Saturday, July 15, 2006
GAME 91: BLUE JAYS 7, MARINERS 6 (14 INNINGS)
In 25 words or less: Pretty much one of those games where I'm sitting there in extra innings praying for it to end.
This one featured Jamie Moyer going up against Roy Halladay. Toronto came in with a 29-18 home record and were 49-40 overall. The Mariners hoped to make it a series win with a second win after the All-Star break. A loss in this game would make it their eighth in 11 games. By the way, the Mariners came into this game two games under .500. They have been at or above .500 after fourteen (not cumulative) games this season. Mariner fans have awoken the morning after eight different games and have found their team above .500. Needless to say, the Mariners needed two more wins to climb back to .500, and a win in this game would get them halfway there. I should also note that my MLB.tv feed blacked me out because of the Fox broadcasts, so most of this piece is radio-dependent, and there's no way in hell I'm going back through and watching four hours and twenty-three minutes of rip-roaring baseball action, especially when I already know the result and my team didn't win and there wasn't anything crazy like a perfect game or one of the Mariners driving in fourteen runs or something.
TOP 1ST
Ichiro popped the second pitch to Overbay on the infield. Adrian Beltre popped to Overbay near first as well. Jose Lopez stroked a single into leftfield. Raul Ibañez whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball. Halladay threw 11 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Reed Johnson popped a pitch near a dugout and Jamie Moyer went into the dugout in pursuit but couldn't come up with it. Johnson was hit on the leg with an 0-2 pitch, leaving Moyer none too pleased. Aaron Hill popped high to right on a 2-2 pitch. Vernon Wells rode a 2-0 pitch for a long fly ball to the rightfield track. Troy Glaus had the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch outside, moving Johnson to second. Lyle Overbay was down 0-2 and popped high to shallow center on a 2-2 pitch. Moyer threw 21 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Richie Sexson bounced the second pitch over the mound to Hill at second. Carl Everett rolled along the first-base line to Overbay, who took the ball to the bag. Kenji Johjima two-hopped an 0-2 pitch to third. Halladay threw nine pitches and had 20 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Bengie Molina worked a 1-2 count full before popping up to right. Eric Hinske fell behind 0-2 and tapped a 1-2 pitch back to the mound. Chad Mottola lined out to Ichiro on the first pitch. Moyer threw 14 pitches and had 35 through two.
TOP 3RD
Yuniesky Betancourt popped the second pitch to Molina near the plate in foul ground. Adam Jones fouled off the second pitch and had his bat fly over the Toronto dugout. Jones ended up whiffing on an 0-2 slider down and away. Ichiro pulled out a bunt attempt on the first pitch, but had it go foul. Ichiro ended up hitting a 2-2 pitch back to the mound. Halladay threw ten pitches and had 30 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
John McDonald flew out to right. Johnson dropped the second pitch into the gap in leftcenter for a double. Hill shot a grounder off of Moyer's glove and slowed it down as it ricocheted to Beltre behind the mound, who had no play, moving Johnson to third. Wells grounded the first pitch to third for a 5-4-3 double play as Moyer proved himself slippery. Moyer threw nine pitches and had 44 through three.
TOP 4TH
Beltre fell behind 0-2 and ended up whiffing on a 1-2 fastball inside. Lopez thought he had a walk on the 3-0 pitch but blistered the 3-1 pitch into leftcenter for another single anyway. Ibañez crushed a 2-0 pitch into the second deck in rightfield, scoring Lopez. Raul's homers are old enough to drink since he's up to 21. That amount eclipses his total from last year, which was 20.
»» MARINERS 2, BLUE JAYS 0
Sexson rolled the second pitch up the middle for a single. Everett flew out to Glaus in foul ground on the left side on the first pitch. Johjima stroked the first pitch into leftcenter for a single, moving Sexson to second. Betancourt grounded the first pitch to short. Halladay threw 20 pitches and had 50 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Glaus grounded to third on a 2-2 pitch. Overbay rode the first pitch and banged it off the centerfield wall for a double as Jones had turned twice to look for the ball instead of just sprinting back to the wall uninterrupted. Molina got the wood on a 2-2 pitch, homering to right to score Overbay.
»» BLUE JAYS 2, MARINERS 2
Hinske grounded to first on the first pitch. Mottola did just about the same thing as Overbay, ringing the second pitch for a double off the wall as Jones gave chase. McDonald creamed an 0-2 pitch out of the yard to rightfield, scoring Mottola. Moyer had just yielded his 17th homer of the season.
»» BLUE JAYS 4, MARINERS 2
Johnson lined the first pitch into right for what ended up being a double. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Hill foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into Johjima's glove behind the plate. Moyer threw 24 pitches and had 68 through four.
TOP 5TH
Jones rolled up the middle to short. Ichiro grounded a 2-2 pitch to second. Beltre crushed a 1-2 pitch off the wall in center, barely missing a homer but legging out a triple. Lopez walked on a 3-1 pitch. Ibañez roped the second pitch into the rightcenter gap and it rolled to the wall for a triple, scoring Beltre and Lopez and somehow tying the game.
»» BLUE JAYS 4, MARINERS 4
Sexson took a 3-1 fastball down and in for a walk. Pitching coach Brad Arnsberg came to the mound for a visit. Everett fell behind 0-2 and dinking a 1-2 pitch to center that was caught by Wells. Halladay threw 29 pitches and had 79 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Wells whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Glaus fell behind 0-2 but clobbered a 2-2 pitch, sending it out of the yard to center.
»» BLUE JAYS 5, MARINERS 4
Overbay foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into Johjima's glove behind the plate. Molina rolled out to third. Moyer threw 20 pitches and had 88 through five.
TOP 6TH
Johjima grounded the second pitch hard to third, where Glaus had trouble coming up with the ball then threw wide to first as Johjima was credited with a single but couldn't advance further. Betancourt grounded an 0-2 pitch to short as Johjima was forced at second as Betancourt beat out the back end of the double play. Jones bounced the first pitch to first to start a 3-6-3 double play.
Halladay's line: 6 innings, 4 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 85 pitches (57 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Hinske took an 0-2 breaking ball over the outside corner, much to his chagrin. Mottola stroked a single into leftcenter. McDonald flew out to right on an 0-2 pitch. Johnson flew out to Ichiro on the second pitch. Moyer threw 12 pitches and had 100 through six.
TOP 7TH
Justin Speier came in for Halladay. Ichiro whiffed on an 0-2 pitch in the dirt that got away from Molina, but he was thrown out (2-3 putout). Beltre dumped a 2-2 pitch into shallow rightcenter for a single. Lopez flew out to McDonald in shallow center on the first pitch.
Scott Schoeneweis came in for Speier. Ibañez popped an 0-2 pitch to Johnson barely fair along the leftfield line.
Speier's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeouts, 9 pitches (7 strikes)
Schoeneweis' line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 3 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Hill looped a single to right on a 2-2 pitch. Wells singled up the middle on the second pitch, moving Hill to second. Glaus rolled the first pitch into the hole on the left side, where Betancourt made a sliding attempt to stop the ball but came up empty, scoring Hill and moving Wells to second.
»» BLUE JAYS 6, MARINERS 4
Overbay broke his bat and tapped to the mound, and Moyer looked to second but threw to first for the out as Wells and Glaus moved to third and second.
Julio Mateo came in for Moyer. Molina popped the second pitch to Betancourt near the bag at second. Hinske was intentionally walked to load the bases. Mottola whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Mateo threw 11 pitches.
Moyer's line: 6 1/3 innings, 6 runs, 12 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 111 pitches (75 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Brandon League came in for Schoeneweis. Sexson put the barrel on a pitch, line driving a homer out to right.
»» BLUE JAYS 6, MARINERS 5
Everett worked a 1-2 count full and hit a fly ball that just kept carrying until it ended up over the wall in centerfield. Odd, this game.
»» BLUE JAYS 6, MARINERS 6
BJ Ryan came in for League. Johjima popped to Overbay in foul ground on the right side. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and rolled a 2-2 pitch to short, where McDonald couldn't make the barehand-and-throw play. Jones popped an 0-2 pitch high to second. Ichiro watched as Betancourt was picked off of first (1-3-6-3 putout). Ryan threw 16 pitches.
League's line: 0 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
McDonald lined out to left on the first pitch. Johnson popped to Sexson backing into shallow right. Hill whiffed on an 0-2 pitch. Mateo threw seven pitches and had 18 total.
TOP 9TH
Ichiro flew out to left on a 2-2 pitch. Beltre walked on four pitches. Lopez took the first pitch for a strike, fouled off the next three, then whiffed on the fifth pitch of the at-bat. Ibañez, 0-for-11 career against Ryan coming into the at-bat, grounded the second pitch to short.
Ryan's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 32 pitches (23 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Wells rode a 2-0 pitch to deep center. Glaus blistered a ball into the gap in leftcenter, but Jones was able to cut it off and hold Glaus to a single.
George Sherrill came in for Mateo. Overbay fell behind 0-2 and popped a 2-2 pitch to Beltre in foul ground on the left side.
Mark Lowe came in for Sherrill. Molina got ahead 2-0 and dumped a single into shallow center, moving Glaus to second. Hinske fell behind 0-2 and was spun around and hit the deck on the next pitch, which was up and in. Hinske ended up whiffing on a 2-2 pitch. Lowe threw nine pitches.
Mateo's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 24 pitches (16 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (4 strikes)
TOP 10TH
Vinny Chulk came in for Ryan. Sexson dumped a single into shallow center. Everett slowly rolled the second pitch to the right side, where Hill had to move way to his right and got the out at first, moving Sexson to second. Willie Bloomquist was brought in to run for Sexson. Johjima air-bunted the second pitch to the left of the plate, where Molina easily caught it. Betancourt grounded the second pitch to Glaus behind the bag at third, who threw to first and the throw was picked by Overbay. Chulk threw ten pitches.
BOTTOM 10TH
Bloomquist stayed in the game to play first. Frank Catalanotto, hitting for Mottola, flew out to center on the first pitch. McDonald fell behind 0-2 and took a 2-2 pitch for strike three. Johnson grounded a 2-2 pitch to second. Lowe threw 12 pitches and had 21 total.
TOP 11TH
Greg Dobbs, hitting for Jones, popped a full-count pitch to Glaus. Ichiro popped the second pitch high to Jognson in leftcenter. Beltre was down 0-2 and ended up whiffing on a 1-2 pitch.
Chulk's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 23 pitches (15 strikes)
BOTTOM 11TH
Bloomquist moved to center as Dobbs came in to play first. Hill got behind 0-2 before lining a 2-2 pitch into Beltre's glove in foul ground on the left side. Wells lined a 2-2 pitch to center for a single. Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Glaus grounded the second pitch right to short to start a 6-4-3 double play.
Lowe's line: 2 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 36 pitches (23 strikes)
TOP 12TH
Brian Tallet came in for Chulk. Lopez grounded a 2-2 pitch to short. Ibañez two-hopped a 2-2 pitch to second. Bloomquist took a 1-2 pitch off his left hip. Everett (who isn't Eduardo Perez) watched with a 1-2 count as Tallet was called for a balk, moving Bloomquist to second. Everett popped to center on another 1-2 pitch.
Tallet's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 20 pitches (13 strikes)
BOTTOM 12TH
Rafael Soriano came in for Lowe. Overbay got ahead 2-0 and rolled out along the first-base line, where Soriano fielded it. Molina worked a 1-2 count full before flying out in front of the rightfield track. Hinske had the hitters' counts before walking on a full-count pitch down and in. Catalanotto got ahead 3-1, triggering a visit from Chaves. Catalanotto walked on the next pitch, moving Hinske to second. Gregg Zaun, hitting for McDonald, flew out to right on a 2-2 pitch with Ichiro making the running catch.
Soriano's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 30 pitches (15 strikes)
TOP 13TH
Shaun Marcum came in for Tallet, Hill moved to shortstop, and Russ Adams came in to play second. Johjima fell behind 0-2 and stroked a 1-2 pitch into leftcenter for a single. Betancourt missed a bunt on the first pitch as Johjima took off for second, but Molina's throw bounced past second and went into centerfield, which was good because Johjima would have been dead meat (he got credit for the stolen base). Betancourt nearly dumped a 2-2 pitch into right for a single, but Hinske made a diving catch to rob Betancourt. Dobbs lined the first pitch into shallow left, but Toronto came up with another freakin' diving catch, this one by Wells. Ichiro was intentionally walked. Beltre took a 3-1 pitch outside to load the bases. Lopez rolled an 0-2 pitch slowly to short, but Hill made the play on the run and got the out at first.
Marcum's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 24 pitches (13 strikes)
BOTTOM 13TH
Emiliano Fruto came in for Soriano. Johnson took an 0-2 pitch down the pipe. Hill grounded the second pitch right to Beltre at third. Wells took a full-count pitch over the inside corner. Fruto threw 11 pitches.
TOP 14TH
Scott Downs came in for Marcum. Ibañez was up 3-1 and grounded right to short on a full count. Bloomquist tapped the first pitch back to the mound. Eduardo Perez, hitting for Everett, grounded to third, but Glaus hurried the throw and threw over the head of Overbay at first, enabling Perez to reach but not advance. Johjima lined out to short.
Downs' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 14TH
Glaus popped out to Dobbs in foul ground on the right side. Overbay dumped an 0-2 pitch along the leftfield line for a double. Molina got ahead 2-0 and Chaves visited the mound. Molina got ahead 3-0 and rolled a 3-1 pitch just fair inside the leftfield line for a single, scoring Overbay.
»» BLUE JAYS 7, MARINERS 6
Fruto's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 21 pitches (15 strikes)
---
Gameball: Richie Sexson.
He went 3-for-4 with a solo shot and a walk. He didn't strike out at all. Mike Hargrove was a bit odd in the tenth inning when Sexson got his third hit of the game. Sexson was on second with one out, and Hargrove put in Willie Bloomquist to pinch-run for him. Okay, so you want him to score for sure on a base hit or maybe if there's a wild pitch he can get to third and who knows what might happen then, I can deal with that. Kenji Johjima, whose batting average was a mere .290 after the game, was sent up there to bunt? Why? To move Bloomquist over to third and put the onus on Yuniesky Betancourt to deliver a two-out hit? It wasn't just bad that the bunt backfired and Johjima didn't get to swing the bat, it was made much worse by the fact that Bloomquist stayed in the game and Sexson's old spot in the lineup came up again not just once, but twice. I seem to remember Mitch Hedberg's old joke about signing a one-year lease with a crappy roommate. He said it was like writing a bad joke and having to keep telling it for a year. Willie Bloomquist's insertion into the game was the gift that kept on giving, and the giving wasn't good.
Goat: Ichiro.
He did get on base in this game, so I'll give him that. Of course, it was a 14-inning game and the only time he got on board, he walked. In a game the Mariners really should have won in spite of him, Ichiro went 0-for-6 with a strikeout. Ichiro had nine hitless games in his brutal April, four hitless games in his torrid May, three such games in his white-hot June, and five so far this month. Any notion that Ichiro isn't a huge part of the Seattle offense can be dispelled by this -- Ichiro has gone hitless in 21 games this season for the Mariners, and their record in those games is 4-17. Keep in mind this was a game where the second through fifth hitters in the Seattle lineup combined to go 9-for-22 with two triples, two homers, four walks, and five RBIs. In short, if Ichiro isn't hitting, a lot has to go right for the Mariners to win. By the way, I mentioned Ichiro has five hitless games so far this month -- the Mariners have only played ten games this so far in July, and Ichiro is hitting at a .244 clip (10-for-41). Though it means hardly anything, four of those ten hits are for extra bases.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 66-25 .725 -- W2
2002 57-34 .626 9 L1
2003 57-34 .626 9 W1
2000 53-38 .582 13 L1
2006 44-47 .484 22 L1
2005 41-50 .451 25 W2
2004 35-56 .385 31 W2
Hernandez. Burnett. Tomorrow.
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