Friday, September 16, 2005
GAME 146: RANGERS 4, MARINERS 3
Rangers 4, Mariners 3
In 25 words or less: Thirteen definitely wasn't a lucky number here. It was a night where not even four Ranger errors could help the Mariners.
[***NOTE -- post probably will be finished late Friday night.]
This one featured Jeff Harris going up against Kameron Loe. Could Harris right the shakiness of his last couple starts? Could the Mariners run their winning streak to four, the longest since right before the All-Star break? Could they take advantage of the homer-friendly confines in Arlington?
And thanks to Dan Lucero for finding this. Though we're grateful for any link, I was mildly disappointed that something along the lines of "so obsessive with the recaps, it's no wonder he's single!" wasn't included in the blip. It would have been good for at least a chuckle. Yes, I'm joking. About the disappointment part. Welcome to any new readers that may come as a result of that there link.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C
Phooey. Ichiro grounded out to Michael Young in the hole at short. Jeremy Reed punched a grounder down the rightfield line for a double. Raul Ibañez bounced the second pitch behind the mound, but Alfonso Soriano's throw to first was dropped by Mark Teixeira at first as Reed moved to third. Richie Sexson fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Adrian Beltre walked on four pitches, moving Ibañez to second. Greg Dobbs bounced an 0-2 pitch to second.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: A
Quick and to the painless. David Dellucci fell behind 0-2 and settled for a 1-2 groundout to short. Michael Young bounced the second pitch to Yuniesky Betancourt at short, who charged and threw to first for the out. Mark Teixeira lined out to Ichiro at the track in rightfield.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B
Early run. Jose Lopez popped high to short. Yuniesky Betancourt cranked a double off the leftfield scoreboard. Yorvit Torrealba got ahead 3-0 and walked on a full-count pitch low and away. Ichiro took the first pitch high and outside and to the backstop, advancing Betancourt to third and Torrealba to second. Ichiro grounded to Teixeira at first, scoring Betancourt and moving Torrealba to third.
»» MARINERS 1, RANGERS 0
Reed flew out to Mench making a running catch in rightcenter.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
Well-centered. Hank Blalock got ahead 2-0 and walked on a full-count pitch inside. Alfonso Soriano popped the second pitch to rightfield. Kevin Mench flew out to Reed in deep centerfield on the second pitch. Adrian Gonzalez popped the 2-0 pitch to deep rightcenter, where Reed made a reaching running catch, plowing into the wall and holding onto the ball.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B-
Err. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and tapped a 2-2 offering back to the mound. Sexson tapped to Loe as well, but it went through his legs (error) and Sexson was aboard at first. Beltre got ahead 2-0 and tapped a 2-2 pitch to the mound, and Loe threw wide of second base trying to get the force on Sexson, and it went to centerfield, allowing Sexson to move to third. Dobbs flew out to deep centerfield, easily scoring Sexson.
»» MARINERS 2, RANGERS 0
Lopez lined a ball off of Blalock's glove (error) and into leftfield for a single, moving Beltre to second. Betancourt grounded hard to Blalock at third, who stepped on the bag for the force.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C
Giving back. Gary Matthews, Jr. lined a 1-2 pitch over Betancourt at short for a single. Gerald Laird got ahead 2-0 and walked on a full-count pitch low and away. Dellucci bounced a 2-0 pitch to first where Sexson threw to second, but second-base umpire Brian Knight actually called Laird safe on the neighborhood play on Betancourt tagging the bag (bases loaded). Young singled to leftfield on the first pitch for his 200th hit of the season, scoring Matthews and leaving the bases loaded.
»» MARINERS 2, RANGERS 1
Teixeira flew out to leftfield on a 2-0 pitch, but Laird held at third. Blalock made good though, flying out even deeper to Ibañez who ran back and made a reaching over-the-shoulder catch, scoring Laird on the first pitch. Young had to tag second base on his way back to first after the catch.
»» RANGERS 2, MARINERS 2
Alfonso Soriano popped a 2-2 pitch to Lopez in shallow rightfield.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C
Bah. Torrealba whiffed on a 1-2 dirtball (2-3 putout). Ichiro walked on four pitches (ball four low and away). Reed rolled to Teixeira, allowing Ichiro to advance to second. Ibañez walked on four pitches. Sexson bounced the first pitch to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
Even more glove. Mench doubled the second pitch toward the rightfield corner, even beating an Ichiro throw. Gonzalez popped to Ibañez on a running catch near the leftcenter track, allowing Mench to move to third. Matthews lined a lined fly ball into shallow rightcenter, where Reed dove and made a backhanded catch, though Mench scored on the play.
»» RANGERS 3, MARINERS 2
Laird flew out high to leftfield on the second pitch.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C
Dang it. Beltre popped a full-count pitch to centerfield. Dobbs stung a 1-2 pitch into centerfield for a single. Lopez nailed Laird behind the plate in the catcher's helmet on a 1-1 backswing before popping the next pitch to Soriano on the infield. Betancourt doubled the first pitch off the base of the wall down the leftfield line, and Dobbs was nailed at the plate on the relay (7-6-2).
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A
Zoom. Dellucci lined right to Sexson at first. Young flew out to centerfield. Teixeira whiffed on a full-count pitch.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C
More crap. Torrealba whiffed on a bunt attempt and fell behind 0-2 before lining a ball under Young at short for a single. Ichiro watched as Torrealba went to second on a horrible pickoff throw by Loe, who threw the ball well wide of first. Ichiro tried bunting for a base hit on the first pitch, but instead settled for a sacrifice as Torrealba moved to second.
Brian Shouse came in for Loe. Reed bounced the second pitch to third, and Blalock went home for the easy play on Torrealba coming in from third. Ibañez got ahead 3-0 and singled to rightfield on the 3-1 pitch, moving Reed to second.
Joaquin Benoit came in for Shouse. Sexson got ahead 2-0 and walked on a full count checkswing, loading the bases. Beltre bounced the first pitch for a 4-6 fielder's choice.
Loe's line: 5 1/3 innings, 2 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts, 100 pitches (58 strikes)
Shouse's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: A-
Decent. Blalock grounded the 0-2 pitch to Sexson's feet, and he went to the bag. Alfonso Soriano flew out to Ichiro in fairly deep rightcenter on the first pitch. Mench was beaned on the kneecap and writhed in pain on the dirt, luring trainers and manager Buck Showalter to the plate, though Mench eventually made his way to first. The beaning snapped Harris' streak of retired Ranger hitters at eight. Gonzalez popped the second pitch short of the track in centerfield.
TOP 7TH
Grade: C-
No runners left on, at least. Dobbs fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on the 1-2 pitch. Lopez popped to rightfield on the second pitch. Betancourt had a 3-0 count go full before flying out to third.
Benoit's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
Fairly good ending. Matthews fell behind 0-2 and later grounded hard to second on a full count (ninth pitch). Laird popped the second pitch to rightfield. Dellucci got ahead 2-0 when Ibañez called timeout and threw the ball into the crowd, where the ball was given to a toddler, who threw it back onto the field of play. Dellucci later walked on four pitches. Young watched as Dellucci was gunned down at second on a 1-2 pitch. Jeff Nelson in the Mariner bullpen later hooked the toddler up with a ball, by the way, which his mother stashed away in her purse.
Harris' line: 7 innings, 3 runs (2 earned), 3 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout, 96 pitches (56 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C-
CJ Wilson came in for Benoit. Ramon Santiago, hitting for Torrealba, broke his bat on a soft lineout to short. Ichiro looked at a 1-2 pitch that he thought was under him, but it was a strikeout. Reed fell behind 0-2 and wound up whiffing on a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner.
Wilson's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 14 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C
Rafael Soriano came in for Harris. Young got ahead 3-0 and later popped to Lopez along the rightfield line on a full count. Teixeira dumped a 1-2 pitch into shallow centerfield for a single. Blalock slapped an 0-2 pitch down the leftfield line for a double, but Teixeira held up at third. Alfonso Soriano was nicked on the jersey with the second pitch, loading the bases. Mench fell behind 0-2 and popped a 2-2 pitch to rightfield, and Teixeira broke for home and made it because Miguel Ojeda dropped Ichiro's throw from rightfield, which may have been about a millisecond late. Ojeda was a bit shaken up on the play, but remained in the game.
»» RANGERS 4, MARINERS 2
Scott Atchison came in for Soriano.
Then Matt Thornton came in for Atchison before the latter even threw a pitch. Adrian Gonzalez looped out to Beltre on the left side.
Soriano's line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 24 pitches (17 strikes)
Thornton's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 3 pitches (2 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C
Francisco Cordero came in for Wilson. Ibañez softly poked a 1-2 pitch into centerfield for a single. Sexson broke his bat on a very slow roller to short, but it was slow enough to thwart a double play as Ibañez went to second. Beltre poked an 0-2 pitch through the right side for a single, scoring Ibañez.
»» RANGERS 4, MARINERS 3
Dobbs rolled a full-count pitch to second, where Alfonso Soriano backhand flipped a bit low to Young, who was nearly drilled by Beltre sliding into second. Dobbs was safe at second, and Jaime Bubela ran for him. Dave Hansen, hitting for Lopez, watched as Bubela took second on a 1-2 pitch. Hansen whiffed on a full-count low slider. Ballgame.
Cordero's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 30 pitches (20 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jeff Harris.
Goat: Richie Sexson.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 106-40 .726 -- W7
2002 84-62 .575 22 L4
2003 84-62 .575 22 W2
2000 80-66 .548 26 W2
2005 64-82 .438 42 L1
2004 55-91 .377 51 L1
With the 0-for-4 game here, Ichiro still has 182 hits on the season and sits with a .299 batting average. If he gets at-bats at the same pace he's been getting them for the season (608 at-bats in 146 games, 4.16 at-bats per game)...
-- he needs 18 hits to reach 200 for the season; he'd need to hit .270 for the remainder of the season, and that'd leave him with a .296 season average.
-- he needs 21 hits to finish with a .300 (.301) average for the season; he'd need to hit .315 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 203 hits.
-- he needs 34 hits to finish with a .320 average for the season; he'd need to hit .510 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 216 hits.
Hernandez. Rupe. Tonight.
In 25 words or less: Thirteen definitely wasn't a lucky number here. It was a night where not even four Ranger errors could help the Mariners.
[***NOTE -- post probably will be finished late Friday night.]
This one featured Jeff Harris going up against Kameron Loe. Could Harris right the shakiness of his last couple starts? Could the Mariners run their winning streak to four, the longest since right before the All-Star break? Could they take advantage of the homer-friendly confines in Arlington?
And thanks to Dan Lucero for finding this. Though we're grateful for any link, I was mildly disappointed that something along the lines of "so obsessive with the recaps, it's no wonder he's single!" wasn't included in the blip. It would have been good for at least a chuckle. Yes, I'm joking. About the disappointment part. Welcome to any new readers that may come as a result of that there link.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C
Phooey. Ichiro grounded out to Michael Young in the hole at short. Jeremy Reed punched a grounder down the rightfield line for a double. Raul Ibañez bounced the second pitch behind the mound, but Alfonso Soriano's throw to first was dropped by Mark Teixeira at first as Reed moved to third. Richie Sexson fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Adrian Beltre walked on four pitches, moving Ibañez to second. Greg Dobbs bounced an 0-2 pitch to second.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: A
Quick and to the painless. David Dellucci fell behind 0-2 and settled for a 1-2 groundout to short. Michael Young bounced the second pitch to Yuniesky Betancourt at short, who charged and threw to first for the out. Mark Teixeira lined out to Ichiro at the track in rightfield.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B
Early run. Jose Lopez popped high to short. Yuniesky Betancourt cranked a double off the leftfield scoreboard. Yorvit Torrealba got ahead 3-0 and walked on a full-count pitch low and away. Ichiro took the first pitch high and outside and to the backstop, advancing Betancourt to third and Torrealba to second. Ichiro grounded to Teixeira at first, scoring Betancourt and moving Torrealba to third.
»» MARINERS 1, RANGERS 0
Reed flew out to Mench making a running catch in rightcenter.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
Well-centered. Hank Blalock got ahead 2-0 and walked on a full-count pitch inside. Alfonso Soriano popped the second pitch to rightfield. Kevin Mench flew out to Reed in deep centerfield on the second pitch. Adrian Gonzalez popped the 2-0 pitch to deep rightcenter, where Reed made a reaching running catch, plowing into the wall and holding onto the ball.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B-
Err. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and tapped a 2-2 offering back to the mound. Sexson tapped to Loe as well, but it went through his legs (error) and Sexson was aboard at first. Beltre got ahead 2-0 and tapped a 2-2 pitch to the mound, and Loe threw wide of second base trying to get the force on Sexson, and it went to centerfield, allowing Sexson to move to third. Dobbs flew out to deep centerfield, easily scoring Sexson.
»» MARINERS 2, RANGERS 0
Lopez lined a ball off of Blalock's glove (error) and into leftfield for a single, moving Beltre to second. Betancourt grounded hard to Blalock at third, who stepped on the bag for the force.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C
Giving back. Gary Matthews, Jr. lined a 1-2 pitch over Betancourt at short for a single. Gerald Laird got ahead 2-0 and walked on a full-count pitch low and away. Dellucci bounced a 2-0 pitch to first where Sexson threw to second, but second-base umpire Brian Knight actually called Laird safe on the neighborhood play on Betancourt tagging the bag (bases loaded). Young singled to leftfield on the first pitch for his 200th hit of the season, scoring Matthews and leaving the bases loaded.
»» MARINERS 2, RANGERS 1
Teixeira flew out to leftfield on a 2-0 pitch, but Laird held at third. Blalock made good though, flying out even deeper to Ibañez who ran back and made a reaching over-the-shoulder catch, scoring Laird on the first pitch. Young had to tag second base on his way back to first after the catch.
»» RANGERS 2, MARINERS 2
Alfonso Soriano popped a 2-2 pitch to Lopez in shallow rightfield.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C
Bah. Torrealba whiffed on a 1-2 dirtball (2-3 putout). Ichiro walked on four pitches (ball four low and away). Reed rolled to Teixeira, allowing Ichiro to advance to second. Ibañez walked on four pitches. Sexson bounced the first pitch to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
Even more glove. Mench doubled the second pitch toward the rightfield corner, even beating an Ichiro throw. Gonzalez popped to Ibañez on a running catch near the leftcenter track, allowing Mench to move to third. Matthews lined a lined fly ball into shallow rightcenter, where Reed dove and made a backhanded catch, though Mench scored on the play.
»» RANGERS 3, MARINERS 2
Laird flew out high to leftfield on the second pitch.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C
Dang it. Beltre popped a full-count pitch to centerfield. Dobbs stung a 1-2 pitch into centerfield for a single. Lopez nailed Laird behind the plate in the catcher's helmet on a 1-1 backswing before popping the next pitch to Soriano on the infield. Betancourt doubled the first pitch off the base of the wall down the leftfield line, and Dobbs was nailed at the plate on the relay (7-6-2).
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A
Zoom. Dellucci lined right to Sexson at first. Young flew out to centerfield. Teixeira whiffed on a full-count pitch.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C
More crap. Torrealba whiffed on a bunt attempt and fell behind 0-2 before lining a ball under Young at short for a single. Ichiro watched as Torrealba went to second on a horrible pickoff throw by Loe, who threw the ball well wide of first. Ichiro tried bunting for a base hit on the first pitch, but instead settled for a sacrifice as Torrealba moved to second.
Brian Shouse came in for Loe. Reed bounced the second pitch to third, and Blalock went home for the easy play on Torrealba coming in from third. Ibañez got ahead 3-0 and singled to rightfield on the 3-1 pitch, moving Reed to second.
Joaquin Benoit came in for Shouse. Sexson got ahead 2-0 and walked on a full count checkswing, loading the bases. Beltre bounced the first pitch for a 4-6 fielder's choice.
Loe's line: 5 1/3 innings, 2 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts, 100 pitches (58 strikes)
Shouse's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: A-
Decent. Blalock grounded the 0-2 pitch to Sexson's feet, and he went to the bag. Alfonso Soriano flew out to Ichiro in fairly deep rightcenter on the first pitch. Mench was beaned on the kneecap and writhed in pain on the dirt, luring trainers and manager Buck Showalter to the plate, though Mench eventually made his way to first. The beaning snapped Harris' streak of retired Ranger hitters at eight. Gonzalez popped the second pitch short of the track in centerfield.
TOP 7TH
Grade: C-
No runners left on, at least. Dobbs fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on the 1-2 pitch. Lopez popped to rightfield on the second pitch. Betancourt had a 3-0 count go full before flying out to third.
Benoit's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
Fairly good ending. Matthews fell behind 0-2 and later grounded hard to second on a full count (ninth pitch). Laird popped the second pitch to rightfield. Dellucci got ahead 2-0 when Ibañez called timeout and threw the ball into the crowd, where the ball was given to a toddler, who threw it back onto the field of play. Dellucci later walked on four pitches. Young watched as Dellucci was gunned down at second on a 1-2 pitch. Jeff Nelson in the Mariner bullpen later hooked the toddler up with a ball, by the way, which his mother stashed away in her purse.
Harris' line: 7 innings, 3 runs (2 earned), 3 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout, 96 pitches (56 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C-
CJ Wilson came in for Benoit. Ramon Santiago, hitting for Torrealba, broke his bat on a soft lineout to short. Ichiro looked at a 1-2 pitch that he thought was under him, but it was a strikeout. Reed fell behind 0-2 and wound up whiffing on a 2-2 pitch over the outside corner.
Wilson's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 14 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: C
Rafael Soriano came in for Harris. Young got ahead 3-0 and later popped to Lopez along the rightfield line on a full count. Teixeira dumped a 1-2 pitch into shallow centerfield for a single. Blalock slapped an 0-2 pitch down the leftfield line for a double, but Teixeira held up at third. Alfonso Soriano was nicked on the jersey with the second pitch, loading the bases. Mench fell behind 0-2 and popped a 2-2 pitch to rightfield, and Teixeira broke for home and made it because Miguel Ojeda dropped Ichiro's throw from rightfield, which may have been about a millisecond late. Ojeda was a bit shaken up on the play, but remained in the game.
»» RANGERS 4, MARINERS 2
Scott Atchison came in for Soriano.
Then Matt Thornton came in for Atchison before the latter even threw a pitch. Adrian Gonzalez looped out to Beltre on the left side.
Soriano's line: 2/3 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 24 pitches (17 strikes)
Thornton's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 3 pitches (2 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C
Francisco Cordero came in for Wilson. Ibañez softly poked a 1-2 pitch into centerfield for a single. Sexson broke his bat on a very slow roller to short, but it was slow enough to thwart a double play as Ibañez went to second. Beltre poked an 0-2 pitch through the right side for a single, scoring Ibañez.
»» RANGERS 4, MARINERS 3
Dobbs rolled a full-count pitch to second, where Alfonso Soriano backhand flipped a bit low to Young, who was nearly drilled by Beltre sliding into second. Dobbs was safe at second, and Jaime Bubela ran for him. Dave Hansen, hitting for Lopez, watched as Bubela took second on a 1-2 pitch. Hansen whiffed on a full-count low slider. Ballgame.
Cordero's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 30 pitches (20 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jeff Harris.
Goat: Richie Sexson.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 106-40 .726 -- W7
2002 84-62 .575 22 L4
2003 84-62 .575 22 W2
2000 80-66 .548 26 W2
2005 64-82 .438 42 L1
2004 55-91 .377 51 L1
With the 0-for-4 game here, Ichiro still has 182 hits on the season and sits with a .299 batting average. If he gets at-bats at the same pace he's been getting them for the season (608 at-bats in 146 games, 4.16 at-bats per game)...
-- he needs 18 hits to reach 200 for the season; he'd need to hit .270 for the remainder of the season, and that'd leave him with a .296 season average.
-- he needs 21 hits to finish with a .300 (.301) average for the season; he'd need to hit .315 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 203 hits.
-- he needs 34 hits to finish with a .320 average for the season; he'd need to hit .510 for the rest of the season, and he'd end up with 216 hits.
Hernandez. Rupe. Tonight.
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