Saturday, July 22, 2006
GAME 97: MARINERS 5, RED SOX 2
In 25 words or less: The Mariners didn't tag the guy who made his Major League debut, they just waited a while to heat up.
This one featured Kason Gabbard going up against Felix Hernandez. Gabbard was making his Major League debut. The Red Sox were in their horribly ugly red jerseys. Jose Lopez was not at the game for the second straight day due to family concerns. At one point, Steve Lyons said that Bloomquist was from North Kitsap, which of course made me laugh. The Mariners hoped to stop their losing streak at a single game, which isn't really a streak at all. Wins mean a lot more if they're followed up by more wins, sure, but the Mariners have to start somewhere. They haven't had a winning streak since they sandwiched the All-Star break with wins. The last winning streak before that was the five-gamer near the end of July when they were almost becoming kinda good (who doesn't love redundancy?).
Before I go on, here's some stuff about the Mariners' streaks this season. First, here they are in order...
L1, W3, L4, W2, L1, W1, L3, W1, L4, W1, L1, W1, L1, W3, L4, W1, L1, W2, L2, W2, L3, W4, L1, W1, L6, W3, L1, W3, L1, W3, L3, W5, L2, W5, L1, W1, L6, W2, L4, W1, L1, W1 (current).
Winning streaks...
ONE GAME: nine times
TWO GAMES: four times
THREE GAMES: five times
FOUR GAMES: once
FIVE GAMES: twice
Losing streaks...
ONE GAME: ten times
TWO GAMES: twice
THREE GAMES: three times
FOUR GAMES: four times
FIVE GAMES: none
SIX GAMES: twice
TOP 1ST
Coco Crisp rolled out to second. Alex Cora got ahead 3-0 before walking on a 3-1 pitch down and away. David Ortiz was up 2-0 and took a nasty 2-2 curve for strike three. Manny Ramirez whiffed on a 1-2 curve down and away. Hernandez threw 18 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro chopped a single over Lowell at third and too deep into the hole for Gonzalez to make a play. Willie Bloomquist scooped a low pitch into left for a single, moving Ichiro to second. Adrian Beltre rolled over on an outside pitch, rolling right to third, where Lowell stepped on the bag to force out Ichiro and threw to first for the double play. Richie Sexson was down 0-2 and grounded a 1-2 pitch hard behind the bag at third. Gabbard threw 15 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Trot Nixon flew out to shallow center on the first pitch. Mike Lowell was up 3-1 before smacking a waist-high inner-half full-count pitch about seven rows above the manual scoreboard in left, on the side closest to the visitors' bullpen.
»» RED SOX 1, MARINERS 0
Wily Mo Peña whiffed on a 1-2 curve. Doug Mirabelli rolled the second pitch to short. Hernandez threw 14 pitches and had 32 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Eduardo Perez was ahead 2-0 before lining out to Peña in left on a 2-2 pitch. Carl Everett thought he was hit on the left pant leg with the second pitch, but he wasn't awarded first base. Everett had the hitters' counts before walking on a 3-1 pitch. Kenji Johjima flew out high to center. Yuniesky Betancourt rolled the second pitch for basically a swinging bunt perfectly placed along the third-base line for a single, moving Everett to second. Adam Jones got ahead 3-0 and walked on a 3-1 pitch outside, loading the bases. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and lined a 1-2 pitch into center for a single, scoring Everett and Betancourt and moving Jones to second. Gabbard got a visit from the pitching coach.
»» MARINERS 2, RED SOX 1
Bloomquist flew out to Crisp in rightcenter on a 2-0 pitch. Gabbard threw 29 pitches and had 44 through two.
TOP 3RD
Alex Gonzalez rode the first pitch toward the gap in leftcenter, but Jones ran about a mile to make the catch (later revealed as the #10 Top Play on SportsCenter later in the night). Crisp worked an 0-2 count for a walk (eight pitches). Cora watched the first pitch as Crisp got a huge jump and stole second. Cora popped the second pitch to Beltre behind the bag at third. Ortiz punched the first pitch through the shift into center, scoring Crisp.
»» RED SOX 2, MARINERS 2
Ramirez ripped a pitch to the wall in right for a single (he might have thought it was a homer, and Thom Brenneman and Steve Lyons subsequently started sounding off), moving Ortiz to third. Nixon was up 2-0 before whiffing on a 2-2 curve. Hernandez threw 21 pitches and had 53 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Beltre snapped the second pitch for a single past a diving Gonzalez and into center. Sexson rolled the first pitch right to short to start a 6-4-3 double play. Perez whiffed on a 1-2 curve way outside and in the dirt. Gabbard threw seven pitches and had 51 through three.
TOP 4TH
Lowell took a 1-2 fastball down the pipe. Peña drove the second pitch to the track in center. Mirabelli tapped to short. Hernandez threw nine pitches and had 62 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Everett tapped an 0-2 pitch back to the mound. Johjima popped the second pitch to Nixon in shallow right. Betancourt was up 3-1 and bounced out to third on a full count. Gabbard threw 11 pitches and had 62 through four.
TOP 5TH
Gonzalez bounced a 2-0 pitch to short. Crisp grounded a 2-2 pitch to a diving Sexson at first, who underhanded to first for the out. Cora fell behind 0-2 and grounded to first on a 2-2 pitch. Hernandez threw 13 pitches and had 75 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Jones slapped a 1-2 pitch through the right side for a single. Ichiro was ahead 3-0 before whiffing on a full-count pitch, and Mirabelli's not-everything-on-it throw to second nearly nailed Jones, who bumped the ball out of the glove of Gonzalez at second. Bloomquist bounced a 3-1 pitch to third. Beltre was ahead 3-0 and ended up taking a full-count fastball down and in that was called for strike three. Gabbard threw 24 pitches and had 86 through five.
TOP 6TH
Ortiz lined out to deep center on a 2-0 pitch. Ramirez whiffed on an 0-2 curve away. Nixon ripped a 2-2 pitch through the right side for a single. Lowell grounded a 2-2 pitch to third, where Beltre went to second for the 5-4 force on Nixon. Hernandez threw 17 pitches and had 92 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Sexson popped high to first. Perez tapped a 1-2 pitch to Lowell charging in from third, who barehanded and threw to first, and Perez was called safe, saying Ortiz didn't have his toe on the bag as the throw definitely beat Perez. Everett was up 3-0 and poked a full-count pitch up the middle for a single, moving Perez to second.
Julian Tavarez came in for Gabbard. Johjima bounced the second pitch to the left side, where Gonzalez tried backhand flipping to third, and it hit Perez in the right elbow or back (error) and the ball went into foul territory, allowing Perez to score and Everett to move to second.
»» MARINERS 3, RED SOX 2
Betancourt had the hitters' counts before walking on a full-count pitch down and in. Jones tapped the first pitch to third, where Lowell threw home to start a horribly untimely 5-2-3 double play. Tavarez threw ten pitches.
Gabbard's line: 5 1/3 innings, 3 runs (2 earned), 8 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 99 pitches (59 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Peña tapped the second pitch to the right of the mound, where Hernandez got to it and tossed to first. Mirabelli drove the second pitch to deep center, but Jones got to the track and camped under it for the out. Gonzalez grounded hard an 0-2 pitch hard to third, where Beltre made the diving stop and threw to first, where Sexson had to make the stretch and it looked like he might have been pulled off the bag, but Gonzalez was called out.
Hernandez' line: 7 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, 99 pitches (64 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Ichiro fell behind 0-2 before popping a 1-2 pitch high to third. Bloomquist had the hitters' counts before walking on a 3-1 pitch. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and called time right as Tavarez was starting his motion (happened twice in the at-bat). Beltre ended up popping a 1-2 pitch to shallow center, where it landed between Gonzalez and Crisp coming a long way in from center (single), and the two nearly collided as Bloomquist now didn't have to tag up and sprinted to second as Beltre reached. Sexson listened to boos raining down as Tavarez made the billionth stepoff in response to Bloomquist. Sexson worked a 1-2 count for a walk, loading the bases. Perez laid the bat out on a 1-2 pitch, rolling a single up the middle, scoring Bloomquist and Beltre and moving Sexson to second.
»» MARINERS 5, RED SOX 2
Everett chopped a 1-2 pitch high to second, where Cora went to second for the out and it was too slow to turn two (Sexson moved to third). Johjima slapped an 0-2 line drive that was caught by Nixon running toward the line in right.
Tavarez' line: 1 2/3 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts, 41 pitches (25 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Mark Lowe came in for Hernandez. Crisp flew out to Jones racing into leftcenter. Cora grounded near the middle, where Bloomquist made the play to the backhand side and got the out. Ortiz fell behind 0-2 and popped high to Betancourt in shallow left on a 1-2 pitch.
Lowe's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 12 pitches (9 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Rudy Seañez came in for Tavarez. Betancourt popped a 1-2 pitch to Gonzalez in shallow center. Jones smacked a 1-2 pitch into center for a single. Ichiro bounced a 2-0 pitch to second, where Cora went to second for the out, but Ichiro beat out the double play at first. Bloomquist one-hopped hard to second on a full count.
Seañez' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 20 pitches (13 strikes)
TOP 9TH
JJ Putz came in for Lowe. Ramirez took a 2-2 fastball over the outside corner. Nixon popped the first pitch to left. Lowell fell behind 0-2 and popped to Bloomquist moving back into shallow center on a 1-2 pitch.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (8 strikes)
---
Gameball: Adam Jones.
The worst thing he did was end the bottom of the sixth inning with a double-play ball. Still, he had his second multi-hit game in the Majors, and he managed his first big-league stolen base to boot. Combine the two hits with a walk in the ninth slot in the lineup, that puts someone aboard for when Ichiro comes to the plate. That's generally a good thing. It's even more of a good thing since both Jones and Ichiro run like jackrabbits. The most important thing for me, however, is Jones' progress defensively in centerfield. It's only been a little over a week, but Jones seems to be improving almost daily. He ran down a couple of balls toward the gaps today and he also ran down some balls toward the track and toward the wall. Though I'm a big fan of Jeremy Reed and I've rooted hard for him to succeed in Seattle, if Jones puts together a couple more weeks of solid improvement and brings his bat along for the ride too, Reed is totally screwed in Seattle. Or maybe when Reed comes back, he somehow gets showcased and does well until he gets traded. They can't have both since I think neither of them hits for enough power, though Reed is the lefty out of the two.
Goat: Kenji Johjima.
He's really not having a hot month at all. He hit .345 in June and ended the month hitting .298 for the season. As a matter of fact, he sat at .292 after the first game of the series at Yankee Stadium. He's gone 1-for-13 since, dropping ten points off his batting average as a result. He is now hitting .282 for the season and a sickly low .204 in July. With just over a week left in the month, Johjima has managed only one extra-base hit, a double in that first game of the series in the Bronx. His worst full month of the season extra-base hitwise was April, when he hit four doubles and two homers. His second-worst month was May, which was marginally better at three doubles and three homers. He went nuts in June with eight doubles, a triple, and five homers. Before I forget, he also caught Felix Hernandez today, and Felix didn't do too badly. I watched the first inning thinking the curveball should have been called a lot more, but it didn't seem to burn Felix too badly. It also wasn't a day where Johjima has a few pitches get past him or go off his glove in bad situations either.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 70-27 .722 -- W2
2002 60-37 .619 10 L1
2003 59-38 .608 11 L2
2000 57-40 .588 13 L1
2006 46-51 .474 24 W1
2005 42-55 .433 28 L2
2004 38-59 .392 32 W1
--extras--
HERNANDEZ WITH RIVERA CATCHING (average line, four starts)
7 innings, 3 runs (2.5 earned), 6 hits, 1.5 walks, 7.3 strikeouts, 100 pitches (66 strikes)
3.25 ERA
HERNANDEZ WITH JOHJIMA CATCHING (average line, 15 starts)
6 innings, 3.9 runs (3.5 earned), 6.7 hits, 2 walks, 5.3 strikeouts, 100 pitches (63 strikes)
5.22 ERA
Lester. Washburn. Tomorrow.
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GAME 96: RED SOX 9, MARINERS 4
In 25 words or less: The dog days arrived eleven days early. An absolutely time-consuming clunker of a game.
This one featured Kyle Snyder going up against Jamie Moyer. Jose Lopez was not at the game due to family reasons, so Willie Bloomquist took his spot in the lineup. Manny Ramirez came into the game having hit nine career homers against Moyer. David Ortiz came in with four homers against Moyer. The Mariners hoped to string together a pair of wins. Though I'd be looking past this game to mention it, the Mariners haven't strung together a winning streak of three wins or more since the five-gamer in the latter part of June, i.e., the 11-wins-in-14-games stretch. A loss in this game would make for futility stretches in three tasty flavors -- four losses in five games, 11 losses in 14 games, or 12 losses in 16 games. Lest we all forget, the Mariners' low-water mark this season is ten games under .500, which they reached toward the end of May when they were 22-32. The good news is that they came in 23-18 since. The bad news is that at one time they were 9-2, 14-5, 19-7, and 20-8 coming off of that 22-32 start. Compare 23-18 to all of that, and yeah, it's bad.
TOP 1ST
Kevin Youkilis popped the second pitch to center. Mark Loretta flew out to right. David Ortiz cranked a hanging second pitch five rows into the rightfield seats. It got out in a hurry.
»» RED SOX 1, MARINERS 0
Manny Ramirez was up 3-0 before flying out to Ichiro in the rightfield corner on a 3-1 pitch. Moyer threw 12 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro was up 2-0 before looping a 2-2 pitch to Kapler reaching down for the catch near the leftfield line. Willie Bloomquist popped to left on a hanging 1-2 breaking ball. Adrian Beltre shot a 1-2 pitch to the left side, where Youkilis made a diving stab but bobbled it a bit and Beltre legged out the single. Raul Ibañez grounded hard to first on an 0-2 pitch. Snyder threw 16 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Jason Varitek fell behind 0-2 before flying out to fairly deep center on a 1-2 pitch. Trot Nixon grounded the second pitch to second. Coco Crisp was down 0-2 before popping to Sexson near the first-base camera well in foul ground. Moyer threw 12 pitches and had 24 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Richie Sexson bounced the second pitch to Youkilis behind the bag at third. Carl Everett was up 2-0 before popping out to Gonzalez in shallow left. Kenji Johjima grounded a 2-2 pitch hard to short, where Gonzalez had it go off his glove but stayed with it and threw to first in time. Snyder threw 11 pitches and had 27 through two.
TOP 3RD
Gabe Kapler tapped an 0-2 pitch up the middle that went off of Moyer's glove (error, he should have had it) and died behind the mound, enabling Kapler to reach. Alex Gonzalez crushed a 2-2 pitch that hit the back of the visitors' bullpen, scoring Kapler.
»» RED SOX 3, MARINERS 0
Youkilis rolled out to short. Loretta stroked a 2-0 pitch along the leftfield line for a double. Ortiz grounded to short, and Betancourt raced way over from his shifted position to make the play at first as Loretta moved to third. Ramirez rolled out to short on a 2-2 pitch. Moyer threw 23 pitches and had 47 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Yuniesky Betancourt rolled hard to short, but it went under the glove of Gonzalez and into left for a single. Adam Jones grounded the first pitch hard to second for a very easy 4-6-3 double play. Ichiro served a single over Gonzalez and into center. Bloomquist popped a hanging second-pitch breaking ball high and foul to Varitek near the righthanded batters' box. Snyder threw nine pitches and had 36 through three.
TOP 4TH
Varitek was up 2-0 and roped a low 2-2 pitch into the Mariners' bullpen. Moyer talked with Johjima immediately after the blast.
»» RED SOX 4, MARINERS 0
Nixon grounded the first pitch behind the bag at first (3-1 putout). Crisp popped the second pitch high to Ichiro in rightcenter. Kapler looked like he barely got a bat on a high 0-2 pitch, but the fly ball took Ibañez to the track in left. Moyer threw 13 pitches and had 60 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Beltre hit a hard fly ball, but it only took Kapler to the track in left in front of the manual scoreboard. Ibañez grounded to Ortiz behind the bag at first (3-1 putout). Sexson shot a 2-2 pitch past a diving Gonzalez into left for a single. Everett got ahead 2-0 before foul-tipping a 2-2 curve into Varitek's glove behind the plate. Snyder threw 19 pitches and had 55 through four.
TOP 5TH
Gonzalez walked on four pitches. Youkilis blasted a down-the-pipe thigh-level second pitch into the back of the visitors' bullpen, scoring Gonzalez.
»» RED SOX 6, MARINERS 0
Loretta reached for an outside pitch and rolled out to short. Ortiz had the hitters' counts before walking on a 3-1 pitch down and away. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves visited the mound. Ramirez reached down and away and simply golfed one into the visitors' bullpen, scoring Ortiz.
»» RED SOX 8, MARINERS 0
Jake Woods came in for Moyer. Varitek rode the second pitch to the rightfield track. Nixon split his bat on a hard grounder to first that went off the glove of a diving Sexson and past Bloomquist on the deflection into right for a single. Crisp was up 3-0 before lining out to center on a 3-1 pitch. Woods threw 11 pitches.
Moyer's line: 4 1/3 innings, 8 runs (7 earned), 6 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 78 pitches (46 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Johjima grounded the first pitch to third, where Youkilis had the ball go off his glove (error) and into left. Betancourt found the gap in rightcenter on the first pitch, not quite reaching the wall and Crisp bobbled the ball (error), enabling Betancourt to move to second as Johjima moved to third. Jones fell behind 0-2 and lined out to second on a 1-2 pitch. Ichiro took the first pitch in the dirt, and it went off of Varitek and toward the first-base dugout, scoring Johjima and moving Betancourt to third.
»» RED SOX 8, MARINERS 1
Ichiro walked on four pitches, with the fourth ball brushing him back. Bloomquist popped the second pitch to deep-enough left, scoring Betancourt.
»» RED SOX 8, MARINERS 2
Beltre was down 0-2 and watched Ichiro steal second without a throw on the 1-2 pitch. Beltre ended up walking on a full-count pitch up and away. Ibañez whiffed on a 2-2 fastball (eighth pitch of the at-bat).
Snyder's line: 5 innings, 2 runs (unearned), 5 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 82 pitches (53 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Kapler took a 2-2 breaking ball down over the inside corner. Gonzalez fell behind 0-2 and popped to Betancourt in shallow left on a 1-2 pitch. Youkilis ripped a 2-2 pitch down the leftfield line and off the angled wall that cordons off the stands for a double. Loretta punched out to Bloomquist on a soft line drive. Woods threw 19 pitches and had 30 total.
BOTTOM 6TH
Kyle Snyder came out to warm up, but he came off the field with a member of the Boston training staff. He may have hyperextended his knee during his warmup pitches.
Craig Hansen came in for Snyder. Sexson chopped a 1-2 pitch to third. Everett was up 2-0 but flew out lazily to left. Johjima grounded the second pitch to Youkilis behind the bag at third. Hansen threw 11 pitches.
TOP 7TH
Ortiz tried ducking out of the way of a full-count pitch, and I certainly thought it hit him, but Ortiz wasn't awarded first base. The ball went off the knob of the bat as well as his hand, and he remained at the plate with a full count. Ortiz fouled off five full-count pitches before whiffing on a breaking ball down and off the plate outside on the eleventh pitch of the at-bat. Ramirez scorched a 2-2 pitch into left for a single. Varitek was ahead 2-0 and ended up grounding hard down the line at third, where Beltre went into foul ground and still got the throw off to second in time to force out Ramirez, though of course Varitek beat out the back end of the double play. Nixon popped the second pitch to left. Woods threw 22 pitches and had 52 total.
BOTTOM 7TH
Betancourt got the hitters' counts before shooting a full-count pitch through the mound and into center for a single. Jones drove the second pitch into the gap in rightcenter and to the wall for a double, scoring Betancourt for his first Major League double and first RBI.
»» RED SOX 8, MARINERS 3
Ichiro chopped a 2-2 pitch over the mound and into center for a single, easily scoring Jones. Hansen got a visit from stand-in pitching coach Al Nipper.
»» RED SOX 8, MARINERS 4
Bloomquist grounded the second pitch right to Youkilis to start a 5-4-3 double play. Beltre chopped a 2-0 pitch through the left side for a single.
Manny Delcarmen came in for Hansen. Ibañez flew out near the leftfield corner on a 2-2 pitch. Delcarmen threw six pitches.
Hansen's line: 1 2/3 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 30 pitches (19 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Crisp grounded a 3-1 pitch very hard to third, where he blocked it with his chest and it went to his left, where he pounced on it and threw it hard and in time to first, a Beltre defensive specialty. Kapler walked on four pitches.
Emiliano Fruto came in for Woods. Gonzalez took an 0-2 breaking ball over the outside corner. Youkilis took a 2-0 pitch outside that went off the end of Johjima's glove (I thought he should have had it) and to the backstop, allowing Kapler to move to second. Youkilis walked on four pitches. Loretta rolled the first pitch slowly past the mound, but Betancourt charged, gobbled it up, and threw in time to first. Fruto threw eight pitches.
Woods' line: 3 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 61 pitches (35 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Sexson got ahead 3-1 before grounding a hard one-hopper to third on a full count (eighth pitch). Everett had the hitters' counts before flying out to Kapler near the corner in left. Johjima drilled an 0-2 pitch into left for a single. Betancourt reached and poked an 0-2 pitch through the right side for a single, moving Johjima to second. Greg Dobbs, hitting for Jones, was up 2-0 but grounded a 2-2 pitch hard to Ortiz behind the bag at first, who had a bit of initial trouble with it before underhanding to Delcarmen running over to cover. Delcarmen threw 26 pitches and had 32 total.
Delcarmen's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 32 pitches (22 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Dobbs stayed in to play third, Beltre moved to second, and Bloomquist moved to center. Ortiz whiffed on a 2-2 splitter down and away. Ramirez had the hitters' counts before taking a 3-1 pitch that sailed up and in and all the way to the backstop for a walk. Varitek walked on four pitches, moving Ramirez to second. Nixon got ahead 3-0 and Johjima went to talk to Fruto. Sexson came out to the mound as well, and the plate umpire was quick to try to quell the delaying. Then Mike Hargrove came out and jawed with the plate umpire a bit, prolonging the madness. Nixon ended up popping foul on a full count to Dobbs near the stands in foul ground on the left side. Crisp had the hitters' counts before punching a single past Dobbs at third and into left, and the relay home was late to get Ramirez (the throw got past Johjima, but was backed up by Fruto), who scored as Varitek got to second.
»» RED SOX 9, MARINERS 4
Julio Mateo, now rocking the high socks look, came in for Fruto. Kapler walked on a full count, loading the bases. Gonzalez flew out to Ichiro in rightcenter on the second pitch.
Fruto's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 34 pitches (15 strikes)
Mateo's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (5 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Mike Timlin came in for Delcarmen, Youkilis moved to first for Ortiz, and Alex Cora came in to play third. Ichiro worked a 1-2 count full before grounding out to short, though it took 13 pitches to get to that conclusion. Bloomquist popped the first pitch to Loretta backing into shallow right. Beltre popped the first pitch to Youkilis behind the bag at first.
Timlin's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 15 pitches (12 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jake Woods.
Though I hate going for the obvious gameball here, I could have just as easily gone for Yuniesky Betancourt here, since even though he's a nice hitter, he may not go 4-for-4 again for the rest of the season. It was quite an impressive night for him. Though nowhere near as flashy, Woods came through tonight in the only role that Mike Hargrove seems to be willing to give him this season. That role, of course, is Garbage Time Innings Eater, GTIE, or GarbTimInEat, possibly put in allcaps as GARBTIMINEAT. Even with the Boston pitching staff ravaged with injuries, the chances of the Mariners coming all the way back from an 8-0 deficit are slim. Thus, in comes Woods to eat innings and hopefully save the rest of the bullpen for more important innings in the series. When the Mariners were good, this role (though slightly different and better used by Piniella) was performed by guys like John Halama, Brett Tomko, Ryan Franklin, and Julio Mateo, who also ran into the Bob Melvin tenure. I don't need to tell you they were all better at it, but Woods might be working himself into more outings here, which is good for him. How good that is for everything else is to be determined. In any event, Hargrove keeps 12 pitchers and this guy's the twelfth, and he barely gets used.
Goat: Jamie Moyer.
The crafty lefthander. It's no secret that he's better pitching at Safeco Field than he is on the road. He has brought home the bacon for a few years now pitching to the dimensions of the home ballyard. So when a night comes along like tonight, when Moyer has already given up a ton of homers this season, and he gives up a handful of homers, well, it's not good. At one point, Dave Henderson on the television broadcast was trying to reassure Mariner fans that may be wondering why Moyer was still in there after having given up six runs. Henderson tried to say it was because Moyer had made a couple of bad pitches and had otherwise done well and the Red Sox hadn't mounted anything off of him. Well, for Hendu that's all great and dandy, but this homer stuff has got to die down a bit. Sure, there have been times where Moyer has been screwed by bad run support this season, but this definitely was not one of those times. If Moyer gives up five solo shots, even then he doesn't stand too much of a chance of winning. When eight runs are charged to him, chalk up the L already.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 69-27 .719 -- W1
2002 60-36 .625 9 W2
2003 59-37 .615 10 L1
2000 57-39 .594 12 W2
2006 45-51 .469 24 L1
2005 42-54 .438 27 L1
2004 37-59 .385 32 L2
Gabbard. Hernandez. Today.
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Thursday, July 20, 2006
GAME 95: MARINERS 3, YANKEES 2
[posted in full Sat ~8:49a]
In 25 words or less: If you're wondering how to make a 3-2 game last three hours and eight minutes, find a recording of this game.
This one featured Gil Meche going up against Randy Johnson. Alex Rodriguez came into the game 6-for-17 with three homers and six RBIs against Meche. The Mariners hoped to escape the Bronx with a win. They'd already lost the series. They hoped to get their second win after the All-Star break; they came into the game with a 1-4 record after the break. A win wouldn't be a small task, however, with Randy Johnson on the mound. The good thing was that the Mariners had their best pitcher (right now) going in the game. I never thought I'd say that about Meche, but that is currently the case, which speaks more to how badly the rest of the rotation has underperformed more than anything.
TOP 1ST
Ichiro served the second pitch over the head of Rodriguez and toward the leftfield corner for a single. Adrian Beltre liend the second pitch past Damon and to the centerfield wall, scoring Ichiro.
»» MARINERS 1, YANKEES 0
Jose Lopez waved at an 0-2 fastball up and away, and Beltre was gunned down at third as the hit-and-run went horribly awry. Raul Ibañez tapped back to the mound on an 0-2 pitch. Johnson threw 11 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Johnny Damon foul-tipped an 0-2 outside pitch into Rivera's glove behind the plate. Melky Cabrera whiffed on a letter-high 0-2 fastball. Derek Jeter bounced to short on the first pitch. Meche threw seven pitches.
TOP 2ND
Richie Sexson whiffed on an 0-2 slider down over the inside corner. Eduardo Perez grounded out to third. Yuniesky Betancourt popped a high 0-2 pitch to second. Johnson threw ten pitches and had 21 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Jason Giambi was up 3-1 before fouling off three pitches with a full count, then whiffing on a fastball away (ninth pitch of the at-bat). Alex Rodriguez broke his bat on a second-pitch flyout to center. Andy Phillips bounced the first pitch to third. Meche threw 12 pitches and had 19 through two.
TOP 3RD
Rene Rivera whiffed on a 1-2 pitch up and away. Adam Jones was down 0-2 before whiffing on a 2-2 pitch. Ichiro poked a 2-0 pitch up the middle for a single. Beltre watched as Ichiro took second base on a 1-1 pitch without drawing a throw from Stinnett. Beltre was up 3-1 before whiffing on a full-count fastball up and away. Johnson threw 20 pitches and had 41 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Aaron Guiel popped to Jones on the centerfield track, who showed some progress in getting to further-hit balls. Nick Green fell behind 0-2 before looping a 1-2 pitch into shallow right that was caught on the run by Ichiro. Kelly Stinnett whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball out of the zone. Meche threw 12 pitches and had 31 through three.
TOP 4TH
Lopez popped the first pitch high to Phillips to the right of the mound. Ibañez looped the second pitch to Green just off the dirt behind second. Sexson was up 2-0 before lofting a fly ball that got just over the wall in rightcenter.
»» MARINERS 2, YANKEES 0
Perez worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Betancourt knocked the first pitch off the side of the mound and into center for a single, moving Perez to second. Rivera was down 0-2 before flying out to fairly deep center on a 1-2 pitch. Johnson threw 18 pitches and had 59 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Damon looped a 2-2 pitch into shallow left that was speared on the run by Betancourt moving way over from short, and it was featured on SportsCenter later in the night in the Top Plays segment. Cabrera fell behind 0-2 count full before popping a changeup high to Betancourt drifting back into shallow center (nine-pitch at-bat). Jeter whiffing over a 2-2 fastball off the plate outside and losing his bat in the process as it flew toward the third-base dugout. Meche threw 19 pitches and had 50 through four.
TOP 5TH
Jones took a 2-2 slider down over the inside corner. Ichiro tapped the first pitch back to the mound. At this point, the YES (or as I call it, NO) crew of Michael Kay, Jim Kaat, and John Flaherty talked about the role of umpires behind the plate, and the issue of umpires putting hands on the backs of catchers came up, and Flaherty brought up Brian O'Nora, who apparently puts a little lean onto the hand, which I can't imagine if I was a catcher. Beltre punched a 2-2 pitch for a line drive right to Green at second. Johnson threw 12 pitches and had 71 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Giambi grounded to Sexson behind the bag at first, who tossed to a covering Meche at first. Rodriguez looped a fly ball that dropped just inside the rightfield line barely past the tarp, and it bounced into the crowd for a ground-rule double, breaking up the perfect game after 13 outs. Phillips took a full-count curve over the outer half. Guiel fouled off a 3-0 pitch (he was green-lit?) before flying out to center on a 3-1 pitch. Meche threw 18 pitches and had 68 through five.
TOP 6TH
Lopez fought off an 0-2 pitch up in the zone and rolled it through the left side for a single. Ibañez worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing on a full-count pitch down and away, and Lopez was gunned down at second by Stinnett, whose throw nearly took off Johnson's head at the mound. Sexson whiffed on a 2-2 offspeed pitch. Johnson threw 17 pitches and had 88 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Green walked an 0-2 count for a walk (nine pitches). Stinnett lined the second pitch over Betancourt and into left for a single, moving Green to second. Damon fouled off six pitches after having two strikes on him before finally flying out to left (eleventh pitch of the at-bat). Cabrera popped the first pitch to Betancourt moving back into shallow center. Jeter smacked a full-count pitch past Lopez and into center for a single, scoring Green and moving Stinnett to third.
»» MARINERS 2, YANKEES 1
Giambi took a 1-2 pitch in the dirt, but Jeter stole second on the pitch. Giambi ended up grounding to Sexson behind the bag at first on a full count. Meche threw 36 pitches and had 104 through six.
TOP 7TH
The Yankee trainers came out to the mound before the first pitch was thrown, but Johnson shook them off. Perez was ahead 2-0 but ended up whiffing on a 2-2 high fastball. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and ended up flying out to left on a 2-2 ptich. Rivera fell behind 0-2 and bounced a 1-2 pitch to short, but Jeter threw wide of first (error) and Phillips' tag attempt was eluded by Rivera coming down the line at first. Jones rolled the second pitch to short for a 6-4 force on Rivera at second. Johnson threw 17 pitches and had 105 through seven.
BOTTOM 7TH
Willie Bloomquist came in to play centerfield for Jones. Rodriguez bounced a 2-2 pitch to the mound that went off of Meche's glove in self-defense, but it slowed down the ball when it got to Betancourt, who had no play. Phillips roped the second pitch to the track in rightcenter and to the wall for a double, scoring Rodriguez. The relay home was beaten by Rodriguez, whose left leg got to the plate before Rivera even got the ball, though Rivera thought he had the plate blocked and was miffed at Mike Reilly behind the plate, who got the full brunt of Mike Hargrove the night before, who came out to argue but wasn't tossed this time. As this was happening, Andy Fletcher at third waved the play dead as Phillips was trying to scoot over to third, and Fletcher had him sent back to second, which sent Phillips into a state of bewilderment and third-base coach Larry Bowa into a state of ultra-Bowafication, thought not to the extent of an ejection.
»» MARINERS 2, YANKEES 2
George Sherrill came in for Meche. Miguel Cairo, hitting for Guiel, bunted the second pitch lightly to the left side, where Rivera got to it and threw to first, moving Phillips to third.
Mark Lowe came in for Sherrill. Bernie Williams (a 7-for-33 career pinch-hitter), hitting for Green, whiffed on an 0-2 slider. Stinnett (Jorge Posada was sent to the on-deck circle as a decoy) flew out to the rightfield track on the first pitch.
Meche's line: 6 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 112 pitches (75 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 2 pitches (1 strike)
Lowe's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 4 pitches (4 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Ichiro nubbed the first pitch along the first-base side nopt far from the plate where Stinnett pounced on it and threw to first, but Ichiro legged it out for a single. Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 fastball up and away. Lopez watched as Ichiro broke for second on a 1-2 pitch and drew a throw from a standing-up Stinnett that bounced past Cairo at second and into center, allowing Ichiro to move to third (stolen base for Ichiro, error for Stinnett). Lopez took the next pitch off the top of the left foot and went to first after Hargrove and trainer Rick Griffin attended to his condition as the Yankees' bullpen phones appeared to have lost connection momentarily. Ibañez flew out to medium-depth leftfield, but Cabrera's throw was quite up the first-base line, so Ichiro scored easily.
»» MARINERS 3, YANKEES 2
Joe Torre came to the mound and left Johnson in the game. Sexson got ahead 2-0 before whiffing on a 2-2 fastball.
Johnson's line: 8 innings, 3 runs (2 earned), 7 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts, 129 pitches (89 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Mark Lowe came out to warm up, but then Hargrove came out and pulled him before he threw to a batter.
Rafael Soriano came in for Lowe. Damon looped an 0-2 pitch to Betancourt moving back into shallow left. Cabrera rolled an 0-2 pitch up the middle, where Betancourt had the ball go off the heel of his glove and off himself (error), allowing Cabrera aboard. After sitting through a hail of pickoff throws directed at Cabrera at first base, Jeter rolled a 2-2 pitch to short, but he got it cleanly this time and shoveled to second for the force on Cabrera, who took out Lopez well enough at second to nullify any chance at a double play. Giambi was ahead 3-1 before whiffing on a full-count fastball over the outer half.
Soriano's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 17 pitches (12 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Kyle Farnsworth came in for Johnson. Perez bounced the first pitch to the left side, where Farnsworth let it go and Rodriguez made a nice play on the run and threw to first in time, and the throw was dug out by Phillips at first. Betancourt chopped the second pitch over the mound and into center for a single. Rivera rolled the first pitch to short to start a 6-4-3 double play.
Farnsworth's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 4 pitches (3 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
JJ Putz came in for Soriano. Rodriguez was down 0-2 before bouncing to short on a 2-2 pitch as Sexson reached up to pull down the high throw. Phillips flew out to right on the second pitch. Cairo fell behind 0-2 before rolling a 2-2 pitch down the third-base line and Beltre made his usual play (though not barehanded) and his throw was barely beaten at first by Cairo. Williams lined out to fairly deep center on the first pitch.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 17 pitches (12 strikes)
---
Gameball: Mark Lowe.
He has that calm/cool/collected vibe that reminds me of someone else already in the Mariner bullpen. That someone is Rafael Soriano. Soriano's role in the bullpen right now is fairly defined in that he's pretty much a late-inning/setup guy for JJ Putz. What of Lowe? In the outings he's had so far, Mike Hargrove has led me to believe he might do some longish relief. Not Jake Woods relief or anything like that, because Lowe is already getting more consistent playing time than Woods. What do I think here? It's another reason to find a way to cut Julio Mateo loose. I know he's only been out there a few outings so far, but I'd be more than happy to see this guy be the first arm coming out of the bullpen. Knowing he can get three or five or six outs too isn't a bad thing either. I've also managed to go the whole paragraph thus far without mentioning the magnificent slider of Lowe. It's a good'n. I hope his arm never explodes or anything like that. Hopefully he never suffers the same sorts of injuries that robbed Soriano of basically two seasons.
Goat: Rene Rivera.
You know, I like that when he's back behind the plate, the Seattle starting pitchers do pretty well. I've convinced myself that his role on this club shouldn't just be to catch when Kenji Johjima needs a day off, but to catch whenever Felix Hernandez is on the mound. Why am I convinced of that? His role can't possibly be anything else, can it? Not with a .173 average, that's for sure. What else can he do? He can seem to evade the passed ball, which isn't something Johjima seems to get. In any event, the fact that Rivera is still up with the big club is merely a testament to how crappy the organization depth is at the catcher position. I remember way back when the Mariners picked up Guillermo Quiroz, I certainly thought we'd have seen him up with the big club for at least a week or two or something, maybe shuffle him back and forth to Tacoma. Instead, Quiroz has barely been with the Mariners at all. I wish Jeff Clement could come up soon, really. I also wish for the Mariners to not end up in some sort of scenario where Clement gets traded away, a la Jason Varitek.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 68-27 .716 -- L1
2002 59-36 .621 9 W1
2003 59-36 .621 9 W1
2000 56-39 .589 12 W1
2006 45-50 .474 23 W1
2005 42-53 .442 26 W1
2004 37-58 .389 31 L1
--extras--
MARINER STARTING PITCHERS WITH RIVERA CATCHING (average line)
7 innings, 2.6 runs (2.3 earned), 5.8 hits, 1.9 walks, 5.5 strikeouts, 106 pitches (69 strikes)
3.04 ERA
Snyder. Moyer. Tomorrow.
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Wednesday, July 19, 2006
SONIC DOOM
The fact that I've only got about half of a Mariner game post up from last night (thanks to a bad call and a nearly two-hour rain delay) gives me a good opportunity to talk about something big.
As you more than likely know already, the Seattle SuperSonics have been sold by Howard Schultz' ownership group to a new ownership group that hails from Oklahoma City. As we know, Oklahoma City has been the temporary home for the New Orleans Hornets, and David Stern has said that New Orleans will get the Hornets back. Oklahoma City pitched hard for the Hornets and has drawn well attendancewise at the games.
So knowing that the Hornets are probably headed back to New Orleans and knowing that Oklahoma City would still want a team, and then an Oklahoma City-based ownership group buys the Seattle SuperSonics, well, I don't have to tell you what the conclusion of many fans in the Seattle market is. It's sad considering the Sonics are the longest-running major professional team in the city, and have the richest history as a result. They also have the last men's professional championship***. In the time that I've been alive, the Sonics have wowed me with the likes of the Gary Payton/Shawn Kemp teams and with the absolute surprise of the 2004-2005 team that was picked to finished last and won 52 games and the division instead.
In short, though, what do I have to say about this? I don't know if it walks like a duck or it talks like a duck...
...but it sure reeks like one.
[***edit 25 Jul ~1:09a -- technically this isn't true, because I can hear Softy Mahler somewhere out there correcting me right now by saying the Seattle SeaDogs came away with the Continental Indoor Soccer League title one year. I meant major sports.]
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GAME 94: YANKEES 5, MARINERS 4 (11 INNINGS)
[posted in full Sat ~2:02a]
In 25 words or less: A bad call, an unjustified blown save, some rain, a long wait, and the likely result.
This one featured Joel Piñeiro going up against Sidney Ponson. Piñeiro is Piñeiro while Ponson was in his first start wearing the pinstripes and having the prying eyes of the Big Apple upon him. Ponson also showed up with number 24 on his back, which surely irks any fan of Tino Martinez. I'd complain about why his number isn't retired yet, but these are the Yankees we're talking about here. Also, Richie Sexson came in 11-for-22 lifetime against Ponson. Alex Rodriguez did not start in the game due to taking a foul ball off his left big toe the night before. The Mariners were trying to snap a four-game losing streak. Moreover, a loss would make it 11 losses in 14 games, which equate to quite possibly their worst stretch of the season. Again, remember this team was two games over .500 just a couple weeks ago.
1:58 rain delay in bottom of ninth.
TOP 1ST
Ichiro was up 3-0 before walking on a 3-1 pitch outside. Adrian Beltre had Ichiro taking off on a full count, but he flew out to center. Jose Lopez watched the second pitch go by as Ichiro nabbed second easily. Lopez ended up walking on four pitches. Raul Ibañez popped and 0-2 pitch high to Phillips in foul ground on the right side. Richie Sexson crushed a first-pitch low curve to the right of the stands beyond the leftfield wall.
»» MARINERS 3, YANKEES 0
Carl Everett bounced out to second on the second pitch. Ponson threw 22 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Johnny Damon slapped the first pitch near the leftfield line for a single. Miguel Cairo whiffed badly on an 0-2 curve way off the plate. Derek Jeter was nailed near the left hip with a first-pitch curveball. Jason Giambi took the second pitch in the dirt and it bounced to the backstop, allowing Damon and Jeter to moved to third and second. Giambi ended up rolling to second to score Damon and move Jeter to third.
»» MARINERS 3, YANKEES 1
Bernie Williams bounced an 0-2 pitch to second. Piñeiro threw 13 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Kenji Johjima took an 0-2 breaking ball over the outer half. Yuniesky Betancourt flew out to center on the second pitch. Adam Jones rolled to the right side, where Cairo never got the ball into the glove, and it died where he stopped it (error) as he never came up with the ball. Jones wasn't on base long and was picked off before Ichiro had a single pitch thrown to him. Ponson threw ten pitches and had 32 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Andy Phillips golfed the first pitch, a high fastball, just over the wall in leftcenter.
»» MARINERS 3, YANKEES 2
Melky Cabrera tapped lightly along the first-base line, and Piñeiro moved over to make the play. Nick Green smacked the first pitch to the wall in rightcenter for a double. Kelly Stinnett whiffed on an 0-2 fastball over the outer half. Damon whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball down and away. Piñeiro threw 13 pitches and had 26 through two.
TOP 3RD
Ichiro flew out to center. Beltre was up 2-0 but ended up flying out to fairly deep center on a 2-2 pitch. Lopez flew out to Williams in rightcenter. Ponson threw 12 pitches and had 44 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Cairo rolled a 2-2 pitch to short. Jeter stuck the first pitch into center for a single. Giambi watched as Jeter nabbed second on a 2-0 pitch. Giambi got ahead 3-0 and walked on a 3-1 pitch down and away. Williams grounded hard to second to start a 4-6-3 double play. Piñeiro threw 13 pitches and had 39 through three.
TOP 4TH
Ibañez walked on four pitches. Sexson got down 0-2 and whiffed over a low 1-2 breaking ball, not too far from what he homered on in the first at-bat. Everett was ahead 2-0 but whiffed on a 2-2 two-seamer on the outer half. Johjima took an 0-2 fastball that came back over the outside corner. Ponson struck out the side on 17 pitches and had 61 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Phillips grounded hard behind the bag at third, where Beltre made a diving stop and threw off-balance from his right knee and threw over to first in time, good for the #3 Web Gem on Baseball Tonight. Cabrera was up 3-0 and grounded to first on a 3-1 pitch. Green lined a 2-2 pitch into left for a single. Stinnett worked a 1-2 count full before rolled a ball that didn't quite get through the infield thanks to Betancourt ranging over, whose throw was late, but the fact he got to the ball was amazing enough, and the hit moved Green to second. Damon grounded hard to second for a 4-6 force on Stinnett. Piñeiro threw 26 pitches and had 65 through four.
TOP 5TH
Betancourt shot the first pitch through the left side for a single. Jones watched the first pitch go by as Betancourt stole second, just beating the throw from Stinnett. Jones ended up bouncing out to second on a 1-2 pitch, moving Betancourt to third. Ichiro worked a 1-2 count full before looping a fly ball between the middle infielders and Damon in shallow center, scoring Betancourt.
»» MARINERS 4, YANKEES 2
Beltre lined out to short and Jeter threw to first to double off Ichiro, who took off with the pitch and was around the bag at second. Ponson threw 16 pitches and had 77 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Cairo bounced the second pitch to short. Jeter rolled out to short. Giambi whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball low and away. Piñeiro threw nine pitches and had 74 through five.
TOP 6TH
Cabrera whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball away. Ibañez shot a 3-0 pitch hard along the line on the right side, but Phillips made a quick dive behind the bag and underhanded in time to a covering Ponson. Sexson bounced to second. Ponson threw 11 pitches and had 88 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Williams bounced to the right side, where Piñeiro picked it up and ran the ball to first himself. Phillips whiffed over a 1-2 low breaking ball. Cabrera grounded the second pitch to first. Piñeiro threw ten pitches and had 84 through six.
TOP 7TH
Everett was up 2-0 but bounced out to first. Johjima grounded hard to third on the second pitch. Betancourt reached for an outside pitch and rolled it up the middle into center for a single. Jones drove a single past Jeter and into center for his first Major League hit, moving Betancourt to third.
Ron Villone came in for Ponson. Ichiro took a 2-2 fastball over the outside corner.
Ponson's line: 6 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, 99 pitches (59 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Green cranked a belly-high 1-2 fastball to the base of the wall to the left of center (in front of the Yankee bullpen) for a double.
George Sherrill came in for Piñeiro. Jorge Posada, hitting for Stinnett, whiffed on a 1-2 fastball down the pipe. Damon worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing on a breaking ball down and away.
Rafael Soriano came in for Sherrill. Alex Rodriguez, hitting for Cairo, popped very high to Betancourt in shallow left on the second pitch. Soriano threw two pitches.
Piñeiro's line: 6 innings, 2 runs, 7 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 88 pitches (60 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Posada stayed in to catch for Stinnett, Rodriguez stayed in to play third, and Green moved to second. Beltre lasered the ball over Rodriguez at third and into the leftfield corner for a double. Lopez had the hitters' counts and reached on a 3-1 pitch, flying out to shallow right. Ibañez foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into Posada's glove. Sexson was intentionally walked.
Kris Wilson came in for Villone. Eduardo Perez, hitting for Everett, popped the second pitch to right. Wilson threw two pitches.
Villone's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 22 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Jeter foul-tipped a highish outside 1-2 pitch into Johjima's glove for strike three. Giambi fell behind 0-2 before whiffing on a 1-2 fastball of which Soriano looked to have taken a tiny bit off. Williams drove the second pitch to Jones a couple strides short of the track in center.
Soriano's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 13 pitches (11 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Johjima flew out to shallow right ont he first pitch. Betancourt worked a 1-2 count full before
popping to Phillips near the tarp in foul ground on the right side. Jones bounced a 1-2 pitch up the middle for a single, his second hit in the Majors. Ichiro was up 2-0 before flying out to second.
Wilson's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 17 pitches (11 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
JJ Putz came in for Soriano and Willie Bloomquist came in to play center for Jones. Phillips slapped a 2-0 pitch just fair that banked off the tarp and ricocheted back into right, kinda throwing Ichiro for a loop, and he didn't get a strong throw off to second. Cabrera was at bat as the rain started to fall at Yankee Stadium. Cabrera fouled off three 1-2 pitches before whiffing at the fourth, a deathly splitter inside. Aaron Guiel, hitting for Green, had the rain fall harder as he punched the second pitch through the right side for a single to score Phillips. Bubba Crosby came in to run for Guiel.
»» MARINERS 4, YANKEES 3
Posada took a 2-0 pitch that went off of Johjima's glove and to the backstop, moving Crosby to second as lightning and thunder started to appear in the Bronx and the MLB.tv feed got really crappy. Posada had a 3-0 count go full before grounding deep into the hole on the right side, where Lopez went way over to field the ball and slipped, but gathered himself to throw in time to first, though first-base umpire Mike Reilly didn't agree, calling Posada safe at first (Crosby moved to third) as Lopez and Sexson and a few other Mariners couldn't believe it. Mike Hargrove came out to argue and was tossed. Ron Hassey stepped in for Hargrove on managerial duty for the remainder of the game. Damon flew out to Bloomquist in sufficiently deep leftcenter on the first pitch, scoring Crosby as the game was tied and Putz was tagged with a blown save thanks to a bullcrap call by Reilly.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 4
Rodriguez got ahead 3-1, and at this point the umpiring crew ordered the tarps to come out as the Bronx faithful weren't too enthused.
One hour and fifty-eight minutes later, Julio Mateo came in for Putz and inherited the 3-1 count. Rodriguez took a full-count pitch down over the outside corner. Mateo threw two pitches.
Putz' line: 2/3 inning, 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 23 pitches (14 strikes)
TOP 10TH
Kyle Farnsworth came in for Wilson, Damon moved to first, Crosby stayed in to play center, and Phillips moved to second. Beltre got ahead 3-1 before lining out on a full count to Williams, who ran back a bit and stuck the glove out to catch it. Lopez grounded to second on a 2-0 pitch. Ibañez popped to Jeter near the leftfield line. Farnsworth threw 13 pitches.
Farnsworth's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (7 strikes)
BOTTOM 10TH
Jeter grounded very hard to third on the first pitch and Sexson pulled down the wide throw and tagged Jeter going by. Giambi was up 2-0 and ended up whiffing on a 2-2 fastball on the outer half. Williams drove a 2-0 pitch into the rightfield corner for a double. Phillips bounced to the left side, where Beltre found the ball between Williams and Betancourt and threw in time to first. Mateo threw 14 pitches and had 16 total.
TOP 11TH
Scott Proctor came in for Farnsworth. Sexson grounded a 1-2 pitch hard to third. Perez took the first pitch between the numbers. Johjima was down 0-2 and ended up whiffing on a high 1-2 fastball. Betancourt whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball away in the dirt with Perez going (2-3 putout). Proctor threw 14 pitches.
Proctor's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 14 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 11TH
Cabrera got ahead 2-0 before roping a line drive to the railing over the rightfield wall.
»» YANKEES 5, MARINERS 4
Mateo's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 20 pitches (13 strikes)
---
Gameball: Adam Jones.
He did get picked off in the second inning, but I'm not about to rain on the parade here. In his fourth game in the Majors, Jones got his first two Major League hits. I'm sure it's also thrilling to get your first big-league hit in the Bronx as well, in a place steeped in endless history. Jones is making some strides defensively as well. It seems like with every day that goes by, he's less and less of a zoo in centerfield on the balls that are driven hard and take him to the track or the wall -- basically the ones where he has to make a decision to catch it at the wall or play it off the wall, and whether he gets in the right position to do either of those things. I'd like to see him get on base more and wreak more havoc on the basepaths, but who the heck doesn't? I just want him to improve so that we can all have something to look forward to next year in terms of the centerfield position. If he goes nuts, though, it pretty much spells the end of Jeremy Reed's tenure in Seattle, I would think. One way or the other, though, it's pretty much a lock that Willie Bloomquist won't get the chance for which he's been waiting. Maybe he needs to be a Royal.
Goat: Kenji Johjima.
He hung up an 0-for-5 in this game, which isn't exactly helpful. So far in the month of July, he's gone 9-for-41 (.220). This is after a .267 April, a .280 May, and a .345 June. Since the All-Star break, he has gone 6-for-21 (.286), which is less bad. What is still bad is that Johjima's first extra-base hit in the month of July came in the first game of this series in the Bronx. That was after eight doubles, a triple, and five homers in the month of June. The bottom line is that right now he's not having the hottest month, which might have a tiny bit to do with his newborn being half a world away, but ballplayers have kids all the time while they're away, so Johjima's not the first. The distance thing is probably a lot more of a factor though. My least favorite trait about him so far is the passed balls and balls off his glove, etc. My favorite thing about him is that the Mariners have a catcher that can hit and stabilize the bottom third of the lineup. Also fun is how well he hits when he is behind in the count. It trips me out.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 68-26 .723 -- W2
2002 58-36 .617 10 L2
2003 58-36 .617 10 L1
2000 55-39 .585 13 L1
2006 44-50 .468 24 L4
2005 41-53 .436 27 L3
2004 37-57 .394 31 W2
Meche. Johnson. Today.
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Tuesday, July 18, 2006
GAME 93: YANKEES 4, MARINERS 2
In 25 words or less: Now I just watch the Mariners and there are certain games I just don't feel like they're going to win.
This one featured Jarrod Washburn going up against Chien-Ming Wang. Whenever I say the full name of Wang, I like to imagine myself saying it like Ozzy might in the intro to Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." It has the right number of syllables and everything. Along the same lines, whenever the Mariners ran into Wang in the past, Jeremy liked posting game threads where he would write Wang Chung into the posts. As for the game, the Mariners looked to nab a win in the Bronx so they could keep their losing streak from reaching three games. They also wanted to keep from losing their 10th game in 13 tries. Remember when they were two games over .500 and looking decent? Try five games under .500 with a loss. That's a reality check. Alfonso Soriano rumors? Gimme a break.
TOP 1ST
Ichiro rolled the first pitch past Jeter at short for a single. Willie Bloomquist walked on four pitches, moving Ichiro to second. Adrian Beltre grounded a 1-2 pitch up the middle, but Cairo went to Jeter for the force on Bloomquist at second, but Beltre beat out the back end of the double play as Ichiro moved to third. Raul Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and Posada went to the mound for a visit. Ibañez popped the next pitch to leftcenter, easily scoring Ichiro.
»» MARINERS 1, YANKEES 0
Richie Sexson watched as Posada tried a snap throw to first, but Phillips was unaware of such a play and the ball went down the rightfield line (error given to Posada), enabling Beltre to scoot all the way to third. Sexson ended up taking a 1-2 belt-high pitch over the plate for strike three, not that Sexson thought so. Wang threw 16 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Johnny Damon fell behind 0-2 before looping a 1-2 pitch for a single into shallow leftcenter about ten feet in front of a diving Ibañez, who pretty much looked foolish on the play. Derek Jeter rolled the second pitch to the right side, where Sexson fielded and backhand flipped to Washburn going to the bag (not an easy play), moving Damon to second. Jason Giambi worked an 0-2 count full before taking a fastball over or just off the outside corner for strike three. Alex Rodriguez didn't get all of the first pitch, flying out to left. Washburn threw 14 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Carl Everett tapped the second pitch back to the mound. Kenji Johjima bounced an 0-2 pitch over the mound, but Jeter fielded and got the out at first. Yuniesky Betancourt flew out to right on the second pitch. Wang threw seven pitches and had 23 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Jorge Posada grounded a 2-2 pitch hard up the middle, but Bloomquist made a sliding stop and threw in time to first. Bernie Williams flew out to center on a 2-0 pitch. Andy Phillips spanked a 1-2 pitch into right for a single. Melky Cabrera grounded hard off the glove of Sexson at first (error, debatable) and down the line, moving Phillips to third as Cabrera got to second. Miguel Cairo punched the second pitch through the left side for a single, scoring Phillips and Cabrera. Cairo got to second on the relay home, which was late to get Cabrera.
»» YANKEES 2, MARINERS 1
Damon got ahead 3-0 and fouled off three full-count pitches before slapping a single into shallow left, scoring Cairo. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit.
»» YANKEES 3, MARINERS 1
Jeter had an 0-2 count on him when Damon took off on Washburn's first move and was picked off, 1-3-6. Washburn threw 28 pitches and had 42 through two.
TOP 3RD
Adam Jones had the hitters' counts before grounding to second on a 3-1 pitch. Ichiro was jammed and hit a looping fly to second. Bloomquist rolled the second pitch to short. Wang threw ten pitches and had 33 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Jeter was up 3-1 before punching a full-count pitch through the left side for a single. Giambi popped to left on the second pitch. Rodriguez was jammed and popped the second pitch to Betancourt moving into shallow left. Posada was down 0-2 and grounded hard to third on a 1-2 pitch for a 5-4 force on Jeter at second. Washburn threw 14 pitches and had 56 through three.
TOP 4TH
Beltre bounced a 1-2 pitch to third, but Rodriguez threw high to first (error) and Phillips missed the tag as Beltre reached. Ibañez grounded the second pitch hard to second to start an easy 4-6-3 double play. Sexson drilled a 2-0 pitch into right for a single. Everett grounded the second pitch hard to second. Wang threw 11 pitches and had 44 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Williams bounced a swinging bunt along the third-base side where Washburn dove past and Beltre had no play as Williams had the single. Phillips flew out high to fairly deep left on a 2-2 pitch. Cabrera was up 2-0 before chopping to third, where Beltre went to second for the force on Williams. Cairo lined out to center. Washburn threw 16 pitches and had 72 through four.
TOP 5TH
Johjima bounced the first pitch to short. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 before serving a 1-2 pitch into center for a single, taking his hitting streak to seven games. Jones bounced an 0-2 pitch to third, where Rodriguez' throw to second was high and wide (error) and pulled Cairo too far off the bag at second and everyone was safe. Ichiro grounded the second pitch hard to second, where Cairo backhand flipped to second to get the out on Jones, but Ichiro's fast and beat out Jeter's throw to first as Betancourt went to second. Bloomquist worked a 1-2 count with a hail of pickoff throws to first in between for a walk, loading the bases. Beltre rolled to short for a 6-4 force on Bloomquist. Wang threw 21 pitches and had 65 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Damon worked an 0-2 count full before flying out to left. Jeter rolled the second pitch to second. Giambi squashed a hanging change, putting it four rows into the upper deck.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 1
Rodriguez fell behind 0-2 and grounded a 1-2 pitch to Betancourt in shallow left, who made the long strong throw to first. Washburn threw 16 pitches and had 88 through five.
TOP 6TH
Ibañez was up 2-0 and bounced a 2-2 pitch through the right side for a single. Sexson roped a line drive a couple of feet short of leaving the yard to rightfield, but it was hit so hard Sexson only got a single out of it as Ibañez went to third. Everett looped a 2-0 pitch into Cabrera's glove in shallow left (weak). Johjima ripped the second pitch through the left side for a single, moving Sexson to second and scoring Ibañez.
»» YANKEES 4, MARINERS 2
Betancourt chopped the first pitch to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Wang threw 14 pitches and had 79 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Posada rode the first pitch for yet another Adam Jones Zoo play in centerfield, and the ball went off the wall and bounced away from it for a double. Williams lined out to right on the first pitch and Posada didn't try to test Ichiro's arm. Phillips popped the first pitch to right and Posada held again, this time without Ichiro flashing the arm. Cabrera split his bat on the first pitch, rolling out to third. Washburn threw four pitches and had 92 through six.
TOP 7TH
Jones flew out to right on a 2-2 pitch, the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Ichiro buried the 2-2 pitch in front of the plate and Posada picked it up and threw in time to first. Bloomquist laced the first pitch through the left side for a single. Beltre grounded hard to third, where Rodriguez' throw to first was high and wide again (error), but the Yankees hung up Bloomquist on the basepaths as they swung the ball back around the infield (3-4-5-6).
Wang's line: 7 innings, 2 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 96 pitches (62 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Cairo popped the first pitch to Sexson near first. Damon smacked a single near the leftfield line. Jeter grounded hard to short, where Betancourt made a nice backhand stop, but Bloomquist didn't come up with the throw (error to Bloomquist), which went into rightfield, allowing Damon and Jeter to move to third and second. Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Giambi got ahead 2-0 before getting intentionally walked to load the bases.
Mark Lowe came in for Washburn. Rodriguez was down 0-2 before whiffing on a 2-2 kinda-flat high slider. Posada reached and looped a 2-2 pitch to Ibañez in shallow left. Lowe threw ten pitches.
Washburn's line: 6 1/3 innings, 4 runs (1 earned), 9 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 102 pitches (65 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Mike Myers came in for Wangand Nick Green came in to play third for Rodriguez, who was later revealed to have an injury to his right big toe. Ibañez rolled to second on the second pitch.
Scott Proctor came in for Myers Sexson whiffed on a hard 0-2 fastball. Everett whiffed on the first pitch and flung his bat about ten rows into the stands behind the first-base dugout. Everett ended up whiffing on a 2-2 pitch and flinging the bat behind him this time.
Myers' line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 2 pitches (2 strikes)
Proctor's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 9 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Bubba Crosby, hitting for Williams, whiffed on a 2-2 slider. Phillips was down 0-2 before grounding a 1-2 pitch to short, where Betancourt one-hopped to first, but Sexson came up empty on the scoop (Betancourt charged with an error). Cabrera lasered the first pitch over Bloomquist's glove at second, but a perfect throw from Jones in centerfield beat Cabrera to the bag at second as Phillips moved to third. Cairo grounded the 1-2 pitch behind the bag at third to Beltre.
Lowe's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 24 pitches (16 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Mariano Rivera came in for Proctor. Johjima drove the second pitch to the gap in leftcenter for a double. Betancourt bounced a single through the left side, moving Johjima to third. Eduardo Perez, hitting for Jones, was down 0-2 before taking a 1-2 cutter over the inside corner. Ichiro looped the second pitch into Jeter's glove in shallow left. Bloomquist worked a 1-2 count full before foul-tipping a fastball into Posada's glove behind the plate.
Rivera's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 17 pitches (12 strikes)
---
Gameball: Mark Lowe.
One of these days, Lowe is going to give up a run on the Major League level. Until that happens, I have to say I've really liked watching this guy pitch. That slider is incredible. He seems like he's a guy that could give you one out, three outs, or six outs. It's mid-July right now and we've got a lot of the season left, but I don't think I see this guy getting sent back down. Emiliano Fruto and Sean Green may have the revolving door going with Tacoma, but Lowe might have shut any such door for himself. Well, I guess he can let the revolving door spin once more if he can shove Julio Mateo the other way through it. Lowe for Mateo. That's a bullpen getting younger and cheaper right there. Too many more appearances like this one and people might start doing crazy things like writings songs about his slider or something. Of course, every time I think about something like that happening, I have to remind myself that this team isn't going anywhere, and that type of stuff usually only happens to the winning teams of the world.
Goat: Adrian Beltre.
Sure, he plays some good defense, but that's not the main reason the Mariners got Beltre, and everybody knows that, it's well-publicized, etc. On this night in the Bronx, the Mariners lost by two runs, and while none of the three errors have Beltre's name on them, he has an 0-for-4 night to his name with six runners left aboard in his line. But you know what? Spotty consistency (also more popularly known as inconsistency) is much better here than Beltre being consistently nonexistent at the plate and abhorrent, which is what was happening for most of the year before Mike Hargrove changed the lineup around. Now we see nights where Beltre looks great and nights where he looks purely terrible. There are nights where he'll swing at breaking balls five feet outside in the dirt and nights where he lays off that pitch but can still lace a pitch on the outer half into rightfield for a single. Of course, that's not without problems either because in Los Angeles he used to be able to take pitches on the outer half out of the yard. Beltre hitting homers almost seems foreign to me now.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 67-26 .720 -- W1
2002 58-35 .624 9 L1
2003 58-35 .624 9 W1
2000 55-38 .591 12 W2
2006 44-49 .473 23 L3
2005 41-52 .441 26 L2
2004 36-57 .387 31 W1
Piñeiro. Ponson. Tonight.
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Sunday, July 16, 2006
GAME 92: BLUE JAYS 4, MARINERS 3 (11 INNINGS)
In 25 words or less: Extra! Extra! This team is bad and likes losing in extras!
This one featured Felix Hernandez going up against AJ Burnett. It was the fourth annual Dog Day at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, and hopefully all the janitorial crews get paid more to clean up after this game. In Burnett's Ricoh Scouting Report, Dave Valle said that the Toronto righty had an 11-to-7 curveball, which I find kind of impossible. It could be 1-to-7, but I can't see 11-to-7. That might be some sort of screwball or something. Also a welcome thing on the MLB.tv broadcast were FSN graphics and commercials, which of course add to the viewing experience and should be on the feed every day because that's the way it was last year. A win for the Mariners would make it their third in five games, which hardly seems like an accomplishment, but it's something. It's much better than a loss, which would make it their ninth in 12 games.
TOP 1ST
Ichiro flew out high to shallow center on a 2-0 pitch. Adrian Beltre whiffed on a belly-high 0-2 hard fastball. Jose Lopez dumped a 2-0 pitch into shallow center for a single. Raul Ibañez lined out to left on the second pitch. Burnett threw 11 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Reed Johnson grounded the second pitch to third. Frank Catalanotto bounced a single up the middle and into centerfield. Vernon Wells walked on a full-count pitch up and in. Troy Glaus bounced to third, where Beltre reached back to tag Catalanotto coming down the basepath, then spun and threw to first for an unusual variation of a 5-3 double play. Hernandez threw 15 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Richie Sexson fell behind 0-2 and whiffed over a nasty curve down and away. Carl Everett had the hitters' counts and dumped a single into shallow center. Willie Bloomquist bounced the second pitch to third, where Glaus' throw nearly led Hill off the bag and therefore Toronto couldn't complete the double play (Everett was out). Rene Rivera grounded the second pitch up the middle to McDonald, who tossed to second for the force on Bloomquist. Burnett threw 11 pitches and had 26 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Lyle Overbay lined the second pitch near the leftfield corner, but it went off the top of his glove and to the wall for a double. Gregg Zaun whiffed over an 0-2 breaking ball in the dirt. Bengie Molina worked a 1-2 count full and grounded hard to short, where Betancourt threw to Beltre at third, but Overbay took off anyway with the grounder in front of him, and Beltre ran him down with the ball. Aaron Hill had the hitters' counts and walked on a full-count fastball down and away. John McDonald rolled slowly to a charging Betancourt on a full count. Hernandez threw 23 pitches and had 38 through two.
TOP 3RD
Yuniesky Betancourt popped to Hill moving back into shallow right. Ichiro roped a single into right, snapping a small 0-for-8 slump. Beltre foul-tipped a 2-2 curve into Zaun's glove behind the plate that was horribly low and way outside. Lopez watched as Ichiro stole second on a bouncing 1-1 pitch. Lopez took a high and inside 2-1 pitch for what was called a strike before taking the next pitch, a curve way low and away which was stopped by Zaun but rolled wide of the plate, enabling Ichiro to go to third. Lopez looked to dump the full-count pitch into shallow right, but shallow rightfield appears to be where Mariner base hits go to die, and this time it was Johnson making the diving catch. Burnett threw 19 pitches and had 45 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Johnson chopped a 1-2 pitch back to the mound. Catalanotto rode the second pitch a few feet short of the track in center. Wells took a devastating 2-2 curve over the inside corner. Hernandez threw 12 pitches and had 50 through three.
TOP 4TH
Ibañez popped high to Zaun behind the plate, and he fell to a knee to catch it. Sexson tapped the first pitch to second. Everett had the hitters' counts before whiffing on a high hard fastball. Burnett threw ten pitches and had 55 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Glaus popped very high to Betancourt in front of the bag at second. Overbay was ahead 3-0 before bouncing to second on a full count. Zaun grounded hard to third on a 2-2 pitch. Hernandez threw 14 pitches and had 64 through four.
TOP 5TH
Bloomquist whiffed badly on a 1-2 curve down and away. Rivera fell behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch barely off the outside corner before whiffing horribly on a curve in the dirt away (2-3 putout). Betancourt stroked a single into center, breaking Burnett's streak of seven straight retired Mariner hitters. Ichiro watched as Betancourt nabbed second base on the second pitch. Ichiro was given the final two pitches wide and given first base. Beltre blistered the second pitch into the leftfield corner for a double, scoring Betancourt and moving Ichiro to third.
»» MARINERS 1, BLUE JAYS 0
Lopez whiffed on yet another wicked curve, a 2-2 pitch on the outer half. Burnett threw 26 pitches and had 81 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Molina was down 0-2 and bounced a 1-2 pitch to third. Hill bounced a 2-2 pitch up the middle to Lopez. McDonald was ahead 3-1 but took a full-count curve inside on the ninth pitch. Johnson watched the second pitch go by as McDonald nabbed second on a delayed steal. Johnson ended up ripping a double down the rightfield line, easily scoring Johnson. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit.
»» BLUE JAYS 1, MARINERS 1
Catalanotto stroked the second pitch into center for a single, easily scoring Johnson.
»» BLUE JAYS 2, MARINERS 1
Wells roped a 3-0 pitch into the gap in rightcenter (double), where Ichiro gunned to Lopez cutting off, who relayed home to beat Catalanotto by five feet as Rivera blocked the plate and Catalanotto never got to it. Hernandez threw 28 pitches and had 92 through five.
TOP 6TH
Ibañez got decent wood on a full-count pitch, but Wells ran far and reached up to make the catch on the track in center. Sexson got under a 3-1 pitch, flying out high to shallow right. Everett dumped a fly ball into the glove of Wells in center. Burnett threw 14 pitches and had 95 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Eric Hinske, hitting for Glaus, got ahead 2-0 and foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into Rivera's glove. Overbay grounded a 2-0 pitch to a sliding Sexson, who tossed to a covering Hernandez. Zaun slapped the first pitch the other way for a flyout to the track in left. Hernandez threw nine pitches and had 101 through six.
TOP 7TH
Hinske stayed in the game to play third. Bloomquist grounded the second pitch to third, where Hinske made a high throw, but it was pulled down at first. Rivera took a pitch off the back of the left hand. Betancourt flew out to Wells in rightcenter. Ichiro popped the second pitch to McDonald moving back into shallow left. Burnett threw 12 pitches and had 107 through seven.
BOTTOM 7TH
Molina was mowed down on an 0-2 fastball. Hill grounded a 1-2 pitch hard to Beltre at third, who had it go through the pocket of his glove, and it went to Betancourt backing up, who had no play. McDonald popped the second pitch high to right. Johnson smoked the second pitch through the left side for a single, moving Hill to second.
Jake Woods came in for Hernandez. Catalanotto walked on a full-count pitch down and away, loading the bases. Wells walked on four pitches, forcing Hill across the plate from third.
»» BLUE JAYS 3, MARINERS 1
Hinske, who came in for Glaus due to what was revealed as right knee tendinitis for Glaus, flew out to Ibañez a few steps short of the track in left. Woods threw 13 pitches.
Hernandez' line: 6 2/3 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, 112 pitches (66 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Beltre drove the second pitch off the track and wall in the gap in rightcenter for a double. Lopez took a 2-2 breaking ball off his left shoulder.
Scott Schoeneweis came in for Burnett. Ibañez ripped a full-count pitch off the mound and high into center for a single, scoring Beltre and moving Lopez to second.
»» BLUE JAYS 3, MARINERS 2
Justin Speier came in for Schoeneweis. Sexson popped high to Overbay in foul ground on the right side. Everett bounced a 1-2 pitch to second, where Hill threw to second for the force on Ibañez, but the throw back to first was late and wide as Lopez moved to third. Bloomquist popped the second pitch to Johnson in shallow right.
Burnett's line: 7 innings, 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, 114 pitches (65 strikes)
Schoeneweis' line: 0 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (4 strikes)
Speier's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 9 pitches (6 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Overbay stroked the first pitch into right for a single. Zaun grounded the second pitch hard to third to start an easy 5-4-3 double play.
Emiliano Fruto came in for Woods. Molina popped high to right on a 1-2 pitch. Fruto threw four pitches.
Woods' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 16 pitches (6 strikes)
TOP 9TH
BJ Ryan, coming off two innings yesterday, came in for Speier. Eduardo Perez, hitting for Rivera, drove a 2-2 pitch to Wells a couple strides short of the track in straightaway center. Betancourt turned on an inside pitch and smacked a line drive just over the leftfield wall in a 1-2 pitch.
»» BLUE JAYS 3, MARINERS 3
Ichiro served the second pitch into center for a single. Beltre reached for an outside first pitch and flew out to shallow center. Lopez flew out to right on a 2-0 pitch.
Ryan's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 16 pitches (11 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Kenji Johjima came in to catch. Hill flew out to Bloomquist a few feet short of the track in center. McDonald whiffed on a high 1-2 fastball. Johnson popped an 0-2 pitch to Betancourt in shallow center.
Fruto's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 16 pitches (13 strikes)
TOP 10TH
Scott Downs came in for Ryan. Ibañez popped the second pitch to McDonald backing into shallow left. Sexson lined the second pitch to Wells in center. Everett shot the second pitch into center for a single. Bloomquist took an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner that caught the front knee. Said Dave Valle quietly as they went to break, "that's not a strike." Downs threw ten pitches.
BOTTOM 10TH
George Sherrill came in for Fruto. Catalanotto worked an 0-2 count full before taking a fastball over the outside corner, or outside, depending on your preference. Wells walked on four pitches for the second straight at-bat. Hinske flew out to leftcenter. Overbay watched an 0-2 pitch as Wells stole second with nobody in time to cover second. Overbay whiffed on the next pitch. Sherrill threw 18 pitches.
TOP 11TH
Johjima whiffed badly on a 1-2 breaking ball in the dirt away (2-3 putout). Betancourt rolled the second pitch slowly to short. Ichiro ripped the 2-2 pitch off the base of the centerfield wall for a double. Beltre was intentionally walked. Lopez was ahead 3-0 but whiffed badly on a breaking ball in the dirt inside. Downs threw 22 pitches and had 32 total.
Downs' line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 32 pitches (19 strikes)
BOTTOM 11TH
Zaun looped a 1-2 pitch just past the reach of Betancourt way back into shallow left for a single.
Julio Mateo came in for Sherrill. Molina eschewed a bunt attempt and drove a ball toward the gap in leftcenter, but Zaun was held up at third on what ended up being a single. Hill was intentionally walked to load the bases and Chad Mottola ran for Zaun at third. Russ Adams, hitting for McDonald, got ahead 2-0, fouled off the next four pitches, then foul-tipped the seventh pitch of the at-bat into Johjima's glove behind the plate. Johnson popped the second pitch high near third and the infield fly rule was called, which was good because Beltre was physically impeded from catching the ball by Mottola on the bag at third. Catalanotto fouled the first pitch foul along the third-base line, but it was tailing back fair until Beltre touched it in foul ground. Catalanotto ripped the next pitch down the rightfield line, scoring Mottola.
»» BLUE JAYS 4, MARINERS 3
Sherrill's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 24 pitches (14 strikes)
Mateo's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (11 strikes)
---
Gameball: Yuniesky Betancourt.
With one out in the ninth and BJ Ryan on the mound, I was expecting a much quicker loss for the Mariners than they took on Saturday. While this loss was 44 minutes quicker than the 14-inning monstrosity the day before, Betancourt's sudden and blindsiding homer in the ninth made the game quite a bit more interesting and made it longer. One look at his game log reveals that he has a six-game hitting streak going, and he's 9-for-25 (.360) with today's homer, two RBIs, and two strikeouts in that span. He's gone hitless in only two of the 11 games so far this month. He's hitting .310 in July. Yes, all of this with an occasional timely homer, some incredible defense, and some triple-friendly speed coming out of the ninth slot in the lineup, though it appears with Adam Jones in the fold Betancourt will be hitting eighth. I guess it just gives us another reason to loathe how this team is doing since they have a .287 hitter in the ninth slot and a lot of dead weight in other spots in the lineup. Ah, to be a fan of the Mariners...
Goat: Willie Bloomquist.
There's a bunch of people who are on the side of the local guy, including a decent portion of Port Orchard and the broadcasting crew for the Mariners, which said, "he's got to play sometime" at one point in the game today. While this may be true and you don't want to waste spots on the 25-man roster and leave players to rot on the bench, when I see an article like this and then see that Bloomquist put up a line of 0-for-5 with two strikeouts and four runners left on base, someone could say it's little wonder why he's not getting more playing time. The Mariners let Mark McLemore go and pretty much wanted Bloomquist to be the next McLemore, and he has been, except with the type of hitting that plagued the latter stages of McLemore's tenure in Seattle rather than the early (good) part. Bloomquist did try to bunt once (leading off the seventh), but his best other shot at getting on base was to be patient, and he was far from that. In his five at-bats, he saw two, four, two, two, and four pitches. Willie deserves a chance somewhere, I'll grant him that, but does this team really need a 28-year-old speedster who can't hit consistently?
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 66-26 .717 -- L1
2002 58-34 .630 8 W1
2003 57-35 .620 9 L1
2000 54-38 .587 12 W1
2006 44-48 .478 22 L2
2005 41-51 .446 25 L1
2004 35-57 .380 31 L1
--extras--
MARINER STARTING PITCHERS WITH RIVERA CATCHING (average line)
7 innings, 2.6 runs (2.3 earned), 5.8 hits, 1.9 walks, 5.5 strikeouts, 106 pitches (69 strikes)
3.04 ERA
HERNANDEZ WITH RIVERA CATCHING (average line)
7 innings, 3 runs (2.5 earned), 6 hits, 1.5 walks, 7.3 strikeouts, 100 pitches (66 strikes)
3.25 ERA
HERNANDEZ WITH JOHJIMA CATCHING (average line)
6 innings, 4 runs (3.6 earned), 6.9 hits, 2 walks, 5.2 strikeouts, 100 pitches (63 strikes)
5.44 ERA
Washburn. Wang. Tomorrow.
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