Monday, August 08, 2005
GAME 111: MARINERS 5, TWINS 4
Mariners 5, Twins 4
In 25 words or less: The Mariners overcame (injured?) Vintage Meche as well as a pitcher that had beaten them handily in the past.
This one featured sinkerballer and two-time Mariner-beater Carlos Silva going up against the ever-enigmatic Gil Meche. This Monday game was one of the few on a light schedule around the Majors. The Mariners get Thursday off this week.
TOP 1ST
Grade: A
Decent start. Shannon Stewart lined the second pitch off of Meche's right forearm and on or near his hip. The ball ricocheted to Adrian Beltre at third, who gobbled it up and threw to first. Meche stayed in the game after taking a couple of warmup tosses. Nick Punto hit a low liner to leftfield on a 1-2 pitch, where Chris Snelling made the catch. Joe Mauer grounded a 1-2 pitch up the middle to Willie Bloomquist, who went to his right to make the play and record the out.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
This was quick. Ichiro served a 2-2 pitch to a running Stewart near the stands on the leftfield line. Willie Bloomquist flew out high to rightfield on the second pitch. Raul Ibañez chopped the first pitch to short, and may have tweaked his ankle running to first, though he stayed in the game.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Meche didn't blow up. Matthew LeCroy fouled off a full-count pitch before taking a fastball on the black of the outside corner for strike three. Jacque Jones flew out high to centerfield on a 3-0 pitch. Lew Ford got behind 0-2 and later flew out to a drifting Jeremy Reed in rightcenter.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
Breakneck speed. Richie Sexson worked an 0-2 count full before foul-tipping a pitch down and away for a strikeout. Adrian Beltre lined out to rightfield on the first pitch. Jeremy Reed lined the second pitch to rightfield.
TOP 3RD
Grade: F
Look what Meche did! Justin Morneau grounded the second pitch to first, and Sexson stepped on the bag. Terry Tiffee poked the second pitch into shallow centerfield for a single. Jason Bartlett walked on four pitches. Stewart rocked the 1-2 pitch into the gap and to the wall in leftcenter to score Tiffee and Bartlett.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 0
Punto got behind 0-2 and grounded the 2-2 pitch gently down the rightfield line for a double, scoring Stewart and bringing pitching coach Bryan Price to the mound.
»» TWINS 3, MARINERS 0
Mauer got ahead 3-0 and flew out high to leftfield on a 3-1 pitch. LeCroy singled through the left side to score Punto, though Beltre cut off a relay throw and the infield got LeCroy in a rundown between first and second.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 0
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B-
Some life. Mike Morse gently grounded the first pitch to third. Chris Snelling walloped the second pitch about seven rows into the seats in rightcenter (418 feet) for his second Major League homer.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 1
Yorvit Torrealba grounded the first pitch to Punto in the hole on the right side. Ichiro popped the first pitch high to Bartlett just foul along the leftfield line.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A
Polar opposite. Jones flew out high to Beltre on the infield grass. Ford lined a ball to Beltre's feet, where the latter got his glove down in time for the lineout. Morneau worked an 0-2 count full before flying out to rightfield.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B
They got back into it. Bloomquist grounded the second pitch to second. Ibañez got the hitters' counts and doubled on a full count off the base of the wall in leftcenter. Sexson stuck the 1-2 pitch into the leftfield corner for a double, scoring Ibañez.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 2
Beltre bounced an 0-2 pitch off the plate and high into the air, and there was nothing that Bartlett could do after charging in from short (Sexson went to third). Reed sharply singled into centerfield, scoring Sexson and moving Beltre to second.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 3
Morse grounded the second pitch right to third for a 5-4-3 double play.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C+
This could have been really bad. Tiffee lined the second pitch to a running Ichiro in rightfield. Bartlett walked on four pitches. Stewart wrapped a double into the rightfield corner, and Bartlett held at third. Punto got behind 0-2 and later foul-tipped a 1-2 fastball up and in for a strikeout. Mauer was intentionally walked. LeCroy hit a first-pitch fly ball to the track in rightfield, where Ichiro made the catch.
Meche's line: 5 innings, 4 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 88 pitches (51 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B-
Huh? Snelling got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch. Torrealba hit a broken-bat grounder toward the left side on the second pitch, and Silva came off the mound to throw off balance to first for the out, though Snelling moved to second. Ichiro flew out high to rightfield on the first pitch. Bloomquist got behind 0-2 and ended up doubling into the gap in rightfield on the 2-2 pitch, scoring Snelling and somehow tying the game.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 4
Ibañez whiffed on an 0-2 pitch.
TOP 6TH
Grade: A
Matt Thornton came in for Meche. Jones bounced out to short. Ford grounded to second on the first pitch. Morneau got behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 2-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
This was disgusting. Sexson took an 0-2 pitch off the outside corner, but it was called a strike anyway. Beltre rolled an 0-2 pitch to short. Reed took an 0-2 pitch over the inside corner.
TOP 7TH
Grade: B
More adversity this time for Thornton. Tiffee got the hitters' counts, fouled off a couple of full-count pitches, then whiffed at a high fastball. Bartlett got the hitters' counts and bounced a 3-1 pitch up the middle, where Morse went over and nearly threw in time to first (nice try). Stewart tapped the second pitch back to the mound, and Thornton threw to Morse at the bag at second for a 1-6-3 double play.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
Sinkers equal double plays. Morse took an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner, much to Morse's dismay. Snelling poked a single up the middle. Torrealba hit a broken-bat grounder to short, which was turned into a 6-4-3 double play.
TOP 8TH
Grade: B
Two out of three relievers isn't bad. Punto took a full-count pitch down and in for a walk. Mauer whiffed on an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner.
Jeff Nelson came in for Thornton. Punto stole second on the 2-1 pitch to LeCroy, and the throw got past Bloomquist and into centerfield, but not far enough for Punto to take another base. LeCroy got ahead 3-1 and later took a high full-count pitch for a walk, and Luis Rodriguez pinch-ran for him.
George Sherrill came in for Nelson. Jones lined the first pitch to Reed in centerfield, and Punto tagged and went to third. Ford whiffed on a very high 0-2 pitch.
Thornton's line: 2 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 35 pitches (21 strikes)
Nelson's line: 0 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (2 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 5 pitches (5 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B-
Unusual. Ichiro got ahead 2-0, fouled off a couple of 2-2 pitches and shot a single through the left side. Bloomquist singled sharply to rightfield, sending Ichiro to third.
Jesse Crain came in for Silva. Ibañez broke his bat on the first pitch and blooped to first for the out, and everyone held. Sexson fisted a 2-1 pitch into shallow centerfield, where Punto ranged backward, reached back, and made the catch. Bloomquist tagged on the play and moved to second on a throw home which kept Ichiro at third. Beltre got ahead 3-0 and was walked intentionally. Reed got ahead 3-1 and took a full-count pitch high and outside, forcing Ichiro across and moving everyone else up 90 feet.
»» MARINERS 5, TWINS 4
Morse whiffed on a 2-2 pitch high and away.
Silva's line: 7 innings, 5 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 93 pitches (71 strikes)
Crain's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 20 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: A
Eddie Guardado came in to shut the door. Morneau flew out to leftfield on an 0-2 pitch. Tiffee flew out to rightfield on the second pitch. Bartlett whiffed on a high and outside 1-2 pitch. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 9 pitches (7 strikes)
---
Gameball: Matt Thornton.
As much as we've bagged on him this season, he may have had his best outing of the year in this game. You can guess what I was thinking after Gil Meche got taken out after five innings. There's not really a dropoff in terms of "feelings of helplessness" when you're watching your team go from Gil Meche to Matt Thornton on the mound. Then Thornton had a 1-2-3 sixth inning. In the seventh, he allowed only the well-placed ground ball on which Morse nearly made a really nice play. Right after that, Thornton had a ball hit right back to him and started the double play to end the inning. His only misstep was the leadoff walk of Nick Punto in the eighth, but he came back to strike out Joe Mauer before he was pulled. Then Jeff Nelson came in and was absolutely worthless, followed by George Sherrill's bid for the gameball. Basically, Thornton made me eat my words for one night. If you ask me who I want for long relief in a tie game in the sixth, I'm not going to want to go with Thornton. Of course, I'm sure Mike Hargrove was thinking the same thing as well, and probably would have made the same decision as I, except for the fact that Julio Mateo had thrown 1 1/3 innings the day before.
Goat: Mike Morse.
It wasn't just that he went 0-for-4. It wasn't just that he struck out twice, though that's part of it. He didn't make any errors. He put two balls in play. The first was a groundout to lead off the third inning. The other was a double-play ball that froze the Mariners with a 4-3 deficit to end the fourth. That could have been a bigger inning, and it sure would have been nice. I have a feeling it's safe to say that the American League knows a lot more about pitching to this guy than they did in mid-June. Morse hit .357 in June and hit .282 in July. Morse started July with a .353 average and ended it with a .321 mark. He currently sits at .307. If the big shortstop doesn't have his bat, it just gives Yuniesky Betancourt more playing time out there, I think. Maybe it gives one of the other shortstops in the system some playing time in September. I'll tell you who it shouldn't be: Michael Garciaparra, who was the Banner Bank minor-league player update on the FSNNW telecast for this game. I still can't believe someone broke the 50-error barrier in a season of professional ball at any level.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 80-31 .721 -- L1
2002 69-42 .622 11 W6
2003 68-43 .613 12 W2
2000 65-46 .586 15 W3
2005 48-63 .432 32 W1
2004 41-70 .369 39 L1
Yes, the 2004 Mariners had crossed the 70-loss mark at this time last year. The 2004 Mariners took 128 games to register their 48th win of the season. Like the post title says, this was game 111 for the 2005 Mariners. In case anyone's wondering, last year's team at this point of the season won back-to-back games before embarking on a stretch where they lost 10 of 13 games.
Regardless of the fact that the Mariners had runners on the corners with nobody out and couldn't drive the go-ahead run home with a hit, this is still a good win for the Mariners. How often have we seen this team come back from a 4-0 deficit to win a game? Early on, this seemed like a Mariner game that I'd seen many times before. Gil Meche got lit up for four runs in the third inning, and I figured that'd be it. Instead, Chris Snelling homered in the third, Richie Sexson (double) and Jeremy Reed (single) drove in runs in the fourth, and Willie Bloomquist doubled to tie the game in the fifth. Then the relief corps was able to keep the Twins off the scoreboard for the rest of the game. Meanwhile, the Mariner hitters took advantage of Jesse Crain's wildness in the eighth. Enter Eddie Guardado, and you have your game. It seems like these are the types of games you lose against a team like the White Sox. Alas, these are the Twins we're dealing with here.
Multi-hit games in this one went to Willie Bloomquist (2-for-4 with an RBI double) and Chris Snelling (2-for-2 with a homer and a walk, scoring twice). Bloomquist's hits weren't cheap, and they were timely. He doubled to tie the game in the fifth and drilled a single in the eighth to put runners on first and third with nobody out. That set the table for the Mariners' incredible rally (sense the sarcasm). Snelling homered to get the Mariners on the board in the third, and he hit a one-out single in the seventh before he was doubled off (Torrealba). Adrian Beltre and Jeremy Reed got aboard twice apiece via singles and walks. Beltre's hit was a cheapie, a ball that bounced off the plate and probably thirty feet in the air to where the left side of the Minnesota infield couldn't do anything with it. Reed's hit was a very hard-hit ball that made it 4-3 in the fourth. I guess after seeing Carlos Silva manhandle this team twice, I was glad to see the Mariners get to him. That they tacked him with a loss is just icing on the cake.
As crappy as Jeff Nelson was in his short appearance, George Sherrill was just as good. The guy that should have broken the Opening Day roster came up with two big outs to preserve the tie game in the eighth before the Mariners got the lead. Yes, behold George Sherrill, the reason why I can't rationalize the Mariners ever bringing back Ron Villone a second time. The Northern League is representin', as some would say. It's a shame the other Northern League guy that had tattoos and stuff hasn't been able to throw this year. I can't tell you how much I miss watching Bobby Madritsch throw the ball.
I said Gil Meche was giving us Vintage Meche while he was on the mound tonight, but that's only half fair. He did take the line drive to the hip and arm from Shannon Stewart, the very first hitter in the game. For all I know, he might have been completely lucky to even get through five innings. Of course, if a completely healthy Gil Meche went out there and gave up four runs in the third inning, I wouldn't even bat an eyelash. However, I might have to chalk up this particular outing by Meche into the column labeled "slightly inconclusive." It's like if, say, the Falcons are hosting the Packers and Michael Vick doesn't know whether he'll play due to a pulled hamstring or something. Vegas sometimes declares such a situation as "NL" for "no line." In an oddly related note, I'be been looking at Vegas lines in the scoreboard pages of the daily paper since my pre-teen years, even though I've never placed a single sports wager, and I should probably keep it that way for another five years or so.
With this win, the Mariners have won the first game in five of the last six series. They have won only one of those series, and that was two weeks ago in Seattle against the Tigers. For the third straight series, the Mariners look to take the series with a win in the second game. Will the third time be the charm? Well, that won't be the only thing we'll be watching.
Lohse. Hernandez. Tomorrow.
In 25 words or less: The Mariners overcame (injured?) Vintage Meche as well as a pitcher that had beaten them handily in the past.
This one featured sinkerballer and two-time Mariner-beater Carlos Silva going up against the ever-enigmatic Gil Meche. This Monday game was one of the few on a light schedule around the Majors. The Mariners get Thursday off this week.
TOP 1ST
Grade: A
Decent start. Shannon Stewart lined the second pitch off of Meche's right forearm and on or near his hip. The ball ricocheted to Adrian Beltre at third, who gobbled it up and threw to first. Meche stayed in the game after taking a couple of warmup tosses. Nick Punto hit a low liner to leftfield on a 1-2 pitch, where Chris Snelling made the catch. Joe Mauer grounded a 1-2 pitch up the middle to Willie Bloomquist, who went to his right to make the play and record the out.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
This was quick. Ichiro served a 2-2 pitch to a running Stewart near the stands on the leftfield line. Willie Bloomquist flew out high to rightfield on the second pitch. Raul Ibañez chopped the first pitch to short, and may have tweaked his ankle running to first, though he stayed in the game.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Meche didn't blow up. Matthew LeCroy fouled off a full-count pitch before taking a fastball on the black of the outside corner for strike three. Jacque Jones flew out high to centerfield on a 3-0 pitch. Lew Ford got behind 0-2 and later flew out to a drifting Jeremy Reed in rightcenter.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
Breakneck speed. Richie Sexson worked an 0-2 count full before foul-tipping a pitch down and away for a strikeout. Adrian Beltre lined out to rightfield on the first pitch. Jeremy Reed lined the second pitch to rightfield.
TOP 3RD
Grade: F
Look what Meche did! Justin Morneau grounded the second pitch to first, and Sexson stepped on the bag. Terry Tiffee poked the second pitch into shallow centerfield for a single. Jason Bartlett walked on four pitches. Stewart rocked the 1-2 pitch into the gap and to the wall in leftcenter to score Tiffee and Bartlett.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 0
Punto got behind 0-2 and grounded the 2-2 pitch gently down the rightfield line for a double, scoring Stewart and bringing pitching coach Bryan Price to the mound.
»» TWINS 3, MARINERS 0
Mauer got ahead 3-0 and flew out high to leftfield on a 3-1 pitch. LeCroy singled through the left side to score Punto, though Beltre cut off a relay throw and the infield got LeCroy in a rundown between first and second.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 0
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B-
Some life. Mike Morse gently grounded the first pitch to third. Chris Snelling walloped the second pitch about seven rows into the seats in rightcenter (418 feet) for his second Major League homer.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 1
Yorvit Torrealba grounded the first pitch to Punto in the hole on the right side. Ichiro popped the first pitch high to Bartlett just foul along the leftfield line.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A
Polar opposite. Jones flew out high to Beltre on the infield grass. Ford lined a ball to Beltre's feet, where the latter got his glove down in time for the lineout. Morneau worked an 0-2 count full before flying out to rightfield.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B
They got back into it. Bloomquist grounded the second pitch to second. Ibañez got the hitters' counts and doubled on a full count off the base of the wall in leftcenter. Sexson stuck the 1-2 pitch into the leftfield corner for a double, scoring Ibañez.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 2
Beltre bounced an 0-2 pitch off the plate and high into the air, and there was nothing that Bartlett could do after charging in from short (Sexson went to third). Reed sharply singled into centerfield, scoring Sexson and moving Beltre to second.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 3
Morse grounded the second pitch right to third for a 5-4-3 double play.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C+
This could have been really bad. Tiffee lined the second pitch to a running Ichiro in rightfield. Bartlett walked on four pitches. Stewart wrapped a double into the rightfield corner, and Bartlett held at third. Punto got behind 0-2 and later foul-tipped a 1-2 fastball up and in for a strikeout. Mauer was intentionally walked. LeCroy hit a first-pitch fly ball to the track in rightfield, where Ichiro made the catch.
Meche's line: 5 innings, 4 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 88 pitches (51 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B-
Huh? Snelling got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch. Torrealba hit a broken-bat grounder toward the left side on the second pitch, and Silva came off the mound to throw off balance to first for the out, though Snelling moved to second. Ichiro flew out high to rightfield on the first pitch. Bloomquist got behind 0-2 and ended up doubling into the gap in rightfield on the 2-2 pitch, scoring Snelling and somehow tying the game.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 4
Ibañez whiffed on an 0-2 pitch.
TOP 6TH
Grade: A
Matt Thornton came in for Meche. Jones bounced out to short. Ford grounded to second on the first pitch. Morneau got behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 2-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
This was disgusting. Sexson took an 0-2 pitch off the outside corner, but it was called a strike anyway. Beltre rolled an 0-2 pitch to short. Reed took an 0-2 pitch over the inside corner.
TOP 7TH
Grade: B
More adversity this time for Thornton. Tiffee got the hitters' counts, fouled off a couple of full-count pitches, then whiffed at a high fastball. Bartlett got the hitters' counts and bounced a 3-1 pitch up the middle, where Morse went over and nearly threw in time to first (nice try). Stewart tapped the second pitch back to the mound, and Thornton threw to Morse at the bag at second for a 1-6-3 double play.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
Sinkers equal double plays. Morse took an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner, much to Morse's dismay. Snelling poked a single up the middle. Torrealba hit a broken-bat grounder to short, which was turned into a 6-4-3 double play.
TOP 8TH
Grade: B
Two out of three relievers isn't bad. Punto took a full-count pitch down and in for a walk. Mauer whiffed on an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner.
Jeff Nelson came in for Thornton. Punto stole second on the 2-1 pitch to LeCroy, and the throw got past Bloomquist and into centerfield, but not far enough for Punto to take another base. LeCroy got ahead 3-1 and later took a high full-count pitch for a walk, and Luis Rodriguez pinch-ran for him.
George Sherrill came in for Nelson. Jones lined the first pitch to Reed in centerfield, and Punto tagged and went to third. Ford whiffed on a very high 0-2 pitch.
Thornton's line: 2 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 35 pitches (21 strikes)
Nelson's line: 0 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (2 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 5 pitches (5 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B-
Unusual. Ichiro got ahead 2-0, fouled off a couple of 2-2 pitches and shot a single through the left side. Bloomquist singled sharply to rightfield, sending Ichiro to third.
Jesse Crain came in for Silva. Ibañez broke his bat on the first pitch and blooped to first for the out, and everyone held. Sexson fisted a 2-1 pitch into shallow centerfield, where Punto ranged backward, reached back, and made the catch. Bloomquist tagged on the play and moved to second on a throw home which kept Ichiro at third. Beltre got ahead 3-0 and was walked intentionally. Reed got ahead 3-1 and took a full-count pitch high and outside, forcing Ichiro across and moving everyone else up 90 feet.
»» MARINERS 5, TWINS 4
Morse whiffed on a 2-2 pitch high and away.
Silva's line: 7 innings, 5 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 93 pitches (71 strikes)
Crain's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 20 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: A
Eddie Guardado came in to shut the door. Morneau flew out to leftfield on an 0-2 pitch. Tiffee flew out to rightfield on the second pitch. Bartlett whiffed on a high and outside 1-2 pitch. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 9 pitches (7 strikes)
---
Gameball: Matt Thornton.
As much as we've bagged on him this season, he may have had his best outing of the year in this game. You can guess what I was thinking after Gil Meche got taken out after five innings. There's not really a dropoff in terms of "feelings of helplessness" when you're watching your team go from Gil Meche to Matt Thornton on the mound. Then Thornton had a 1-2-3 sixth inning. In the seventh, he allowed only the well-placed ground ball on which Morse nearly made a really nice play. Right after that, Thornton had a ball hit right back to him and started the double play to end the inning. His only misstep was the leadoff walk of Nick Punto in the eighth, but he came back to strike out Joe Mauer before he was pulled. Then Jeff Nelson came in and was absolutely worthless, followed by George Sherrill's bid for the gameball. Basically, Thornton made me eat my words for one night. If you ask me who I want for long relief in a tie game in the sixth, I'm not going to want to go with Thornton. Of course, I'm sure Mike Hargrove was thinking the same thing as well, and probably would have made the same decision as I, except for the fact that Julio Mateo had thrown 1 1/3 innings the day before.
Goat: Mike Morse.
It wasn't just that he went 0-for-4. It wasn't just that he struck out twice, though that's part of it. He didn't make any errors. He put two balls in play. The first was a groundout to lead off the third inning. The other was a double-play ball that froze the Mariners with a 4-3 deficit to end the fourth. That could have been a bigger inning, and it sure would have been nice. I have a feeling it's safe to say that the American League knows a lot more about pitching to this guy than they did in mid-June. Morse hit .357 in June and hit .282 in July. Morse started July with a .353 average and ended it with a .321 mark. He currently sits at .307. If the big shortstop doesn't have his bat, it just gives Yuniesky Betancourt more playing time out there, I think. Maybe it gives one of the other shortstops in the system some playing time in September. I'll tell you who it shouldn't be: Michael Garciaparra, who was the Banner Bank minor-league player update on the FSNNW telecast for this game. I still can't believe someone broke the 50-error barrier in a season of professional ball at any level.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 80-31 .721 -- L1
2002 69-42 .622 11 W6
2003 68-43 .613 12 W2
2000 65-46 .586 15 W3
2005 48-63 .432 32 W1
2004 41-70 .369 39 L1
Yes, the 2004 Mariners had crossed the 70-loss mark at this time last year. The 2004 Mariners took 128 games to register their 48th win of the season. Like the post title says, this was game 111 for the 2005 Mariners. In case anyone's wondering, last year's team at this point of the season won back-to-back games before embarking on a stretch where they lost 10 of 13 games.
Regardless of the fact that the Mariners had runners on the corners with nobody out and couldn't drive the go-ahead run home with a hit, this is still a good win for the Mariners. How often have we seen this team come back from a 4-0 deficit to win a game? Early on, this seemed like a Mariner game that I'd seen many times before. Gil Meche got lit up for four runs in the third inning, and I figured that'd be it. Instead, Chris Snelling homered in the third, Richie Sexson (double) and Jeremy Reed (single) drove in runs in the fourth, and Willie Bloomquist doubled to tie the game in the fifth. Then the relief corps was able to keep the Twins off the scoreboard for the rest of the game. Meanwhile, the Mariner hitters took advantage of Jesse Crain's wildness in the eighth. Enter Eddie Guardado, and you have your game. It seems like these are the types of games you lose against a team like the White Sox. Alas, these are the Twins we're dealing with here.
Multi-hit games in this one went to Willie Bloomquist (2-for-4 with an RBI double) and Chris Snelling (2-for-2 with a homer and a walk, scoring twice). Bloomquist's hits weren't cheap, and they were timely. He doubled to tie the game in the fifth and drilled a single in the eighth to put runners on first and third with nobody out. That set the table for the Mariners' incredible rally (sense the sarcasm). Snelling homered to get the Mariners on the board in the third, and he hit a one-out single in the seventh before he was doubled off (Torrealba). Adrian Beltre and Jeremy Reed got aboard twice apiece via singles and walks. Beltre's hit was a cheapie, a ball that bounced off the plate and probably thirty feet in the air to where the left side of the Minnesota infield couldn't do anything with it. Reed's hit was a very hard-hit ball that made it 4-3 in the fourth. I guess after seeing Carlos Silva manhandle this team twice, I was glad to see the Mariners get to him. That they tacked him with a loss is just icing on the cake.
As crappy as Jeff Nelson was in his short appearance, George Sherrill was just as good. The guy that should have broken the Opening Day roster came up with two big outs to preserve the tie game in the eighth before the Mariners got the lead. Yes, behold George Sherrill, the reason why I can't rationalize the Mariners ever bringing back Ron Villone a second time. The Northern League is representin', as some would say. It's a shame the other Northern League guy that had tattoos and stuff hasn't been able to throw this year. I can't tell you how much I miss watching Bobby Madritsch throw the ball.
I said Gil Meche was giving us Vintage Meche while he was on the mound tonight, but that's only half fair. He did take the line drive to the hip and arm from Shannon Stewart, the very first hitter in the game. For all I know, he might have been completely lucky to even get through five innings. Of course, if a completely healthy Gil Meche went out there and gave up four runs in the third inning, I wouldn't even bat an eyelash. However, I might have to chalk up this particular outing by Meche into the column labeled "slightly inconclusive." It's like if, say, the Falcons are hosting the Packers and Michael Vick doesn't know whether he'll play due to a pulled hamstring or something. Vegas sometimes declares such a situation as "NL" for "no line." In an oddly related note, I'be been looking at Vegas lines in the scoreboard pages of the daily paper since my pre-teen years, even though I've never placed a single sports wager, and I should probably keep it that way for another five years or so.
With this win, the Mariners have won the first game in five of the last six series. They have won only one of those series, and that was two weeks ago in Seattle against the Tigers. For the third straight series, the Mariners look to take the series with a win in the second game. Will the third time be the charm? Well, that won't be the only thing we'll be watching.
Lohse. Hernandez. Tomorrow.
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