Friday, April 21, 2006
GAME 17: RANGERS 4, MARINERS 3
[initial partial post]
In 25 words or less: What team am I watching with all this late-inning scoring? The result is a familiar one, but is this the same team?
This one featured Vicente Padilla going up against Joel Piñeiro. Padilla was one start departed from yielding homers on three consecutive pitches in Oakland. The Mariners themselves were coming off the crazy late-inning win from the night before. This team's never supposed to score five runs in the ninth. These aren't the non-playoff Mariners I know. Who is this team?
TOP 1ST
Gary Matthews, Jr. got ahead 2-0 and poked a single past Betancourt at short. Michael Young got ahead 2-0 and wound up grounding hard off the mound, but Lopez was able to corral it and start a 4-6-3 double play. Mark Teixeira worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Phil Nevin bounced a 2-2 pitch to short for a 6-4 forceout. Piñeiro threw 20 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro lined a single into rightcenter. Jose Lopez got the hitters' counts and grounded the full-count pitch right to Teixeira with Ichiro taking off, so only Lopez was out as Ichiro got to second. Raul Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a fastball up and over the outside corner. Richie Sexson also fell behind 0-2 and whiffed at some high gas on a full count. Padilla threw 22 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Hank Blalock broke his bat on a full-count bouncer to second. Kevin Mench popped the first pitch high to Lopez. Brad Wilkerson whiffed on a full-count change. Piñeiro threw 13 pitches and had 33 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Kenji Johjima popped the second pitch to shallow right. Carl Everett took a 3-1 pitch off the plate low and away for a walk. Adrian Beltre bounced the second pitch to third for a 5-4-3 double play. Padilla had nine pitches and had 31 through two.
TOP 3RD
Rod Barajas popped the second pitch to Ichiro in rightcenter. D'Angelo Jimenez bounced an 0-2 pitch to Sexson for a 3-1 putout. Matthews bounced out to third. Piñeiro threw eight pitches and had 41 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Jeremy Reed took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner. Yuniesky Betancourt beat out a nubber along the third-base line that Padilla fielded, but couldn't get the throw to first quickly enough. Ichiro popped to Matthews on the second pitch. Lopez was ahead 3-1 and bounced out to third. Piñeiro threw 16 pitches and had 47 through three.
TOP 4TH
Young doubled the first pitch past Beltre down the leftfield line. Teixeira whiffed on a 2-2 change away. Nevin got ahead 3-1 and took a full-count pitch low and away for a walk. Blalock bounced the second pitch to second for a 4-6-3 double play. Piñeiro threw 15 pitches and had 56 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Ibañez whiffed on an 0-2 pitch. Sexson whiffed on a full-count pitch up and in. Johjima looped the second pitch to a charging Wilkerson for a flyout. Padilla threw 13 pitches and had 60 through four.
TOP 5TH
Mench was ahead 2-0 and flew out to left on a 2-2 pitch. Wilkerson took a 1-2 pitch right over the outside corner that wasn't called a strike. Later, Wilkerson popped a full-count pitch, the ninth of the at-bat, and Ibañez came up with it, sliding to make the catch in foul territory, ending up in front of the padded wall along the stands down the leftfield line. Barajas worked a 1-2 count full and whiffed on a dirt slider on the ninth pitch. Piñeiro threw 23 pitches and had 79 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Everett was ahead 3-1 and ended up walking. Beltre bounced to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Reed took Matthews to the centerfield track, over the shoulder. Padilla threw 14 pitches and had 74 through five.
TOP 6TH
Jimenez bounced a full-count pitch to second. Matthews got ahead 2-0 and two pitches later lined a ball into the fourth row of rightfield seats.
»» RANGERS 1, MARINERS 0
Young drilled the second pitch past Betancourt's reach into leftfield for a single. Teixeira watched the second pitch as Young stole second on a wide throw. Teixeira was ahead 2-0 and was intentionally walked. Nevin got ahead 3-1 and ended up walking on a low and away full-count pitch to load the bases.
George Sherrill came in for Piñeiro. Blalock whiffed on a full-count fastball up and away. Mench popped a 1-2 pitch off the track in leftfield for a double (Ibañez looked like he might have had trouble with it), scoring Young and Teixeira and moving Nevin to third.
»» RANGERS 3, MARINERS 0
Wilkerson whiffed on a 1-2 fastball over the outside corner.
Piñeiro's line: 5 1/3 innings, 3 runs, 4 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts, 103 pitches (58 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Betancourt took a 2-2 fastball over the outside corner. Ichiro popped the second pitch lazily to centerfield. Lopez popped the first pitch to Mench. Padilla threw 10 pitches and had 84 through six.
TOP 7TH
Barajas popped the first pitch to Lopez in shallow rightfield. Jimenez popped a full-count pitch to Ichiro. Matthews stroked a double into the gap in leftcenter that didn't get to the wall. Matthews took umbrage to the tag Lopez put on him, and some pleasantries were exchanged, and the bullpens and benches cleared though no punches were thrown.
Rafael Soriano came in for Sherrill. Young walked on four pitches. Teixeira whiffed on an 0-2 pitch high.
Sherrill's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 32 pitches (21 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Ibañez blasted the second pitch well into the back rows of seats in rightfield.
»» RANGERS 3, MARINERS 1
Sexson fell behind 0-2 and took the 1-2 pitch over the outside corner. Johjima took Mench to the rightfield track on the first pitch. Everett walked on four pitches. Beltre popped the second pitch to Young in foul ground along the leftfield line. Padilla threw 14 pitches and had 98 through seven.
Padilla's line: 7 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts, 98 pitches (59 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Nevin fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Blalock fell behind 0-2 but reached down to serve a 1-2 pitch into leftfield for a single. Mench was ahead 2-0 but couldn't hold his swing on a 2-2 slider. Wilkerson whiffed on a 1-2 pitch.
Soriano's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 27 pitches (17 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Joaquin Benoit came in for Padilla. Adrian Brown came in for Matthews in rightfield. Reed grounded hard to Blalock at third, who tried to throw quick to first, but it one-hopped off Teixeira's glove and Reed was safe at first. Roberto Petagine, hitting for Betancourt, popped a 2-2 pitch foul that Blalock couldn't quite get. With a shower passing through, Petagine ended by whiffing on the next pitch, a breaking ball on the inside corner. Ichiro walked on a full-count pitch inside to move Reed to second. Lopez hit a low liner to Matthews in rightfield, who trapped the ball as Reed scored, but Ichiro was hung up on the play, and Brown threw to second for the force.
»» RANGERS 3, MARINERS 2
Brian Shouse came in for Benoit. Ibañez roped the second pitch into the gap in rightcenter, doubling to the wall to score Lopez.
»» RANGERS 3, MARINERS 3
Rick Bauer came in for Shouse. Sexson bounced hard to third, where Blalock stopped the ball to his backhand and threw in time to first.
Benoit's line: 2/3 inning, 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 20 pitches (10 strikes)
Shouse's line: 0 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 2 pitches (1 strike)
Bauer's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 3 pitches (2 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Barajas got ahead 2-0 and walked on a full count. Gerald Laird ran for Barajas. Jimenez bunted to Sexson along the first-base line and was tagged on his way down. Matthews worked an 0-2 count for a walk, taking a pitch down and in on a full count. Young worked a 1-2 count full and walked on a pitch up and away to load the bases. Teixeira took a 1-2 pitch down and in for a huge out. Nevin got ahead 3-0 and wound up talking the 3-1 pitch outside to force in Laird.
»» RANGERS 4, MARINERS 3
Blalock failed to check his swing on a 2-2 pitch out of the zone.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 0 hits, 4 walks, 2 strikes, 38 pitches (19 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Francisco Cordero came in for Bauer. Laird stayed in to catch. Johjima bounced out to short. Everett worked a 1-2 count full and popped out to Jimenez in foul ground along the rightfield line. Beltre bounced out to Blalock, who made a great stab in the hole on the left side.
Cordero's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
---
Gameball: Rafael Soriano.
One walk, sure. One hit, yeah. Four outs, though, all via the strikeout. Soriano has given up a run in only one of his eight appearances. With this appearance, his ERA dropped below 1.00, and he's now sitting with an ERA of 0.87. It's microscopical, I say! It's weird to think about what our greatest memories of Soriano are, and they probably go to 2003, when he threw in 40 games. Of course, the most popular moment of his during that season involved the three-pitch strikeout of Nomar Garciaparra on a sunny afternoon at Safeco Field. My, what a time it was. The team was even in contention at that point and everything. Rafael Soriano is a reminder of winning baseball in Seattle. He's not quite a reminder of playoff baseball, but winning baseball? Yes. Another thing to think about is that since Soriano's doing so well lately and Julio Mateo's struggling so far this season...could we see a role-reversal? I kinda doubt it myself. Mateo will probably be trusted to work his way out of his struggles. Soriano and Putz, however, will work as a solid road to Guardado.
Goat: Eddie Guardado.
Well, there's nowhere to go but up from this appearance. That might have been his worst outing as a Seattle Mariner. I don't think anything's wrong with him, of course, but it was a bit unnerving to see the Mariners tie the game in the late innings, considering how little that's happened over the last couple years, then they hand a tie game over to Guardado and he does this. Of course, I think this is something that's been in the water at the Safe since Kazuhiro Sasaki was in town. It seemed like every time Sasaki was in a non-save situation, he'd stink it up. This wasn't a save situation for Eddie Guardado. Not that it should make a difference or anything, since the job is the same -- get three outs. In any event, though, Guardado was unhittable, but that's more the fact that all his pitches weren't in the strike zone rather than the Rangers not being able to catch up to his stuff. Guardado was all over the place, and the game left his grasp tonight. What hurts the most about this is that he almost wriggled his way out of it. He'll dust himself off and be right back up there the next time the Mariners need him. I'm not worried about Eddie Guardado.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 13-4 .765 -- W2
2002 13-4 .765 -- L1
2000 11-6 .625 2 W3
2003 10-7 .588 3 W2
2005 8-9 .471 5 L2
2006 7-10 .412 6 L1
2004 6-11 .353 7 L3
Maroth. Washburn. Tonight.
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