-27 .724 -- W3
2002 60-38 .612 11 L2
2003 59-39 .602 12 L3
2000 58-40 .592 13 W1
2005 43-55 .439 28 W1
2004 38-60 .388 33 L1
Let's talk about Ryan Franklin's outing. It certainly wasn't the greatest outing he's pitched this year. Far from it, in fact. The bullpen didn't completely implode, so he was never on the hook for the loss in the seventh. However, there was much turbulence along the way. That fourth inning (loading the bases with nobody out) isn't something I want to go through often, and miraculously, the Tigers failed to get a hit, though they scored twice nonetheless. His outing reminded me somewhat of Aaron Sele's outing when he had one foot out the door on May 16. Sele went six innings in that game, gave up one run, and walked six. Franklin walked four in this game, which is much too high. So, it was a somewhat perplexing outing for Franklin, with the walks, the terrible fourth, and the badness to start the seventh, yet he somehow only gave up the three runs.
Luckily, after the Tigers had scored many less runs than they should have in the top of the fourth, the Seattle offense woke up in mega-rapid fashion. Raul Ibañez singled, Richie Sexson reached the visitors' bullpen, Adrian Beltre parked one to rightfield, and Jeremy Reed singled on the first pitch. The game went from boring and bleak to watchable almost immediately. Better yet, the Mariners had turned a 2-0 deficit around into a 3-2 lead. I've simply weaned myself off of comebacks since 2001. I don't expect them out of this team, but whenever I get to see it happen, it's a great thing when it holds up. You'd like to see the bullpen hold it up, but you can't have everything in a season like this. Of course, seasons like this don't leave you with much to begin with. Don't think too long about that last sentence, because I let myself do exactly that, and I almost went nuts.
I didn't quite give him the gameball, but I thought about it. JJ Putz came in to clean up the Franklin/Nelson mess in the seventh. With two outs and the bases loaded, Putz was to face Rondell White, the man who arguably ruined the Mariners' 2003 season all by himself. Based on Murphy's Law-ology, the likely situation that would come to mind here would be Putz (prone to homers lately) giving up the grand slam to White (man who helped the Mariners go on a 51-50 tear down the stretch in 2003). Instead, White dribbled one along the third-base side, Putz came out for the ball, barehanded it, and threw in time. That's one of the biggest outs Putz has gotten all year. I guess I'll be left beaming after every appearance in which Putz doesn't give up big homers with runners on base in close games.
One last thing, and that's to remind everyone to enjoy every time that Eddie Guardado takes the mound for this team, because his Mariner tenure could come to an end within the week. If the team never takes a lead into the ninth for the rest of the week, we may have seen Guardado's final appearance as a Mariner. Though he was hurt for much of last year, I knew I was missing something in 2004, and that was a healthy Guardado to close the very few games in which the Mariners had carried a lead into the ninth. I also missed a healthy Rafael Soriano, but that's neither here nor there. That's a different discussion entirely. All in all, it's been a joy to see Eddie Guardado pitch, and that's not just because he's converted 22 straight save opportunities. Let the Gagne Watch begin! Okay, that's a stretch. Still, it's been great watching Guardado get it done with a mix of fearlessness, tenacity, and high-80s stuff. Grand.
Johnson. Piñeiro. Tonight.
In 25 words or less: 'Twas a game that ran the spectrum from boring to scintillating to tospy-turvy at points. There were some fireworks as well.
This one featured Nate Robertson going up against Ryan Franklin. If Miguel Olivo gets into a game in this series, we'll get to see two of the better catching arms in the business between Ivan Rodriguez and Miguel Olivo. I remember when I was watching completely meaningless spring training baseball back home and saw the slimmer and trimmer Ivan Rodriguez running the bases, and I didn't think it was him. Needless to say, I didn't have to tell you what question the ESPN crew was asking him. It might have been Gary Miller, whose role has decreased, though is still existent, since that one incident a few years ago with the off-duty police officer. Of course, a home series against the Tigers inevitably reminds me of mid-August during the 2000 season, where the Mariners lost the last two games of a series at home against Cleveland, then dropped three at home against the Tigers (Detroit scored 36 runs in the three games), then the Mariners went to the Jake and got swept in three. The Mariners lost eight straight and went on to lose 11 of 12 games.
But yeah, there was a game to be played. In the near-present.
TOP 1ST
Grade: B-
Franklin had some two-out issues. Brandon Inge fell behind 0-2, took a slider just off the plate, fouled off a pitch, then whiffed on a breaking ball low and away. Carlos Guillen lined out to left. Chris Shelton fisted an 0-2 pitch gently down the rightfield line for a single. Magglio Ordoñez got the hitters' counts, and ended up taking the full-count pitch inside for a walk. Rondell White popped to Jose Lopez on the outfield grass on the right side.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
There was a walk party and a 90-foot dash. Ichiro bounced deep in the hole to second. Randy Winn got ahead 3-0 and took the 3-1 pitch high. Raul Ibañez walked on a 3-1 pitch as well. Richie Sexson got the hitters' counts and took a 3-1 pitch for a high strike. On the full count, Sexson whiffed on a pitch down and in, but Winn stole third, beating Rodriguez' throw, and Ibañez took second as well. Adrian Beltre flew out high to rightfield on the first pitch.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Possibly Franklin's best inning of the night. Ivan Rodriguez flew out lazily to Ichiro on the first pitch. Craig Monroe popped the first pitch to short. Omar Infante got ahead 2-0 and later popped just foul to Beltre near the plate.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
Much like training pilots, the Mariners were in ground school. Jeremy Reed grounded the second pitch to short, and Carlos Guillen's throw pulled first baseman Chris Shelton off the bag a bit, but he reached bag to tag the passing Reed. Willie Bloomquist rolled out to short. Jose Lopez grounded out to third on the second pitch.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A
Even better than Franklin's second inning. Curtis Granderson whiffed on a 1-2 dirtball. Inge whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball low and away. Guillen popped the second pitch high to shallow centerfield, and Bloomquist came down with it.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C
Mild frustration here. Pat Borders took an 0-2 pitch right down the pipe for a strikeout. Ichiro fouled an 0-2 pitch off the ground and himself, then pushed the next pitch up the middle for a single. Winn got the hitters' counts and bounced the 3-1 pitch near the bag at second, where Infante picked it up, stepped on the bag, and threw with ample time to first.
TOP 4TH
Grade: D+
The entire game nearly derailed. Shelton singled into leftfield on the first pitch. Ordoñez fouled off a full-count pitch before taking the next one up and in for a walk. White reached on a low 2-2 pitch and dumped it into centerfield for a single to load the bases. Rodriguez took Reed to the track in centerfield, where the ball was caught, and Shelton scored easily. The remaining runners moved to third and second as well.
»» TIGERS 1, MARINERS 0
Monroe grounded a broken-bat 0-2 pitch to Bloomquist, who charged and threw to first as Ordoñez scored. White remained at second.
»» TIGERS 2, MARINERS 0
Infante whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball over the plate.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B
The turnaround was quick. Ibañez slapped a 2-0 pitch over the shortstop for a single into leftfield. Sexson mashed the second pitch into the visitors' bullpen in leftfield to tie the game. It got out in a hurry.
»» TIGERS 2, MARINERS 2
Beltre clubbed the second pitch (outer half) the other way, a homer to rightcenter. I like this.
»» MARINERS 3, TIGERS 2
Reed singled to centerfield on the first pitch. Bloomquist grounded the first pitch right to first, and Shelton threw to second for the force (3-6), but Reed's takeout slide didn't help Guillen get the throw off (he never did), and neither did some pitcher-covering issues. Lopez blooped the low second pitch into shallow leftfield for a single, and Bloomquist skittered to third. Borders popped the first pitch high to Rodriguez behind the plate. Ichiro popped the 2-0 pitch high to second.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
Franklin didn't even give the runs back. Granderson flew out to left on the second pitch. Inge nearly doubled a full-count pitch into the corner. After fouling off another pitch, Inge took a pitch at the knees over the outside corner for the strikeout. Guillen walked on a full count. Shelton fouled off an 0-2 pitch, took the next one just off the outside corner, fouled off another pitch, then rolled to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C
Sometimes extra-base hits come too late in the inning. Winn took a 1-2 pitch across the outside corner. Ibañez lined out to center on the second pitch. Sexson clubbed a 2-1 pitch to leftfield, where Monroe looked like he might have a running catch, but it went off his glove and toward the wall. Sexson coasted in with a double, which wasn't close due to a bad throw to the infield. Beltre took a 1-2 pitch for a high-and-outside strike. I didn't think it was a strike, but oh well.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B
Franklin escaped damage. Ordoñez whomped a 1-2 pitch off the track and under the manual scoreboard in leftfield for a ground-rule double. White grounded the second pitch to third, where Beltre made a long and strong throw in time. Rodriguez fouled off a 2-0 pitch and nubbed the next pitch past the mound, where it got past Franklin, but Bloomquist charged, scooped, and threw to first in time. Monroe rolled out to third.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C
A baserunner, but no more. Reed flew out to left. Ivan Rodriguez had the trainers attend to him behind the plate, and stayed in the game. Bloomquist smacked the first pitch into centerfield for a single. Lopez took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner for strike three. Borders whiffed badly on a way-outside 0-2 pitch.
TOP 7TH
Grade: D
A bad inning could have been exponentially worse. Infante grounded a 3-1 pitch to third. Granderson bounced out to first, where Sexson stepped on the bag. Inge grounded the second pitch just to Lopez' left into rightfield for a seeing-eye single. Guillen took a high 3-1 pitch for a walk.
Jeff Nelson came in for Franklin. Shelton got the hitters' counts and took the 3-1 pitch high and outside for a walk. Ordoñez got the hitters' counts and a full-count pitch, with which he took up and away (barely) for a walk. Good times. I hate myself.
»» TIGERS 3, MARINERS 3
JJ Putz came in for Nelson. White nubbed the second pitch along the third-base side, where Putz came off the mound, barehanded the ball, and threw in time to first. Whew.
Franklin's line: 6 2/3 innings, 3 runs, 5 hits, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts, 114 pitches (74 strikes)
Nelson's line: 0 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B
What is this thing you call timely hitting? Ichiro got behind 0-2 and ended up nubbing harmlessly back to the mound. Winn dumped the first pitch into leftcenter for a single. Ibañez took the first pitch in the back and took his base.
Fernando Rodney came in for Robertson. Sexson grounded a ball to Inge on the left side, who knocked it down and booted it into foul territory, loading the bases (that went for a single). Beltre tagged the second pitch into leftfield for a single, scoring Winn and leaving the bases still loaded.
»» MARINERS 4, TIGERS 3
Reed fouled off a trio of 2-2 pitches before poking a ball down the third-base line where Inge half-dove, knocked the ball down, stayed with it, tagged third base with his left foot (forcing out Sexson), then threw to first even though he didn't have a chance at Reed. Ibañez scored.
»» MARINERS 5, TIGERS 3
Bloomquist bounced out to second.
Robertson's line: 6 1/3 innings, 5 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, 88 pitches (55 strikes)
Rodney's line: 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 17 pitches (13 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: A-
The relief corps held the Kitties in check. Rodriguez flew out on the second pitch to Ichiro a few feet short of the track in rightfield. Monroe rolled up the middle, where Bloomquist dove to his left and nailed Monroe at first. Infante grounded up the middle to Bloomquist again, who ran over to plug the hole, but threw wide to first, pulling the tall Sexson off the bag.
Ron Villone came in for Putz. Dmitri Young came in to hit for Granderson. Young popped the second pitch high to rightfield.
Putz' line: 1 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (7 strikes)
Villone's line: 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 2 pitches (2 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C-
The bottom of the lineup went on autopilot waiting for Eddie to get warm. Craig Dingman came in for Rodney. Lopez popped the first pitch high into leftfield for an out. Borders popped the first pitch to Guillen near the leftfield line in shallow left. Ichiro whiffed right over an 0-2 breaking ball.
Dingman's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 5 pitches (5 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: B
Eddie Guardado came in for Villone. Inge popped a 3-1 pitch high to rightfield. Guillen popped a 1-2 pitch high to Beltre on the left side. Shelton worked a 1-2 count full and fouled off a pitch before taking one very high and outside. Ordoñez took a 3-1 pitch over the outside corner, then hit a fly ball into the gap in rightcenter that required a running catch by Reed. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 22 pitches (11 strikes)
---
Gameball: Adrian Beltre.
If Adrian can turn this into anything, it'll be great. Do you remember the days of .235-hitting Adrian Beltre earlier this year? He's now at .259. With the homer, he's now up to 12 homers and 49 RBIs, which is still vastly off a pace we expected, but Beltre's got to start somewhere. I guess the one thing I liked out of Beltre was the fact that the homer went out to the opposite field. If he gets on a roll where he starts hitting to rightfield and rightcenter instead of going pull-happy like much of the year (though the one blast a while ago that went a billion feet to centerfield was cool), it could be great great fun. Interesting note here is that Beltre drove in both of the Mariners' go-ahead runs in the game, the third run to make it 3-2 in the fourth, and the run to make it 4-3 in the seventh. Nicely done, o gameball one.
Goat: Jeff Nelson.
Ryan Franklin set the table for Nelson in the seventh, leaving two on with two out. Usually in these situations I have to make up my mind between pinning it on the pitcher that started the mess or the pitcher that prolonged it. Franklin did set the table, but a relief pitcher shouldn't be going out there, falling behind both hitters, and walking the both of them. It was an absolutely abysmal performance -- the opposite of clutch. If Nelson lets it get any worse, or Putz after him, Franklin is on the hook for the loss. Anyway, a type of appearance this horrible is more the exception than the rule with Nelson this year, even given his all-out oldness.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 71-27 .724 -- W3
2002 60-38 .612 11 L2
2003 59-39 .602 12 L3
2000 58-40 .592 13 W1
2005 43-55 .439 28 W1
2004 38-60 .388 33 L1
Let's talk about Ryan Franklin's outing. It certainly wasn't the greatest outing he's pitched this year. Far from it, in fact. The bullpen didn't completely implode, so he was never on the hook for the loss in the seventh. However, there was much turbulence along the way. That fourth inning (loading the bases with nobody out) isn't something I want to go through often, and miraculously, the Tigers failed to get a hit, though they scored twice nonetheless. His outing reminded me somewhat of Aaron Sele's outing when he had one foot out the door on May 16. Sele went six innings in that game, gave up one run, and walked six. Franklin walked four in this game, which is much too high. So, it was a somewhat perplexing outing for Franklin, with the walks, the terrible fourth, and the badness to start the seventh, yet he somehow only gave up the three runs.
Luckily, after the Tigers had scored many less runs than they should have in the top of the fourth, the Seattle offense woke up in mega-rapid fashion. Raul Ibañez singled, Richie Sexson reached the visitors' bullpen, Adrian Beltre parked one to rightfield, and Jeremy Reed singled on the first pitch. The game went from boring and bleak to watchable almost immediately. Better yet, the Mariners had turned a 2-0 deficit around into a 3-2 lead. I've simply weaned myself off of comebacks since 2001. I don't expect them out of this team, but whenever I get to see it happen, it's a great thing when it holds up. You'd like to see the bullpen hold it up, but you can't have everything in a season like this. Of course, seasons like this don't leave you with much to begin with. Don't think too long about that last sentence, because I let myself do exactly that, and I almost went nuts.
I didn't quite give him the gameball, but I thought about it. JJ Putz came in to clean up the Franklin/Nelson mess in the seventh. With two outs and the bases loaded, Putz was to face Rondell White, the man who arguably ruined the Mariners' 2003 season all by himself. Based on Murphy's Law-ology, the likely situation that would come to mind here would be Putz (prone to homers lately) giving up the grand slam to White (man who helped the Mariners go on a 51-50 tear down the stretch in 2003). Instead, White dribbled one along the third-base side, Putz came out for the ball, barehanded it, and threw in time. That's one of the biggest outs Putz has gotten all year. I guess I'll be left beaming after every appearance in which Putz doesn't give up big homers with runners on base in close games.
One last thing, and that's to remind everyone to enjoy every time that Eddie Guardado takes the mound for this team, because his Mariner tenure could come to an end within the week. If the team never takes a lead into the ninth for the rest of the week, we may have seen Guardado's final appearance as a Mariner. Though he was hurt for much of last year, I knew I was missing something in 2004, and that was a healthy Guardado to close the very few games in which the Mariners had carried a lead into the ninth. I also missed a healthy Rafael Soriano, but that's neither here nor there. That's a different discussion entirely. All in all, it's been a joy to see Eddie Guardado pitch, and that's not just because he's converted 22 straight save opportunities. Let the Gagne Watch begin! Okay, that's a stretch. Still, it's been great watching Guardado get it done with a mix of fearlessness, tenacity, and high-80s stuff. Grand.
Johnson. Piñeiro. Tonight.
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