Tuesday, May 23, 2006
GAME 46: MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 6
[initial partial post]
In 25 words or less: All of 18819 people at the ballpark saw meaningful contributions from both Eddie Guardado and Richie Sexson. No, really.
This one featured Erik Bedard going up against Jamie Moyer. The Mariners hoped to keep the momentum they generated from the three-game weekend sweep of the hot-until-that-point San Diego Padres. A win here would get the Mariners to within four games of the .500 mark. That seems like small beans except that the entire division sucks. The Mariners were three back of the division lead heading into this one.
TOP 1ST
Brandon Fahey rolled out to second. Melvin Mora grounded hard to Beltre at third on a 1-2 pitch. Miguel Tejada was ahead 3-0 and walked on a 3-1 pitch. Jay Gibbons rolled a single into center to move Tejada to second. Ramon Hernandez ripped a liner that one-hopped off the leg of Ibañez and went toward the leftfield line for a double (not an error) to score Tejada and move Gibbons to third.
»» ORIOLES 1, MARINERS 0
Javy Lopez was ahead 3-1 before walking on an inside full-count pitch to load the bases. Jeff Conine fell behind 0-2 before fouling a down-and-away 1-2 pitch into Johjima's glove. Moyer threw 30 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro was ahead 3-0 and walked on an outside 3-1 pitch. Jose Lopez fell behind 0-2 and popped the 2-2 pitch high into the sky, and it came down in front of the benches in the visitors' bullpen in leftcenter.
»» MARINERS 2, ORIOLES 1
Raul Ibañez walked on a full-count pitch outside. Richie Sexson rolled over on a pitch, placing it behind the bag at third to Mora, moving Ibañez to second. Carl Everett was ahead 2-0 and chopped a 2-2 pitch to third as Ibañez held. Adrian Beltre punched an 0-2 pitch toward the gap in leftcenter to score Ibañez, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double (8-4). Bedard threw 30 pitches.
»» MARINERS 3, ORIOLES 1
TOP 2ND
Corey Patterson laid the perfect drag bunt on the first pitch, down the first-base line where Moyer couldn't get to it. Luis Matos didn't have a pitch thrown to him before Moyer picked him off of first (1-3-6). Matos popped to Ibañez on the track in the leftfield corner. Fahey popped the second pitch to Bloomquist in the leftcenter gap. Moyer threw six pitches and had 36 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Kenji Johjima whiffed badly on a 1-2 pitch in the dirt away. Willie Bloomquist rolled to short. Yuniesky Betancourt bounced the second pitch to third. Bedard threw nine pitches and had 39 through two.
TOP 3RD
Mora was ahead 3-1 before blistered a full-count pitch (eighth of the at-bat) down the leftfield line, but it was so quick he couldn't get past first. Tejada popped the first pitch to center as Mora held. Gibbons popped a 2-2 pitch to Ibañez in shallow left as Mora still held. Hernandez poked a 3-1 pitch into right for a single, moving Mora to second. Javy Lopez whiffed on a high 1-2 change. Moyer threw 23 pitches and had 59 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Ichiro served a pitch into left for a single, extending his hitting streak to sixteen games. Jose Lopez fell behind 0-2 before rolling a 1-2 pitch hard to third for a 5-4-3 double play. Ibañez had the hitters' counts before walking on a 3-1 pitch low and away. Sexson got under the second pitch, flying out to fairly deep center. Bedard threw 16 pitches and had 55 through three.
TOP 4TH
Conine worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing. Patterson popped high to second. Matos dumped the first pitch along the rightfield line before Ichiro could get to it and got a double out of it. Fahey lined the second pitch to a running Ichiro. Moyer threw 14 pitches and had 73 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Everett was ahead 3-0 and rolled a full-count pitch to short on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Beltre drove a ball to the track in left, but it was a flyout. Johjima popped high to first. Bedard threw 16 pitches and had 71 through four.
TOP 5TH
Mora popped a 1-2 pitch to Sexson in foul ground along the first-base line. Tejada took a 3-1 pitch for ball four. Gibbons popped the second pitch to center. Hernandez was ahead 3-1 before checking his swing on a full-count change in the dirt. Javy Lopez watched as Hernandez was nearly picked off of first by Johjima, but then chopped a single through the right side, scoring Tejada and moving Hernandez to second as Ichiro threw to second instead.
»» MARINERS 3, ORIOLES 2
Conine flew out to right. Moyer threw 24 pitches and had 97 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Bloomquist took a 1-2 pitch at the knees over the inside corner. Betancourt poked a full-count pitch into shallow rightcenter for a single to extend his hitting streak to ten games. Ichiro punched a 2-2 pitch through the right side for a single, moving Betancourt to third, who didn't slide, though third-base coach Carlos Garcia directed for one. Jose Lopez chopped to a charging Mora on the left side, who threw home, but Betancourt got the hand on the plate before the throw got in. Jose Lopez got the single and Ichiro moved to second.
»» MARINERS 4, ORIOLES 2
Ibañez was ahead 2-0 and later walked on a full-count pitch low and away to load the bases. Pitching coach Leo Mazzone came out to the mound for a visit. Sexson crushed the low-and-away second pitch four rows into the seats in centerfield to the right of the hitters' backdrop.
»» MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 2
Everett rolled out to second. Beltre grounded to second. Bedard threw 33 pitches and had 104 through five.
Bedard's line: 5 innings, 8 runs, 7 hits, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts, 104 pitches (61 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Patterson fell behind 0-2 and whiffed over a 1-2 change. Matos roped a 3-1 pitch to left, but it was caught by Ibañez reaching back and running onto the track. Gibbons was behind 0-2 and rolled a 1-2 pitch up the middle, then Betancourt picked it up and did that whole spin-and-throw thing and the throw got to first in time. Moyer threw 14 pitches and had 111 through six.
Moyer's line: 6 innings, 2 runs, 7 hits, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts, 111 pitches (65 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Chris Britton came in for Bedard. Johjima flew out to center on a 2-2 pitch. Bloomquist rolled the second pitch to second. Betancourt sliced an 0-2 pitch to right for a lineout.
Britton's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 10 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Sean Green came in for Moyer. Mora bounced the second pitch to third. Tejada crushed the second pitch just over the wall in rightcenter.
»» MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 3
Gibbons bounced the second pitch to second. Hernandez tapped an 0-2 pitch back to the mound. Green threw nine pitches.
BOTTOM 7TH
Sendy Rleal came in for Britton. Ichiro flew out to right on the second pitch. Jose Lopez popped to right on a 2-2 pitch. Ibañez chopped the first pitch to first on a tricky PFP play (3-1 putout). Rleal threw eight pitches.
Rleal's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (6 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Javy Lopez chopped the second pitch to third. Conine worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Patterson took a full-count pitch for strike three on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. Matos had the hitters' counts before rolling a full-count pitch up the middle for a single, moving Conine to second. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came out to the mound for a visit. Fahey rolled a 2-2 pitch up the middle for a single to score Conine, who beat the four-hop throw from Bloomquist to the plate. Matos took second on the play.
»» MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 4
Mora took the second pitch off Johjima's glove and to the backstop, moving Matos to third and Fahey to second. Mora was ahead 2-0 and lined a 2-2 pitch into right for a single, scoring Matos and Fahey.
»» MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 6
Julio Mateo, in his first appearance since coming off the disabled list, came in for Green. Tejada grounded to short for a 6-4 force on Mora. Mateo threw three pitches.
Green's line: 1 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 44 pitches (28 strikes)
Mateo's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 3 pitches (2 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
LaTroy Hawkins came in for Rleal. Sexson was ahead 2-0 before flying out to rightcenter on a full count. Everett was ahead 2-0 before popping high to Tejada on the infield on a full count. Gibbons popped the second pitch to Conine near the camera well on the right side.
Hawkins' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 14 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Eddie Guardado came in for Mateo. Gibbons fell behind 0-2 and rode the 2-2 pitch a long way, but Ichiro came down with it at the wall in front of the 385-foot marker in rightcenter (exhale). Hernandez rode a 3-1 pitch to fairly deep center on which Bloomquist made a backpedaling catch. Javy Lopez fell behind 0-2 and whiffed and lost his bat on a low 1-2 breaking ball.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 15 pitches (9 strikes)
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Gameball: Ichiro.
Remember when everyone was wondering when he'd get going? After the game on April 18th against Texas, he was hitting .177. That's right, Ichiro started the season 11-for-62. He finished the month of April on a 20-for-48 (.417) tear. In this month of May, the whole 19-game hitting streak has helped matters. He's in the middle of a 31-for-86 (.360) month. So, from the point that he was hitting .177, so roughly over a month, Ichiro has hit 51-for-134 (.381). That, friends, is a definite tear. That guy that was hitting .177 is now hitting .320 on the season. In a way, it seems like this happens almost every year. Of course, when the team was good, he'd wait until August and September to suck. Still, I can't much complain about his play, especially in the middle of this hitting streak he's on. In this game, he walked in the first and singled in the third and fifth. By the way, Ichiro's been hitting 29-for-68 during this hitting streak. That's a .426 clip. Not that the Mariners need him for power, but he hasn't homered since April 13th.
Goat: Sean Green.
This was his sixth appearance with the big club this season. This was his second all-out bad outing out of the six. Luckily they brought him in with a six-run lead, so his struggles were mostly inconsequential in the large scope of the game. What surprised me was that Julio Mateo wasn't the first guy out of the bullpen. Mike Hargrove didn't leave Green out there after the 8-2 lead became an 8-6 lead with Melvin Mora coming to the plate. I like the Sean Green story and everything, but I'm not sure I see how he fits in this bullpen. Of course, it all might fall into place if and when Eddie Guardado is back into his normal role. Since Mike Hargrove is a 12-man staff kind of guy, there's a spot in the bullpen for a rarely-used righty that can do long relief. They've already got the lefthanded version of that in the form of Jake Woods. In addition, George Sherrill is Mike Hargrove's present-day Paul Assenmacher and therefore throws to only one batter at a time. Just by pure results alone, Emiliano Fruto should have been the callup that stuck with this team, and Green should have been sent down. Then again, they're not always going to have three middle innings to give to him unless Gil Meche and Felix Hernandez keep scuffling, which hopefully doesn't keep happening. And Fruto's not going to close for this team unless something goes horribly wrong.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 34-12 .739 -- W2
2002 30-16 .652 4 W1
2003 30-16 .652 4 W1
2000 25-21 .543 9 W2
2006 21-25 .457 13 W4
2005 18-28 .391 16 L3
2004 17-29 .370 17 L1
The AL West-leading Rangers won on this night, so the Mariners are still three games back of the lead. However, Oakland and the Angels lost. Thus, the Mariners get a game on both. They are two back of Oakland and 3 1/2 up on the Angels, who have lost six straight. Four in a row is some life, sure, but I wonder what it'll be like if this team gets hot.
Halama. Piñeiro. Tonight.
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