Monday, May 01, 2006
GAME 26: MARINERS 4, ORIOLES 3
In 25 words or less: Remember how when the Mariners were good, they'd jump out early and hold on? This team doesn't do that. They're different.
This one featured Jamie Moyer going up against Rodrigo Lopez. On an infuriating note, the live MLB.tv feed I was getting was Oriole feed on MASN, and we got opening montage graphics, but no graphics or commercials after that. Boo.
With a win, the Mariners could come away winning four of six and two straight series. The fact that the first series was against the White Sox is amazing in itself. The remainder of the road trip features an idiotic scheduling quirk wherein the Mariners travel to Minnesota and Chicago for dual two-game series before coming to Seattle to face Cleveland and Tampa Bay on the weekend and first half of next week.
But first, game on!
TOP 1ST
Ichiro was ahead 3-1 before grounding hard to third on a full count. Jose Lopez grounded a 1-2 pitch up the middle, where Fahey covered the hole, but slipped and threw very high and off the dugout fence, but Lopez couldn't advance (credited as a single). Raul Ibañez was ahead 2-0 and later slapped a single to leftfield. Richie Sexson took a full-count pitch low on a play where Lopez stood pat at second while Ibañez took off from first on the pitch (yikes). With the bases loaded, Carl Everett fell behind 0-2 and looped a flyout to Markakis down the leftfield line as the runners held. Adrian Beltre lined a 3-1 pitch right to Gibbons in rightfield. R Lopez threw 30 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Corey Patterson grounded hard to second on an 0-2 pitch. Melvin Mora crushed a 2-2 pitch just over the wall in leftfield, with Moyer and others lobbied for fan interference. Umpire Jeff Nelson had jogged out to leftfield to make the call, where apparently the ball hit a fan and came back onto the field, but it was determined that it was inconsequential.
»» ORIOLES 1, MARINERS 0
Miguel Tejada grounded hard to short on the first pitch and Betancourt had some trouble handling it, but easily got the slightly gimpy Tejada at first. Jay Gibbons had the hitters' counts before flying out high to center on the 3-1 pitch. Moyer threw 15 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Jeremy Reed fell behind 0-2 and rolled a 1-2 pitch to Gomez in the right-side hole. Yuniesky Betancourt hit a low liner that was caught by Gibbons in right. Rene Rivera lined the second pitch just over the wall in leftfield above Markakis.
»» ORIOLES 1, MARINERS 1
Ichiro took a 1-2 pitch over the inside corner. R Lopez threw 14 pitches and had 44 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Ramon Hernandez bashed a high second pitch just foul down the leftfield line, with Rivera visiting the mound immediately after. Hernandez whiffed on a 1-2 change. Jeff Conine blasted a belt-high 2-2 pitch about seven rows into the leftfield seats.
»» ORIOLES 2, MARINERS 1
Nick Markakis popped the first pitch to J Lopez on the infield dirt. Chris Gomez was ahead 3-0 before rolling a full-count pitch to second. Moyer threw 16 pitches and had 31 through two.
TOP 3RD
J Lopez flew out to Mora near the third-base coaching box. Ibañez poked a single into rightfield. Sexson stuck a full-count single into centerfield, moving Ibañez to second. Everett fell behind 0-2 and bounced in the right-side hole to second, where Gomez tried to turn the 4-6-3 double play. Everett was safe at first when R Lopez didn't step on the bag in time, but Sexson was out on a blatant neighborhood play by the shortstop Fahey (Ibañez went to third). Beltre popped a 2-2 pitch high to Gibbons in rightcenter. R Lopez threw 18 pitches and had 62 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Brandon Fahey, making his Major League debut, slapped the second pitch into leftfield for a single. Patterson bunted the first pitch in front of the plate, where Rivera got it but Patterson beat the throw to second. Mora popped the second pitch to Ichiro short of the rightfield track as Fahey tagged and advanced to third. Tejada watched the first pitch go by as Patterson nabbed second and drew a throw with Fahey staying at third. Tejada was ahead 2-0 and got two more intentional balls to load the bases. Gibbons popped the second pitch to Ichiro in not-too-shallow rightfield, who looked like he had the ball move on him before catching it, and the throw was offline to the plate as Fahey scored.
»» ORIOLES 3, MARINERS 1
Hernandez popped an 0-2 pitch to Beltre near the coaching box at third. Replay from between innings showed Moyer talking to Rivera in the dugout in a quite animated fashion. Moyer threw 15 pitches and had 46 through three.
TOP 4TH
Reed hit a sinking fly into shallow center that was caught by a charging Patterson. Betancourt rolled out to third. Rivera flew out to right on the second pitch. R Lopez threw nine pitches and had 71 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Conine got ahead 2-0 and shot the 2-2 pitch through the right side for a single. Markakis took a second pitch in the dirt as Conine nabbed second, with Moyer visibly miffed afterward. Markakis ended up bouncing right to Sexson at the first-base bag as Conine went to third. Gomez bounced right to third, who tried to tag Conine at third who had gotten to the bag safely, then threw to first to get the out. Fahey popped the second pitch high to second. Moyer threw 11 pitches and had 57 through four.
TOP 5TH
Ichiro grounded the ball off of R Lopez' glove and leg, and it ricocheted off into the grass as Ichiro easily beat it out. J Lopez watched the first pitch as Ichiro took off for second and Hernandez' throw was into the runner and went off of Ichiro and into shallow left as he had the bag swiped. J Lopez skipped a grounder to second, moving Ichiro to third. Ibañez lasered a single past the glove of R Lopez and into centerfield for a single to score Ichiro.
»» ORIOLES 3, MARINERS 2
Sexson took a 2-0 pitch low in the dirt that went off Hernandez' glove and scooted away, advancing Ibañez to second. Sexson walked on four pitches. Everett lofted a 2-0 pitch into the gap in leftcenter, scoring Ibañez easily. Sexson was sent to the plate on the play as well, and it looked like the relay via Fahey had him beat, but Hernandez looked to be too far on the backside of the plate as Sexson got the foot of his mammoth leg across the plate.
»» MARINERS 4, ORIOLES 3
Beltre took a 1-2 fastball across the outside corner. Reed nubbed a 1-2 pitch in front of the plate to Hernandez, who threw in time to first. R Lopez threw 23 pitches and had 94 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Patterson took a 1-2 pitch off the bat knob and later looped a 1-2 pitch to Ibañez in shallow leftcenter. Mora nubbed a 2-2 change in on the hands to the mound. Tejada lifted the second pitch to Reed a few steps short of the track in rightcenter. Moyer threw 14 pitches and had 71 through five.
TOP 6TH
Betancourt, demonstrating what I think is a new open stance, stroked the second pitch into centerfield for a single. Rivera was ahead 2-0 and popped a 2-2 pitch quite high to left as Betancourt went back to first after taking off on the pitch. Ichiro smoked a line drive that was speared by Fahey on the fly, who tagged the running Betancourt at second for the easy double play. R Lopez threw 11 pitches and had 105 through six.
R Lopez' line: 6 innings, 4 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 105 pitches (66 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Gibbons crushed the first pitch, but got under it just a bit as Reed came down with it on the rightcenter track. Hernandez rolled the second pitch to short. Conine had the hitters' counts before walking on the 3-1 pitch just up and away. Markakis flew out to Reed on the centerfield track on the second pitch. Moyer threw 11 pitches and had 82 through six.
TOP 7TH
LaTroy Hawkins came in for R Lopez. J Lopez dumped a single into shallow rightfield. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and flew out to Patterson on the track in centerfield. Sexson whiffed on a belt-high 1-2 fastball. Everett popped to left on a full count. Hawkins threw 18 pitches.
Hawkins' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (12 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Gomez bounced to Betancourt on the left side, who made the obligatory off-balance on-the-run throw. Fahey had the hitters' counts before looping a full-count single inside the leftfield line. Patterson popped the first pitch to J Lopez in shallow rightfield.
JJ Putz came in for Moyer. Mora took a 2-1 pitch off the left shoulder, moving Fahey to second. Tejada bounced an 0-2 pitch to short for a 6-4 forceout. Putz threw seven pitches.
Moyer's line: 6 2/3 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 92 pitches (61 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Todd Williams came in for Hawkins. Beltre rolled the first pitch to short. Reed was ahead 2-0 and wound up bouncing out to third. Betancourt hit a 2-0 pitch to rightcenter that looked like a flyout but it jumped on Gibbons and bounced over him and to the wall. Betancourt strolled into third with a triple. Rivera flew out to left on a 2-0 pitch. Williams threw 11 pitches.
Williams' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (5 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Gibbons grounded hard to third on a 2-0 pitch. Hernandez was ahead 2-0 and rolled out to short. Conine bounced the first pitch to J Lopez in the right-side hole. Putz threw eight pitches and had 15 total.
Putz' line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 15 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Sendy Rleal came in for Williams. Ichiro bounced the second pitch to the right side, and Conine and Gomez had some coverage issues and the ball leaked through to the outfield for a single. J Lopez popped an 0-2 pitch to Conine in foul ground near the bag at first. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and flew out high to left. Sexson popped a 1-2 pitch into rightcenter and Gibbons got caught in the sod a bit and had to dive to catch the ball. Rleal threw 15 pitches.
Rleal's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 15 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Eddie Guardado came in for Putz. Markakis cranked an 0-2 pitch off the track and wall in centerfield for a double. Gomez rolled an 0-2 pitch to second, moving Markakis to third. Fahey got ahead 2-0 before watching two straight strikes called on the black of the outside corner, then he whiffed on a 2-2 pitch well off the plate outside. Patterson rolled the second pitch down the third-base line to Beltre playing up to protect against the bunt, who bobbled the ball for a split second before gunning barely in time to first.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 14 pitches (12 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jamie Moyer.
Well, he came through with the best start by a Mariner pitcher on the series, and therefore the road trip. It looked a bit shaky early in more ways than just on the scoreboard -- the Orioles scored runs in each of the first three innings, but to add to that, Moyer and Rene Rivera were having some communication issues. The animated dugout conversation appeared after the third inning, with Moyer having gone a turn and a half through the Baltimore lineup. Looks like everything got hashed out, since Moyer shut out the Orioles the rest of the way. Thus, the same pitcher that was undefeated at home last year was able to pull out a road win in this game despite giving up two homers. Of course, they were both solo shots in the first two innings. Anyway, Moyer was one out away from finishing the seventh and didn't even break 100 pitches, which was weird considering Hargrove's habits so far this season. If only the other pitchers in the rotation could be that efficient. I'm referring mostly to Gil Meche there, of course. A dash of Felix Hernandez too. And Piñeiro.
Goat: Jeremy Reed.
Kinda by default. Rene Rivera, even while miscommunicating with Moyer, somehow managed to hit a homer, though that's Camden Yards for you. Carl Everett left six men on base but had the game-winning double in the fifth. Adrian Beltre was the only other 0-fer in the lineup (0-for-4), but his defense probably bailed the Mariners out, and his strong arm bailed himself out of his own bobble on the final play of the game. Corey Patterson's a rabbit, so that wasn't easy. This leaves Reed. I'm a fan of Reed, he just didn't manage to get on base today or make any stunning defensive plays. I could have goated Eddie Guardado again, but that seems too easy. Guardado didn't completely blow it and didn't load the bases, so that's an improvement. Having the tying run on third with one out and stranding it is improvement. I guess my greatest fear for Reed is that Hargrove remembers every one of Willie Bloomquist's diving catches or stolen bases more than he does every one of Reed's running catches in the gap or 2-for-4 days. Especially when they don't come as often as they should.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 20-6 .769 -- L2
2002 18-8 .692 2 L2
2003 17-9 .654 3 W2
2000 14-12 .538 6 L2
2005 12-14 .462 8 L3
2006 11-15 .423 9 W2
2004 10-16 .385 10 W2
So went another one-run game for the Mariners. They got their second one-run win in eight tries. As has been publicized, this team falls behind early quite a lot. Carl Everett said the other day that they don't get ahead early and bury teams. Though it's Carl Everett who's saying it, he's right in this particular case. They fall behind. That's what they do. Of course, they've also managed to come from behind and win in some cases, many more times than I'd come to expect from any team of Mariners. Obviously this team hasn't hit their stride yet, but as we've learned from the Mariner teams of the last two seasons, it's a matter of "if" before it's a matter of "when." The Mariners' longest winning streak last year was four, and it was five in 2004. Just for trivial purposes, the Mariners lost the next two after the four-game streak last season, and it was in the middle of a stretch where the Mariners won eight of twelve games in July. The 2004 Mariners were what they were, and they followed up their five-game winning streak by dropping the next seven. Good times.
The other non-Moyer pitcher that was good today was JJ Putz. He plunked Melvin Mora to put the Orioles' possible go-ahead run on first base with one out in the seventh before slicing through the meat of the Baltimore lineup. In addition to growing a goatee that grows more confounding with each appearance, Putz hasn't given up a run in his last seven appearances. It's April, sure, but his last seven appearances have dropped his ERA from 4.50 to 2.35. I'm sure there's a ton of numbers you can reach for to make Putz look good. Of course, I'm not too good with most of the advanced stats and/or don't have the time or desire to dabble into it, but I think we can all agree that four walks and 21 strikeouts is quite good. Putz had some sketchy appearances early in the month, but my goodness, he's been crazy good the last two weeks. He's allowed runs in three of his fourteen appearances. He gave up runs in his first two appearances of the season. Simple math says he's shut 'em down in eleven of his past twelve times on the mound.
The Mariners pounded out nine of their twelve hits in the six innings that Rodrigo Lopez worked. Four Mariners had multi-hit games. Raul Ibañez rebounded from an 0-for-9 mini-slump to start the road trip and went 3-for-5 in this game. Ichiro and Jose Lopez both went 2-for-5. Yuniesky Betancourt went 2-for-4 with a triple on a ball that probably should have been caught, but he'll take it. The top third of the Mariner lineup went 7-for-15, scoring two runs and driving in one. Sadly, none of those seven hits were for extra bases.
I'm typing this late enough so that I saw the program, but did anyone Baseball Tonight on Sunday? At the end of the program, they had the panelists of John Kruk, Jeff Brantley, and Steve Phillips give their April surprises, disappointments, and teams likely to improve. Jeff Brantley's turn in the disappointments segment came up, and he raked Kenji Johjima over the coals with "who did the scouting report on this guy" and that "he's killing King Felix." He also made some remarks about how he calls a game and how he can't block balls too well. Obviously it's only April, and though Johjima started out hitting real well, I'm not sold on Johjima yet either. Between Johjima and Rivera, I'm not really sure how much better off the Mariners are behind the plate from last year other than the fact that nobody's gone on the disabled list yet. Can you imagine how worse this would be if Johjima had elected to play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic?
Anyway, it's two in Minnesota and two in Chicago coming up. If they take two of four, it's a decent road trip. If they somehow take three of four, it's a great road trip. It'd be very great. I don't know if I'm fully prepared for the possibility of this team coming home after a 7-3 road trip, as small a possibility as that may be. I've gotta dream, people.
By the way, the Mariners' 11-15 month of April leaves them in last place, but just 2 1/2 games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers? I guess it had to happen sometime.
Piñeiro. Baker. Tomorrow.
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