Sunday, April 23, 2006
GAME 20: TIGERS 6, MARINERS 4
In 25 words or less: You couldn't look to the final result to see the bright spots in this game.
This one featured Justin Verlander going up against Felix Hernandez. The Mariners had lost three straight coming into this matchup of great young pitchers. A loss in this game wouldn't only mean the first sweep of the year, it'd take away the chance to finish with an over-.500 month of April.
TOP 1ST
Curtis Granderson smacked a broken-bat single past Lopez up the middle into centerfield on the first pitch. Placido Polanco chopped the second pitch to a charging Betancourt at short, who threw to first since there was no play at second on Granderson. Omar Infante was plunked on a 1-1 breaking ball up and in that got him on the left bicep. Magglio Ordoñez whiffed on a full count as the runners took off and Rivera made a wide throw into centerfield, allowing Granderson to come around to score. Polanco moved to third.
»» TIGERS 1, MARINERS 0
Carlos Guillen watched a 1-1 fastball go off of Rivera's glove and to the backstop to allow Polanco to score. Guillen walked on an inside 3-1 pitch. Chris Shelton fell behind 0-2 and took a 2-2 wicked curveball for strike three. Hernandez threw 22 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro chopped the second pitch to a charging Polanco at second. Jose Lopez chopped a 2-2 pitch to a charging Infante at third, who threw a bit wide of first, but Shelton pulled it down without incident. Raul Ibañez hit a checkswing nubber off of Verlander coming off the mound, who made an errant toss past Shelton and into the tarp in foul ground on the right side as Ibañez moved to second. Richie Sexson worked an 0-2 count for a walk. Matt Lawton hit the first pitch hard, but only took Granderson to fairly deep centerfield. Verlander threw 18 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Craig Monroe rolled the second pitch to short. Ramon Santiago bounced the second pitch to Sexson, who ran the ball to first. Vance Wilson was drilled in an arm on a 2-2 pitch. Granderson whiffed on a low 1-2 fastball. Hernandez threw 16 pitches and had 38 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Adrian Beltre popped the first pitch quite high to Monroe in left. Jeremy Reed flew out high on a 2-2 pitch to Ordoñez in right. Rene Rivera took a full-count fastball outside. Yuniesky Betancourt bounced to third for a 5-4 forceout. Verlander threw 14 pitches and had 32 through two.
TOP 3RD
Polanco one-hopped the second pitch to second. Infante rolled an 0-2 pitch to second. Ordoñez whiffed on an 0-2 curve. Hernandez threw eight pitches and had 46 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Ichiro chopped the second pitch to short. Lopez bounced out to short. Ibañez flew out to center. Verlander threw ten pitches and had 42 through three.
TOP 4TH
Guillen bounced a 2-0 pitch off of Hernandez' hand up the middle to Lopez, who ranged over and nearly got Guillen at first. Despite being waved off, Mariner training staff came out for precautionary purposes. Shelton took an 0-2 curve across the inside corner. Monroe waved at an 0-2 fastball over the outside corner. Santiago watched the first pitch go by as Guillen swiped second base on a delayed steal. Santiago bounced out to first. Hernandez threw 22 pitches and had 65 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Sexson popped the second pitch high to Shelton on the infield. Lawton got ahead 2-0 and wound up grounding out to first. Beltre whiffed on a 2-2 dirtball outside. Verlander threw 11 pitches and had 53 through four.
TOP 5TH
Wilson bounced a 2-0 pitch past the backhand side on Lopez into centerfield for a single. Granderson laced the first pitch to rightfield for a single, moving Wilson to second. Polanco bunted out in front, and Sexson had no play but the one at first (3-4 putout) as Wilson and Granderson moved to third and second. Infante rolled the second pitch up the middle that a drawn-in Betancourt dove for and made a nice throw to first in time (very nice play). Wilson scored and Granderson went to third.
»» TIGERS 3, MARINERS 0
Ordoñez bounced the second pitch to third. Hernandez threw 11 pitches and had 76 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Reed got ahead 2-0 and wound up grounding to second. Rivera whiffed badly on a 1-2 change down and in. Betancourt stroked a single into leftfield for the Mariners' first hit of the game, ending a streak of nine straight retired Mariner hitters. Ichiro sliced the second pitch over Santiago at short and into leftcenter for a single, moving Betancourt to third. Lopez hit a 2-2 pitch down the leftfield line to easily score Betancourt, but Ichiro was sent around third, but the throw beat him and the plate was thoroughly blocked by Wilson. Ichiro never touched the plate with the initial slide/collision. Verlander 22 pitches and had 75 through five.
»» TIGERS 3, MARINERS 1
TOP 6TH
Guillen bounced the first pitch to first (3-1 putout). Shelton grounded a 2-0 pitch hard to Lopez. Monroe whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball. Hernandez threw seven pitches and had 83 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Ibañez took the first pitch to Monroe, who made a running catch going backward onto the leftfield track. Sexson got behind 0-2 and flew out very high to left. Lawton dribbled a grounder to third. Verlander threw eight pitches and had 83 through six.
TOP 7TH
Santiago bunted the second pitch to Hernandez' glove side, and he came off the mound to field it. Wilson laced a 2-0 single into rightfield. Granderson got ahead 2-0 and later whiffed on a 2-2 curve. Polanco poked the second pitch to rightfield for a single, moving Wilson to second. Rafael Chaves came out to chat with Rivera and Hernandez. Infante nearly ripped the second pitch down the leftfield line, but it was barely foul. Infante waved and couldn't hold up on an outside 0-2 pitch. Hernandez threw 15 pitches and had 98 through seven.
Hernandez' line: 7 innings, 3 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts, 98 pitches (68 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Beltre rolled the first pitch past a diving Santiago up the middle into centerfield for a single. Reed watched the second pitch off the ground and off Wilson's shin guard, enabling Beltre to move to second. Reed chopped to third and Beltre took third behind Infante, who had made the play. Rivera whiffed on a dirty 0-2 breaking ball, and Wilson had trouble coming up with it and threw to first in time as Beltre held at third. Betancourt popped to Ordoñez in foul ground down the rightfield line. Verlander threw ten pitches and had 93 through seven.
Verlander's line: 7 innings, 1 run, 4 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 93 pitches (63 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Clint Nageotte came in for Hernandez. Ordoñez whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball. Guillen was ahead 3-1 and walked on a full-count pitch inside. Shelton took the second pitch (wild inside fastball) and it went off Rivera's glove and past, allowing Guillen to move to second. Shelton had a 2-0 count as a result and was intentionally walked. Monroe lofted a 2-2 pitch about twelve rows above the manual scoreboard in leftfield.
»» TIGERS 6, MARINERS 1
Santiago was ahead 2-0 and punched a single through the mound into centerfield. Wilson watched the first pitch and Rivera threw past second base and into centerfield, but Santiago didn't realize it soon enough and he held. Wilson ended up bouncing out to short. Granderson bounced the second pitch to a diving Sexson at first, who underhanded to Nageotte, who stepped on the bag at first to barely beat Granderson. Nageotte threw 30 pitches.
Nageotte's line: 1 inning, 3 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 30 pitches (14 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Joel Zumaya came in for Verlander. Ichiro bounced the second pitch up the middle to Polanco, who reached and threw off-balance to first, but Ichiro was running, so it was a single. Lopez fell behind 0-2 and wound up popped the 2-2 pitch to third. Ibañez lined off the base of the wall in rightfield for what turned out to be a single as Ichiro moved to third. Sexson fell behind 0-2 and doubled the 1-2 pitch off the base of the wall in rightcenter, scoring Ichiro and moving Ibañez to third.
»» TIGERS 6, MARINERS 2
Lawton took a 2-2 breaking ball over the inside corner. Beltre dropped a single into rightcenter (what?!) to score Ibañez and Sexson (whaaaat?!!?!).
»» TIGERS 6, MARINERS 4
Reed got ahead 2-0 and watched Beltre scoot to second on the 2-1 pitch (they gave him a steal). Reed walked on the 3-1 pitch to load the bases.
Fernando Rodney came in for Zumaya. Carl Everett, hitting for Rivera, fouled a 3-1 pitch into Wilson's glove. Everett ended up taking the next pitch up and in for a walk to load the bases. Roberto Petagine, hitting for Betancourt, whiffed on a full-count high fastball.
Zumaya's line: 2/3 inning, 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 30 pitches (18 strikes)
Rodney's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 12 pitches (5 strikes)
TOP 9TH
JJ Putz came in for Nageotte. Willie Bloomquist came in to play short and Kenji Johjima came in behind the plate. Polanco bounced a pitch past Beltre in the left-side hole, but Bloomquist backed up and made the play at first. Infante pounded the 2-2 pitch through the mound into centerfield for a single. Ordoñez popped a 2-0 pitch high to short. Guillen fell behind 0-2 and popped a slow liner that was caught by a leaping Bloomquist.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 16 pitches (9 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Todd Jones came in for Rodney. Ichiro whiffed on an 0-2 pitch inside. Lopez grounded to short. Ibañez popped the second pitch to Monroe down the leftfield line.
Jones' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 9 pitches (7 strikes)
---
Gameball: Adrian Beltre.
You gotta give him something when he triples his season RBI output in one game. He drove in half the Mariners' runs with that single in the eighth off of Joel Zumaya. Furthermore, his first single was up the middle and the RBI single was to rightcenter. His outs were a pop to left and a bad strikeout, but the two hits are encouraging because he found a way to hit the ball up the middle and the other way. Yes, that's how you raise your batting average from .167 to .186 in just one game. The other change had to do with his placement in the lineup, which was sixth this time as opposed to seventh the last few days. It's entirely possible he might remain there for the time being too, as Hargrove against righties could throw Kenji Johjima or Carl Everett into the five slot and Beltre into the sixth slot and keep his lefty-righty fascination intact to the most insane extent. Granted, the jury will still be very out on this until Beltre strings together a few games like this, followed by a couple weeks like this, followed by a month like this, followed by a season like this. The problem is that "this" is one game. Baby steps, baby steps.
Goat: Clint Nageotte.
The Mariners designated Joe Borchard for assignment to clear a 25-man roster spot for Nageotte before the game. Nageotte came out and did what he did, then he was sent back to Tacoma after the game. Not what Nageotte was hoping for, I'm sure. His house-of-horrors eighth inning didn't start out that way as he got Magglio Ordoñez swinging on a nice breaking ball. Then he fell behind Carlos Guillen and walked him. He started off 2-0 on Chris Shelton before Hargrove decided to give him first base. He was never ahead to Craig Monroe, but had a count of 2-2 before throwing an ill-fated belt-high curveball that went a very long way. In a related story, Jake Woods hadn't thrown since Tuesday. I'm not saying Jake Woods is great or that I'd even feel comfortable using him in the eighth inning rather than the middle innings, but if the choice comes down the Nageotte or Woods, well, I'd say it was a tossup. I'm not sure if the roster move seemed like one meant for Nageotte to pitch today no matter what (or unless Felix threw a complete game), but if it wasn't, could Hargrove have gotten him a soft landing first? Of course, I'm sure the Mariners couldn't have had both. If Nageotte shuts the Tigers down in the eighth, the Mariners probably lose 3-1 because that's just the way it's going right now. In addition, Julio Mateo, George Sherrill, and Rafael Soriano threw Saturday night, and Putz got one out on Friday night since Washburn was one out from a complete game. Putz throwing today wasn't surprising, but Woods was the most rested. He hasn't Kevin Jarvis sucked yet.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 16-4 .800 -- W5
2002 16-4 .800 -- W3
2000 12-8 .600 4 L1
2003 12-8 .600 4 W2
2005 10-10 .500 6 W2
2004 7-13 .350 9 W1
2006 7-13 .350 9 L4
These 2006 Mariners have a chance to finish with a .500 April, but they'll have to run the table over the final six games of the month. Given that the final six games are a three-game home series against the White Sox and three in Baltimore, it's probably not happening. The other thing about this year's team is that although they didn't start 0-5 like the 2004 abomination of a team, both teams have the same record after twenty games. I have more confidence in this team than I had for the 2004 team, sure, but it's still a bit frustrating. This team should be better than last year's team, since last year they were still trying to shed, well, Bret Boone, and Shigetoshi Hasegawa finally ran out of gas. Also, Matt Thornton was still getting innings. The 2005 Mariners were 12-12 to end April before hitting the wall with a May of a stunning 9-18 record. The 2004 Mariners, by the way, started with an April of 8-15. They had the 0-5 start and went 8-10 for the rest of the month, but as we all remember, the damage was more than done. Needless to say, we're expecting more out of this team, but there's more hope they can turn it around.
The best thing to take out of today's game is that Felix Hernandez had by far his best start of the season. What lost him the start was his shaky first and possibly the fourth as well. As an aside here, let's all breathe a sigh of relief that the pitching hand of Felix is okay after trying to stop that ball up the middle in the fourth with it. Let's hope he never does that again. Anyway, other than those more laborious innings, Felix did quite well and was immensely better than his three previous starts this season. I wish the Mariners would have been able to pull out the win for him if only to shut up Mario Impemba and Rod Allen on the FSN Detroit broadcast who were quite fixated more on Hernandez' shortcomings than his awesomeness, which I don't think they realized until they ran the reel of Felix and the strikeouts after he'd left the game. As for Justin Verlander, he looks like a guy with a smoother version of a Bronson Arroyo delivery, but it's still annoying. I'd rather watch the mega-violent delivery of Felix.
The multi-hit games in this one belonged to Ichiro and Beltre (gameball). Ichiro was 2-for-5 with singles. The two extra-base hits were doubles off the bats of Jose Lopez and Richie Sexson. In addition, Lopez and Sexson accounted for the half of the Mariner RBIs that weren't driven in by Beltre. As for the Mariners that went hitless in the lineup, they were Matt Lawton going 0-for-4, Jeremy Reed going 0-for-3, and Rene Rivera going 0-for-2. Lawton struck out once and never reached base, but Reed and Rivera both drew a walk each. Rivera struck out twice. Lawton left four runners on base. Though I like him way better than any pinch-hitter that the Mariners have had in years, Roberto Petagine came up empty once again, and he has only two hits this season. He had a home on Opening Day and a double eight days later. He's hitless in his last seven appearances (one walk). I hope he's with the big club long enough to get a chance to even out the badness.
But hoo boy, three against the White Sox. I'll put up with graphic-free MLB.tv feed with Niehaus and gang if I never have to see Hawk Harrelson and Darrin Jackson on the Chicago feed. I hope like hell I don't have to sit through that.
Garland. Moyer. Tomorrow.
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