Saturday, August 20, 2005
GAME 122: MARINERS 8, TWINS 3 (10 INNINGS)
Mariners 8, Twins 3 (10 innings)
In 25 words or less: Felix struggled early and hung tough. The bats took a long while to awaken from their slumber, but they managed to eventually do just that.
This one featured Felix Hernandez going up against Kyle Lohse in a rematch of the game on the 10th in Seattle, which was the 1-0 game. I was ready for an afternoon of worthwhile and possibly spectacular baseball. I got what I wanted, with some extra topsy-turvy involved.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C-
Dammit! Ichiro chopped out to third. Willie Bloomquist took an 0-2 pitch barely off the outside corner, then laced the next pitch over the shortstop and into leftfield for a single. Raul Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and belted the 1-2 pitch to the track in centerfield, sending Bloomquist back to first after having rounded second. Sexson bashed the first pitch to Ford again, just in front of the 408-foot marker.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C
Shannon Stewart rolled the second pitch up the middle for a single. Brent Abernathy chopped the 1-2 pitch high to second, allowing Stewart to move to second. Joe Mauer took a 3-1 pitch apparently low (bull) for a walk. Justin Morneau got ahead 3-1, prompting Yorvit Torrealba to come out from behind the plate for a chat. Morneau ended up grounding the next pitch behind the bag at first for a 3-1 putout, moving Stewart and Mauer to third and second. Matthew LeCroy stung the second pitch past Hernandez and into centerfield for a single, scoring Stewart and Mauer.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 0
Jacque Jones whiffed hopelessly on an 0-2 dirtball curve (2-3 putout).
TOP 2ND
Grade: C
Same ol' crap. Adrian Beltre took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner, then FSNNW showed that Bobby Knight was attending the game. Jeremy Reed poked a ball down the leftfield line and worked a double out of it. Greg Dobbs fell behind 0-2 and whiffed a 1-2 change about a foot outside. Yuniesky Betancourt flew out to fairly deep centerfield on the second pitch.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: A
Much easier this time. Lew Ford took a 1-2 curve over the outside corner. Michael Cuddyer worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing at a breaking ball very low and away. Jason Bartlett bounced out to third.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
No fight. Yorvit Torrealba bounced out to third. Ichiro popped to Ford in fairly deep centerfield, Ford's fourth catch of the game. Bloomquist was badly jammed on the first pitch and popped out lazily to third.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B
Why can't it be easy? Stewart looped a fly ball just inside the rightfield line, where Ichiro ran over to make the grab. Abernathy poked a 1-2 pitch off Hernandez' glove, and it went to Bloomquist, who didn't have a chance to get the out anyway. Mauer bounced the second pitch behind the mound, where no one went after it, moving Abernathy to second. Morneau flew out to leftfield on the first pitch. LeCroy grounded a 2-2 pitch to Beltre behind the third-base bag, and he went over and stepped on the bag for the force.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C-
Infuriating. Ibañez slapped a flyout to leftfield on the second pitch. Sexson popped a 3-0 pitch high to Jones in shallow rightfield. Beltre bounced the 1-2 pitch to third.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: A-
Better. Jones whiffed on a full-count change. Ford fell behind 0-2 and whiffed at a 1-2 fastball up and in. Cuddyer fell behind 0-2 and chopped a 1-2 pitch to Bloomquist, who had to charge and throw quickly across the body for the out.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C
Grr. Reed bounced to Abernathy on the right side, who kinda shotputted the ball over to first, having trouble pulling the ball out of the glove, and it was quite late (error). Dobbs hit a broken-bat 1-2 grounder to second, moving Reed to second. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and grounded the 1-2 pitch hard to the mound, and Lohse couldn't come up with it quickly, so his only play was to first. Reed moved to third on the play, though he probably shouldn't have taken off for third on a ball hit right back to the pitcher. Torrealba whiffed on a full-count slider low over the outside corner.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A
He might be in a groove at this point. Bartlett fell behind 0-2, stuck a 2-2 change barely foul down the leftfield line, then took a 2-2 pitch over the outer half. Stewart popped the second pitch to Reed in rightcenter. Abernathy whiffed at a low 1-2 fastball.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
It's not their day. Ichiro smoked a 1-2 pitch right into Cuddyer's glove at third. Bloomquist poked a single into rightfield. Ibañez got the hitters' counts before grounding the 3-1 pitch hard right to second for a 4-6-3 double play.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B+
Weird, but good. Mauer fell behind 0-2 and poked a high 1-2 pitch into centerfield for a single, snapping Hernandez' streak of eight straight retired Twins. Morneau popped a 1-1 pitch foul near the leftfield bullpen mounds in foul territory, but Ibañez couldn't quite get there in time. Morneau ended up chopping to a hopping Hernandez on the right side, who tossed over to first for the out, though he came up a bit lame after shoveling the ball over, appearing to maybe tweak the right ankle (Mauer went to second). LeCroy whiffed on a 1-2 dirtball, but it was a weird play since Mauer took off for third and Torrealba tried to throw over to third, but he was physically obstructed by LeCroy moving down the first-base line. Interference on LeCroy was the call, and Mauer was sent back to second. Jones whiffed on a 2-2 curve.
TOP 7TH
Grade: A
Thank your higher being of choice. Sexson fell behind 0-2 and cranked the 1-2 pitch over the baggie in rightcenter.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 1
Beltre cranked the second pitch over the baggie in rightfield. Happy.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 2
Reed lined the second pitch into centerfield, where Ford ran in and made a sliding catch. Dobbs rolled out to second. Betancourt chopped the first pitch to third.
Lohse's line: 7 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 92 pitches (61 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: A
He was groovin'. Ford bounced out to second. Cuddyer grounded an 0-2 curve to third, where Beltre had trouble getting a grip on the ball and barely got Cuddyer at first, though the latter may not have even touched the bag at first. Bartlett broke his bat on a grounder up the middle, and Betancourt picked it up and threw high to first, but Sexson pulled it down.
TOP 8TH
Grade: C+
Jesse Crain came in for Lohse. Torrealba hit a soft liner just past Bartlett at short and into centerfield for a single. Ichiro popped a 1-2 pitch to Bartlett in shallow leftfield. Bloomquist got ahead 3-0 and ended up barely holding his swing (replays indicated otherwise) on an inside 3-1 pitch, moving Torrealba to second. Ibañez smacked the first pitch right at Crain, who caught it and went to second for the easy out to double off Torrealba.
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A
Quite a way to end it. Stewart grounded to Betancourt in the hole at short, whose throw necessitated a stretch to the left by Sexson. Abernathy chopped the second pitch high to third. Mauer flew out to Reed in deep leftcenter on a full count.
Hernandez' line: 8 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts, 115 pitches (77 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C-
At second base for the Twins, Luis Rodriguez came in for Abernathy. Sexson flew out to Ford in rightcenter on a 2-2 pitch. Beltre chopped the second pitch to the right side for a 4-1 putout.
JC Romero came in for Crain. Reed popped the first pitch to Bartlett along the leftfield line.
Crain's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 21 pitches (12 strikes)
Romero's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 1 pitch (1 strike)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: A
George Sherrill came in for Hernandez. Morneau tapped the first pitch back to the mound. LeCroy whiffed on a high 2-2 pitch. Jones grounded the first pitch hard back to the mound, where Sherrill reached behind his back with the glove and speared the ball, throwing in time to first.
Sherrill's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 7 pitches (5 strikes)
TOP 10TH
Grade: A
Matt Guerrier came in for Romero. Jamal Strong, hitting for Dobbs, wrapped the second pitch into the rightcenter gap, and took off for third though he probably shouldn't have. A good throw would have had him by ten feet, but the throw went off his back and he went into third with a triple. Betancourt lined a 1-2 single into leftfield, scoring Strong.
»» MARINERS 3, TWINS 2
Torrealba bunted the first pitch to the right side, moving Betancourt to second. Ichiro was intentionally walked, his 17th of the season (Mariner hitters have been intentionally walked 33 times). Bloomquist fell behind 0-2 and scraped a 1-2 pitch almost off the ground and into centerfield, scoring Betancourt and moving Ichiro to third. No one was covering second on the play, which was where Ford's throw from centerfield went, so Bloomquist went to second on the play.
»» MARINERS 4, TWINS 2
Ibañez was intentionally walked, loading the bases. Sexson crushed a 2-1 pitch about twelve to fourteen rows back into the leftfield seats, and the Metrodome aisles were quickly filled with fans heading for the parking lots.
»» MARINERS 8, TWINS 2
Terry Mulholland came in for Guerrier. Beltre whiffed hopelessly on an 0-2 pitch way low and outside of the zone. Reed tapped a 1-2 pitch back to the mound.
Guerrier's line: 1/3 inning, 6 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 23 pitches (10 strikes)
Mulholland's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 8 pitches (7 strikes)
BOTTOM 10TH
Grade: B-
Eddie Guardado came in for Sherrill. Ford clubbed a high pitch about six rows into the seats in leftfield.
»» MARINERS 8, TWINS 3
Cuddyer popped a 2-2 pitch high to Bloomquist in shallow centerfield. Bartlett chipped a 2-2 soft fly to Bloomquist at second. Terry Tiffee, hitting for Stewart, smeared a 1-2 pitch off Beltre's glove and into the leftfield corner for a double. Rodriguez fouled off an 0-2 pitch, then bounced out to Sexson behind the bag at first. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 21 pitches (15 strikes)
---
Gameball: George Sherrill.
His inning of relief was absolutely huge. He needed only seven pitches to get through the middle third of the Minnesota lineup, Justin Morneau, Matthew LeCroy, and Jacque Jones. He went deep into the count only with LeCroy, sandwiching that at-bat with first-pitch grounders back to the mound from Morneau and Jones. The Morneau groundout was fairly usual, but the Jones groundout was far from usual and seemed destined to be a single up the middle if not for Sherrill reaching back behind him with his glove, which I'm guessing is his reaction on any ball up the middle heading toward the mound. The good thing is that he speared it, and the inning was done. This may have been his best outing of the year, and for me it was his best outing since the 10th against the Twins, when he came on with two on and one out in the top of the eighth and holding the game at a 4-4 tie. In that game, Jesse Crain lost his control in the next half-inning against Adrian Beltre and Jeremy Reed, walking them both to force Ichiro across with the go-ahead run. In this game, Sherrill held the game tied once again, and Matt Guerrier imploded.
Goat: Raul Ibañez.
Greg Dobbs never reached base, but he didn't leave four baserunners out there either. Also, Ibañez is sort of the third hitter in the lineup, and Dobbs was slotted seventh. Needless to say, Ibañez is more of a key cog in the offense than Dobbs, who was just called back to the team. When you're depending on Ibañez to drive in runs, it's usually not good if he's hitless in nine at-bats, as he is right now. Luckily the guy behind him was wielding the wrecking ball today. The guy behind Wrecking Ball Man also contributed, but probably with something more along the lines of a whuppin' stick. Ibañez grounded into a double play to kill the sixth inning, but to his credit, he nearly homered in the first and smoked a line drive right back to the mound that unfortunately went for a double play to end the eighth in a situation with two on and one out. I guess I'm basically busting Ibañez for going 0-for-4 when he very easily could have gone 2-for-4, but I really don't feel like sticking anyone else with the goat, so here it be.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 87-35 .713 -- L2
2002 74-48 .607 13 L1
2003 74-48 .607 13 W1
2000 69-53 .566 18 L6
2005 53-69 .434 34 W1
2004 46-76 .377 41 W1
The 2004 Mariners won their 53rd game on September 12th, their 142nd game of the season. This year's team did so on August 20th in game 122. It's something.
I'd have to say this one ranks as one of the best five or seven Mariner wins of the season. The way things have gone this year, it looked like a game where Felix would shut the Twins down after the first, but maybe not end up pitching past about the seventh. After the first few innings, I thought he was destined for his shortest (or second-shortest) outing of the season. It looked like a game where Felix would right his own ship, but Kyle Lohse looked like he'd manhandle the Mariners and throw eight shutout innings on the way to a 2-0 win. Instead, the turnaround was blindingly quick. Richie Sexson didn't come through on a 3-0 greenlight in the fourth, but he ended up getting revenge for his near-homer in the first, clubbing one over the baggie in rightcenter in the seventh to cut the deficit in half. I sat there after Sexson's solo shot hoping in the back of my mind that maybe Adrian Beltre would go yard as well. He only waited two pitches to do so, and the game was tied. The Long Ball makes scoring runs a snap. The Slide is in the other room. Actually, it'll probably never appear on the field for the Mariners.
What is with the trend in about the last week or so where road teams have hung up big innings in extra innings? I know Boston did this not too long ago, as well as at least one or two other teams. In a way, it almost makes it seem anticlimactic. The game was close enough to not be decided with only nine innings, but it gets to extras and one team pounds on the other. It's a bit perplexing. You don't watch a pitchers' duel between Felix and Lohse for seven innings and expect the game to ultimately end with an 8-3 score. Many fans in the Metrodome agreed with the anticlimacticism, bolting for the exits after Sexson's final revenge in the form of the grand slam in the tenth. Hey, it's good for Mariner fans though.
Multi-hit games in those one belonged to Willie Bloomquist and Sexson. Bloomquist went 3-for-4 with an RBI double (thanks to the Minnesota fielders) in the tenth and also singled in the first and sixth. I pretty much covered Sexson's night already, nearly going yard in the first, flying out on a 3-0 count, then bashing in the seventh and tenth. Bloomquist drove in one run, while Sexson's homers accounted for all five of his RBIs. The other two RBIs went to Beltre on the game-tying homer in the seventh and to Yuniesky Betancourt, who drove in Jamal Strong for the go-ahead run in the tenth, unlocking the floodgates before Sexson opened them. The Minnesota bullpen had not allowed a run in 23 2/3 innings, if I heard the stat off the broadcast correctly.
Luckily they didn't factor negatively into the Mariners' efforts, but two baserunning near-misses occurred today which hopefully we don't see often (if ever) for the rest of the season. With one down in the fifth, he took off from second on a grounder right back to the mound. Lohse didn't come up with it cleanly, so there wasn't a play on Reed. Like I said, it's a good thing it didn't figure into the larger scope of the game, since Reed was ultimately stranded at third by Yorvit Torrealba. Jamal Strong came off the bench to lead off the tenth and hit a gapper to rightcenter on the second pitch. He rounded second going full speed as Mariner fans collectively said, "oh, s#*@," but thankfully the relay throw went off his back and away from the play, allowing him to slide in with a triple. As I said in the tenth inning, entry, I think a good throw has him by ten feet. After stinging a ball into the gap, you don't want to get thrown out in extra innings trying to stretch a leadoff double into a triple. That's just not good.
Five paragraphs into the recap, and I'm finally getting to Felix. He was obviously touched up in the first for the two runs, and had trouble again only in the third and sixth. In the third, he Felix was the unfortunate victim of a couple of well-placed ground balls on the infield that both went for one-out singles, but he fought out of that jam. In the sixth, Joe Mauer led off with a single, and Felix had to find his way out of it. He got a ground ball out of Justin Morneau, though he might have tweaked an ankle on it. Nonetheless, he came back to get a whiff from Matthew LeCroy, and it's a good thing LeCroy has a slow and wide body that blocked Torrealba trying to throw Mauer at third. LeCroy was called out on interference, and Mauer was sent back to second before Felix mowed Jacque Jones down with a curve. The performance from Felix once again is great -- I'm just concerned once again that Mike Hargrove is leaving him in too long, though luckily when Hargrove leaves him in, the results have still been great. Felix had thrown 103 pitches after seven innings, and Hargrove trotted him out there for the eighth anyway. It's just an inning too long, in my opinion, and it's not the first time it's happened this season. I'm just concerned the extra pitches here and the extra pitches there add up. I like Felix, but the guy doesn't have to throw eight innings every time to make me happy. I'd never let him get past about 105 pitches or so myself.
The Mariners have a chance to split the series. Joel Piñeiro's been the second-best success story out of this rotation the last three turns through the rotation.
Don't look now, but the Mariners are four games back of the Texas Rangers. I wouldn't lie to you about this.
[Add ~10:03p -- The Sherrill behind-the-back play in the ninth inning later went for the #2 Web Gem on Baseball Tonight.]
Piñeiro. Radke. Tomorrow.
In 25 words or less: Felix struggled early and hung tough. The bats took a long while to awaken from their slumber, but they managed to eventually do just that.
This one featured Felix Hernandez going up against Kyle Lohse in a rematch of the game on the 10th in Seattle, which was the 1-0 game. I was ready for an afternoon of worthwhile and possibly spectacular baseball. I got what I wanted, with some extra topsy-turvy involved.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C-
Dammit! Ichiro chopped out to third. Willie Bloomquist took an 0-2 pitch barely off the outside corner, then laced the next pitch over the shortstop and into leftfield for a single. Raul Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and belted the 1-2 pitch to the track in centerfield, sending Bloomquist back to first after having rounded second. Sexson bashed the first pitch to Ford again, just in front of the 408-foot marker.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C
Shannon Stewart rolled the second pitch up the middle for a single. Brent Abernathy chopped the 1-2 pitch high to second, allowing Stewart to move to second. Joe Mauer took a 3-1 pitch apparently low (bull) for a walk. Justin Morneau got ahead 3-1, prompting Yorvit Torrealba to come out from behind the plate for a chat. Morneau ended up grounding the next pitch behind the bag at first for a 3-1 putout, moving Stewart and Mauer to third and second. Matthew LeCroy stung the second pitch past Hernandez and into centerfield for a single, scoring Stewart and Mauer.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 0
Jacque Jones whiffed hopelessly on an 0-2 dirtball curve (2-3 putout).
TOP 2ND
Grade: C
Same ol' crap. Adrian Beltre took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner, then FSNNW showed that Bobby Knight was attending the game. Jeremy Reed poked a ball down the leftfield line and worked a double out of it. Greg Dobbs fell behind 0-2 and whiffed a 1-2 change about a foot outside. Yuniesky Betancourt flew out to fairly deep centerfield on the second pitch.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: A
Much easier this time. Lew Ford took a 1-2 curve over the outside corner. Michael Cuddyer worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing at a breaking ball very low and away. Jason Bartlett bounced out to third.
TOP 3RD
Grade: C-
No fight. Yorvit Torrealba bounced out to third. Ichiro popped to Ford in fairly deep centerfield, Ford's fourth catch of the game. Bloomquist was badly jammed on the first pitch and popped out lazily to third.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B
Why can't it be easy? Stewart looped a fly ball just inside the rightfield line, where Ichiro ran over to make the grab. Abernathy poked a 1-2 pitch off Hernandez' glove, and it went to Bloomquist, who didn't have a chance to get the out anyway. Mauer bounced the second pitch behind the mound, where no one went after it, moving Abernathy to second. Morneau flew out to leftfield on the first pitch. LeCroy grounded a 2-2 pitch to Beltre behind the third-base bag, and he went over and stepped on the bag for the force.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C-
Infuriating. Ibañez slapped a flyout to leftfield on the second pitch. Sexson popped a 3-0 pitch high to Jones in shallow rightfield. Beltre bounced the 1-2 pitch to third.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: A-
Better. Jones whiffed on a full-count change. Ford fell behind 0-2 and whiffed at a 1-2 fastball up and in. Cuddyer fell behind 0-2 and chopped a 1-2 pitch to Bloomquist, who had to charge and throw quickly across the body for the out.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C
Grr. Reed bounced to Abernathy on the right side, who kinda shotputted the ball over to first, having trouble pulling the ball out of the glove, and it was quite late (error). Dobbs hit a broken-bat 1-2 grounder to second, moving Reed to second. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and grounded the 1-2 pitch hard to the mound, and Lohse couldn't come up with it quickly, so his only play was to first. Reed moved to third on the play, though he probably shouldn't have taken off for third on a ball hit right back to the pitcher. Torrealba whiffed on a full-count slider low over the outside corner.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A
He might be in a groove at this point. Bartlett fell behind 0-2, stuck a 2-2 change barely foul down the leftfield line, then took a 2-2 pitch over the outer half. Stewart popped the second pitch to Reed in rightcenter. Abernathy whiffed at a low 1-2 fastball.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
It's not their day. Ichiro smoked a 1-2 pitch right into Cuddyer's glove at third. Bloomquist poked a single into rightfield. Ibañez got the hitters' counts before grounding the 3-1 pitch hard right to second for a 4-6-3 double play.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B+
Weird, but good. Mauer fell behind 0-2 and poked a high 1-2 pitch into centerfield for a single, snapping Hernandez' streak of eight straight retired Twins. Morneau popped a 1-1 pitch foul near the leftfield bullpen mounds in foul territory, but Ibañez couldn't quite get there in time. Morneau ended up chopping to a hopping Hernandez on the right side, who tossed over to first for the out, though he came up a bit lame after shoveling the ball over, appearing to maybe tweak the right ankle (Mauer went to second). LeCroy whiffed on a 1-2 dirtball, but it was a weird play since Mauer took off for third and Torrealba tried to throw over to third, but he was physically obstructed by LeCroy moving down the first-base line. Interference on LeCroy was the call, and Mauer was sent back to second. Jones whiffed on a 2-2 curve.
TOP 7TH
Grade: A
Thank your higher being of choice. Sexson fell behind 0-2 and cranked the 1-2 pitch over the baggie in rightcenter.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 1
Beltre cranked the second pitch over the baggie in rightfield. Happy.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 2
Reed lined the second pitch into centerfield, where Ford ran in and made a sliding catch. Dobbs rolled out to second. Betancourt chopped the first pitch to third.
Lohse's line: 7 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 92 pitches (61 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: A
He was groovin'. Ford bounced out to second. Cuddyer grounded an 0-2 curve to third, where Beltre had trouble getting a grip on the ball and barely got Cuddyer at first, though the latter may not have even touched the bag at first. Bartlett broke his bat on a grounder up the middle, and Betancourt picked it up and threw high to first, but Sexson pulled it down.
TOP 8TH
Grade: C+
Jesse Crain came in for Lohse. Torrealba hit a soft liner just past Bartlett at short and into centerfield for a single. Ichiro popped a 1-2 pitch to Bartlett in shallow leftfield. Bloomquist got ahead 3-0 and ended up barely holding his swing (replays indicated otherwise) on an inside 3-1 pitch, moving Torrealba to second. Ibañez smacked the first pitch right at Crain, who caught it and went to second for the easy out to double off Torrealba.
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A
Quite a way to end it. Stewart grounded to Betancourt in the hole at short, whose throw necessitated a stretch to the left by Sexson. Abernathy chopped the second pitch high to third. Mauer flew out to Reed in deep leftcenter on a full count.
Hernandez' line: 8 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts, 115 pitches (77 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C-
At second base for the Twins, Luis Rodriguez came in for Abernathy. Sexson flew out to Ford in rightcenter on a 2-2 pitch. Beltre chopped the second pitch to the right side for a 4-1 putout.
JC Romero came in for Crain. Reed popped the first pitch to Bartlett along the leftfield line.
Crain's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 21 pitches (12 strikes)
Romero's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 1 pitch (1 strike)
BOTTOM 9TH
Grade: A
George Sherrill came in for Hernandez. Morneau tapped the first pitch back to the mound. LeCroy whiffed on a high 2-2 pitch. Jones grounded the first pitch hard back to the mound, where Sherrill reached behind his back with the glove and speared the ball, throwing in time to first.
Sherrill's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 7 pitches (5 strikes)
TOP 10TH
Grade: A
Matt Guerrier came in for Romero. Jamal Strong, hitting for Dobbs, wrapped the second pitch into the rightcenter gap, and took off for third though he probably shouldn't have. A good throw would have had him by ten feet, but the throw went off his back and he went into third with a triple. Betancourt lined a 1-2 single into leftfield, scoring Strong.
»» MARINERS 3, TWINS 2
Torrealba bunted the first pitch to the right side, moving Betancourt to second. Ichiro was intentionally walked, his 17th of the season (Mariner hitters have been intentionally walked 33 times). Bloomquist fell behind 0-2 and scraped a 1-2 pitch almost off the ground and into centerfield, scoring Betancourt and moving Ichiro to third. No one was covering second on the play, which was where Ford's throw from centerfield went, so Bloomquist went to second on the play.
»» MARINERS 4, TWINS 2
Ibañez was intentionally walked, loading the bases. Sexson crushed a 2-1 pitch about twelve to fourteen rows back into the leftfield seats, and the Metrodome aisles were quickly filled with fans heading for the parking lots.
»» MARINERS 8, TWINS 2
Terry Mulholland came in for Guerrier. Beltre whiffed hopelessly on an 0-2 pitch way low and outside of the zone. Reed tapped a 1-2 pitch back to the mound.
Guerrier's line: 1/3 inning, 6 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 23 pitches (10 strikes)
Mulholland's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 8 pitches (7 strikes)
BOTTOM 10TH
Grade: B-
Eddie Guardado came in for Sherrill. Ford clubbed a high pitch about six rows into the seats in leftfield.
»» MARINERS 8, TWINS 3
Cuddyer popped a 2-2 pitch high to Bloomquist in shallow centerfield. Bartlett chipped a 2-2 soft fly to Bloomquist at second. Terry Tiffee, hitting for Stewart, smeared a 1-2 pitch off Beltre's glove and into the leftfield corner for a double. Rodriguez fouled off an 0-2 pitch, then bounced out to Sexson behind the bag at first. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 21 pitches (15 strikes)
---
Gameball: George Sherrill.
His inning of relief was absolutely huge. He needed only seven pitches to get through the middle third of the Minnesota lineup, Justin Morneau, Matthew LeCroy, and Jacque Jones. He went deep into the count only with LeCroy, sandwiching that at-bat with first-pitch grounders back to the mound from Morneau and Jones. The Morneau groundout was fairly usual, but the Jones groundout was far from usual and seemed destined to be a single up the middle if not for Sherrill reaching back behind him with his glove, which I'm guessing is his reaction on any ball up the middle heading toward the mound. The good thing is that he speared it, and the inning was done. This may have been his best outing of the year, and for me it was his best outing since the 10th against the Twins, when he came on with two on and one out in the top of the eighth and holding the game at a 4-4 tie. In that game, Jesse Crain lost his control in the next half-inning against Adrian Beltre and Jeremy Reed, walking them both to force Ichiro across with the go-ahead run. In this game, Sherrill held the game tied once again, and Matt Guerrier imploded.
Goat: Raul Ibañez.
Greg Dobbs never reached base, but he didn't leave four baserunners out there either. Also, Ibañez is sort of the third hitter in the lineup, and Dobbs was slotted seventh. Needless to say, Ibañez is more of a key cog in the offense than Dobbs, who was just called back to the team. When you're depending on Ibañez to drive in runs, it's usually not good if he's hitless in nine at-bats, as he is right now. Luckily the guy behind him was wielding the wrecking ball today. The guy behind Wrecking Ball Man also contributed, but probably with something more along the lines of a whuppin' stick. Ibañez grounded into a double play to kill the sixth inning, but to his credit, he nearly homered in the first and smoked a line drive right back to the mound that unfortunately went for a double play to end the eighth in a situation with two on and one out. I guess I'm basically busting Ibañez for going 0-for-4 when he very easily could have gone 2-for-4, but I really don't feel like sticking anyone else with the goat, so here it be.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 87-35 .713 -- L2
2002 74-48 .607 13 L1
2003 74-48 .607 13 W1
2000 69-53 .566 18 L6
2005 53-69 .434 34 W1
2004 46-76 .377 41 W1
The 2004 Mariners won their 53rd game on September 12th, their 142nd game of the season. This year's team did so on August 20th in game 122. It's something.
I'd have to say this one ranks as one of the best five or seven Mariner wins of the season. The way things have gone this year, it looked like a game where Felix would shut the Twins down after the first, but maybe not end up pitching past about the seventh. After the first few innings, I thought he was destined for his shortest (or second-shortest) outing of the season. It looked like a game where Felix would right his own ship, but Kyle Lohse looked like he'd manhandle the Mariners and throw eight shutout innings on the way to a 2-0 win. Instead, the turnaround was blindingly quick. Richie Sexson didn't come through on a 3-0 greenlight in the fourth, but he ended up getting revenge for his near-homer in the first, clubbing one over the baggie in rightcenter in the seventh to cut the deficit in half. I sat there after Sexson's solo shot hoping in the back of my mind that maybe Adrian Beltre would go yard as well. He only waited two pitches to do so, and the game was tied. The Long Ball makes scoring runs a snap. The Slide is in the other room. Actually, it'll probably never appear on the field for the Mariners.
What is with the trend in about the last week or so where road teams have hung up big innings in extra innings? I know Boston did this not too long ago, as well as at least one or two other teams. In a way, it almost makes it seem anticlimactic. The game was close enough to not be decided with only nine innings, but it gets to extras and one team pounds on the other. It's a bit perplexing. You don't watch a pitchers' duel between Felix and Lohse for seven innings and expect the game to ultimately end with an 8-3 score. Many fans in the Metrodome agreed with the anticlimacticism, bolting for the exits after Sexson's final revenge in the form of the grand slam in the tenth. Hey, it's good for Mariner fans though.
Multi-hit games in those one belonged to Willie Bloomquist and Sexson. Bloomquist went 3-for-4 with an RBI double (thanks to the Minnesota fielders) in the tenth and also singled in the first and sixth. I pretty much covered Sexson's night already, nearly going yard in the first, flying out on a 3-0 count, then bashing in the seventh and tenth. Bloomquist drove in one run, while Sexson's homers accounted for all five of his RBIs. The other two RBIs went to Beltre on the game-tying homer in the seventh and to Yuniesky Betancourt, who drove in Jamal Strong for the go-ahead run in the tenth, unlocking the floodgates before Sexson opened them. The Minnesota bullpen had not allowed a run in 23 2/3 innings, if I heard the stat off the broadcast correctly.
Luckily they didn't factor negatively into the Mariners' efforts, but two baserunning near-misses occurred today which hopefully we don't see often (if ever) for the rest of the season. With one down in the fifth, he took off from second on a grounder right back to the mound. Lohse didn't come up with it cleanly, so there wasn't a play on Reed. Like I said, it's a good thing it didn't figure into the larger scope of the game, since Reed was ultimately stranded at third by Yorvit Torrealba. Jamal Strong came off the bench to lead off the tenth and hit a gapper to rightcenter on the second pitch. He rounded second going full speed as Mariner fans collectively said, "oh, s#*@," but thankfully the relay throw went off his back and away from the play, allowing him to slide in with a triple. As I said in the tenth inning, entry, I think a good throw has him by ten feet. After stinging a ball into the gap, you don't want to get thrown out in extra innings trying to stretch a leadoff double into a triple. That's just not good.
Five paragraphs into the recap, and I'm finally getting to Felix. He was obviously touched up in the first for the two runs, and had trouble again only in the third and sixth. In the third, he Felix was the unfortunate victim of a couple of well-placed ground balls on the infield that both went for one-out singles, but he fought out of that jam. In the sixth, Joe Mauer led off with a single, and Felix had to find his way out of it. He got a ground ball out of Justin Morneau, though he might have tweaked an ankle on it. Nonetheless, he came back to get a whiff from Matthew LeCroy, and it's a good thing LeCroy has a slow and wide body that blocked Torrealba trying to throw Mauer at third. LeCroy was called out on interference, and Mauer was sent back to second before Felix mowed Jacque Jones down with a curve. The performance from Felix once again is great -- I'm just concerned once again that Mike Hargrove is leaving him in too long, though luckily when Hargrove leaves him in, the results have still been great. Felix had thrown 103 pitches after seven innings, and Hargrove trotted him out there for the eighth anyway. It's just an inning too long, in my opinion, and it's not the first time it's happened this season. I'm just concerned the extra pitches here and the extra pitches there add up. I like Felix, but the guy doesn't have to throw eight innings every time to make me happy. I'd never let him get past about 105 pitches or so myself.
The Mariners have a chance to split the series. Joel Piñeiro's been the second-best success story out of this rotation the last three turns through the rotation.
Don't look now, but the Mariners are four games back of the Texas Rangers. I wouldn't lie to you about this.
[Add ~10:03p -- The Sherrill behind-the-back play in the ninth inning later went for the #2 Web Gem on Baseball Tonight.]
Piñeiro. Radke. Tomorrow.
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PRAY FOR FELIX, 8/20/05
This isn't just any Saturday afternoon game in mid-August.
It's Felix. We'll be guaranteed something worth watching today. Good times.
So opens the thread.
In all likelihood, Jeremy won't be in the game thread since it's his first day in Jonesboro, and there's stuff to square away and everything.
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Friday, August 19, 2005
GAME 121: TWINS 7, MARINERS 4
Twins 7, Mariners 4
In 25 words or less: A mostly typical start from a certain pitcher. Also, the game had drama, though the result was good ol' rehash.
[***NOTE -- posted mostly in full Sat ~2:03a.]
DON'T BE FOOLED, this isn't the same recap as the one for Thursday's game. The above photo IS A DIFFERENT PHOTO, taken by a different photographer, even. If you compare the photos side by side, Bloomquist is wearing a cap in one photo and not in the other, and there are other differences as well.
Scott Spiezio was released, and much too late at that. Greg Dobbs has come up to take his roster spot, and we know how much better he is in late-inning pinch-hit situations.
This one featured Gil Meche going up against sinkerballer Carlos Silva. Right off the bat, you know the Mariners are going to swing early in the count against him and hit a bunch of ground balls, so if something gets him out of the game, it won't be because of high pitch count.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C-
Too predictable. Ichiro flew out short of the leftfield track near the corner on a 1-2 pitch. Willie Bloomquist grounded the second pitch hard to third. Raul Ibañez took a 1-2 belt-high pitch over the inside corner.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Sigh... Shannon Stewart grounded the second pitch deep into the hole at short, but it was too deep for even Yuniesky Betancourt to make a play on it. Nick Punto crushed the first pitch off the baggie in rightfield for a double, sending Stewart to third. Joe Mauer lined a 3-1 pitch to Ibañez in leftfield, scoring Stewart and moving Punto to third.
»» TWINS 1, MARINERS 0
Justin Morneau stuck the second pitch into centerfield for a single, scoring Punto.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 0
Matt LeCroy worked a 1-2 count for a walk, moving Morneau to second. Jacque Jones worked a 1-2 count full, but then whiffed on a full-count offspeed pitch over the outer half. Lew Ford chopped a 2-0 pitch to Beltre behind the bag at third, who ran over to step on the bag for the force.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C+
Lead halved. Richie Sexson popped a 1-2 pitch high to Brent Abernathy in shallow rightfield. Adrian Beltre bounced the second pitch up the middle to Punto at short. Jeremy Reed walloped the first pitch for a homer into rightcenter.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 1
Mike Morse couldn't check his swing on an 0-2 pitch inside.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B-
Aversion of trouble. Michael Cuddyer worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Brent Abernathy popped a 2-2 pitch to rightfield. Stewart got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch high and outside. Punto fell behind 0-2 and ended up grounding the 1-2 pitch to second for a 4-6-3 double play.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B+
What's this? Yuniesky Betancourt got ahead 2-0 and ended up rolling a single up the middle. Yorvit Torrealba fell behind 0-2, took two pitches barely off the outside corner, then drilled the 2-2 pitch up the middle for a single, moving Betancourt to second. Ichiro dumped the first pitch into rightfield for a single, loading the bases. Bloomquist grounded the first pitch hard to Morneau at first, who had the ball go off his glove on a scoop attempt and high into the air (error), enabling Betancourt and Torrealba to score, and Ichiro went to third.
»» MARINERS 3, TWINS 2
Ibañez lined the first pitch into rightfield, where Jones ran and dove for the catch, scoring Ichiro.
»» MARINERS 4, TWINS 2
Sexson fell behind 0-2. Bloomquist stole second on an 0-2 pitch to Sexson, who later bounced a 1-2 pitch to the mound, starting a 1-4-3 double play on which Abernathy dove across to get Bloomquist out, then threw back to first from the seat of his pants for the double play and the #2 Web Gem on the 7 PT edition of Baseball Tonight.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B-
It can never be easy. Mauer drove an 0-2 pitch about five rows deep into the leftfield seats.
»» MARINERS 4, TWINS 3
Morneau took a 1-2 curve over the plate. LeCroy got ahead 3-0 but flew out to the track in centerfield. Jones bounced to second.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C
Thwart. Beltre rolled the first pitch up the middle for a single. Reed flew out a few feet short of the track in centerfield. Morse fouled back a 1-2 pitch, getting a piece of Mauer's left arm and luring the trainer from the dugout. Morse took the next pitch over the outside corner, and Mauer gunned down Beltre by five feet trying to steal second.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C+
Slithery. Ford got ahead 3-0 and walked on a full-count pitch outside for a walk. Cuddyer fell behind 0-2 and grounded a 1-2 pitch to third to start a 5-4-3 double play. Abernathy fell behind 3-0 and walked on a full-count pitch up and in (he took all six pitches). Stewart got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch high, amidst a flurry of pickoff throws to first in Abernathy's direction. This lured pitching coach Bryan Price to the mound, not happy over six walks in 3 2/3 innings. Punto air-bunted the first pitch just out of Torrealba's reach in foul territory. Punto grounded the 0-2 pitch to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C
Nothing to see here. Betancourt popped an 0-2 pitch to rightfield. Torrealba dumped the second pitch into leftcenter for a single. Ichiro bounced the first pitch to Morneau on the right side, who went to second for the out (3-6 fielder's choice). Bloomquist took an 0-2 pitch over the outer half.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
Easy for this game. Mauer lined a 2-2 pitch to centerfield, where Reed ran in to make the catch. Morneau got ahead 2-0 and later flew out to leftfield. LeCroy cued a single into centerfield. Jones took an 0-2 curve over the outside corner.
Meche's line: 5 innings, 3 runs, 5 hits, 6 walks, 3 strikeouts, 102 pitches (54 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
Fast. Ibañez popped the second pitch to rightfield. Sexson bounced the first pitch behind the bag at third. Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Meche. Ford drove the first pitch into leftfield for a single. Cuddyer crushed the second pitch off the track and wall in leftcenter for a double, scoring Ford.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 4
Abernathy grounded hard to first, where Sexson tagged the bag, moving Cuddyer to third. Stewart whiffed on a 2-2 pitch off the plate outside. Punto flew out to rightfield on a full count.
Hasegawa's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 17 pitches (12 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C
Same ol' crap. Reed rolled a 2-0 pitch up the middle for a single. Morse bunted the first pitch in front of the plate, where Silva pounced on it and threw in time to Punto covering second, negating the bunt. Betancourt blooped the second pitch into centerfield for a single, moving Morse to second, where Jamal Strong ran for him. Pitching coach Rick Anderson came out to the mound. Torrealba smoked the second pitch, but right to Jones in rightfield. Ichiro chopped the second pitch to second.
Silva's line: 7 innings, 4 runs (3 earned), 8 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 77 pitches (62 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: D+
George Sherrill came in for Hasegawa. Mauer lasered a 1-2 pitch to short, where it handcuffed Betancourt, who fell down, picked the ball off the turf, then threw in time off one knee in time to first. Morneau blooped a 1-2 pitch down the rightfield line, where Bloomquist overran it, allowing Morneau to coast into second with a double. LeCroy was intentionally walked, and Jason Bartlett ran for him. Jones whiffed on an 0-2 pitch down and away.
Jeff Nelson came in for Sherrill. Ford clubbed the second pitch a few rows over the wall in leftcenter.
»» TWINS 7, MARINERS 4
Mike Cuddyer got ahead 2-0 and whiffed on a 2-2 slider outside.
Sherrill's line: 2/3 inning, 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (12 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C
Juan Rincon came in for Silva. Bloomquist fell behind 0-2 and later bounced the 1-2 pitch to short, but Bloomquist out the semi-lackadaiscal throw from Punto. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and eventually flew out to shallow leftcenter on the 2-2 pitch. Sexson took a 3-1 breaking ball up and away, moving Bloomquist to second. Beltre held his swing on a 1-2 slider outside, and later flew out to deep leftfield on a 2-2 pitch, advancing Bloomquist to third. Reed fell behind 0-2 before whiffing on a 1-2 pitch over the inside corner.
Rincon's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 27 pitches (17 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A
Messing with us. Luis Rodriguez, hitting for Abernathy, popped a 2-2 pitch to Betancourt on the infield. Stewart popped the first pitch to Bloomquist in shallow rightfield. Punto worked a 1-2 count full before taking a slider over the meat of the plate.
Nelson's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 21 pitches (13 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C-
Joe Nathan came in for Rincon. Jamal Strong, hitting for Morse, got ahead 2-0 and flew out to Jones in shallow rightcenter on a full count. Betancourt popped the second pitch to Jones in shallow rightcenter. Dave Hansen, hitting for Torrealba, grounded the 0-2 pitch to second. Ballgame.
Nathan's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 12 pitches (9 strikes)
---
Gameball: Yuniesky Betancourt.
His defense puts him a cut above Jeremy Reed and Yorvit Torrealba on this night. He singled to lead off the third and hit a bloop single that would have been much more meaningful had Mike Morse bunted a little softer before him in the seventh. In the bottom half of that inning, Betancourt made that crazy play on the hard grounder off the bat of Joe Mauer. I know he hasn't been up that long and that I'm biased, but the guy looks like Gold Glove material out there. Not that the Gold Glove means anything, of course, since someone came up with the asinine rule that you have to be able to hit to win a Gold Glove, which is ironic since the Gold Glove award isn't shaped like a batting glove. For me, it's the rule that kept Jeff Cirillo from a Gold Glove in 2002. Eric Chavez was a more overrated fielder back then than he is now, but his bat won him that Gold Glove, and I'm convinced of that. Oh well. That said, I don't think there's any way Betancourt ends up disappointing us with the bath as much as Cirillo did, so I'll cut this off before I go even further into nowhere with this paragraph.
Goat: Gil Meche.
He has managed to raise his ERA with each of his last five starts. The last time his ERA went down was after his start in Cleveland on July 23rd, which fittingly was a loss. Only half of his four runs were earned in the seven innings he threw. Coincidentally, that was the last time he walked less than three hitters in a start, but I might get to that later. His ERA after the Cleveland start was 4.59. That actually seems decent, looking back at it. Meche's current ERA is 5.23, and it hasn't been this high since after beating Boston on May 15th. If you're like me, you might just feel like throwing up your hands trying to explain what's wrong with Gil Meche. Maybe nothing is wrong with him. Maybe this is Gil Meche we're watching. Maybe it's irreparable, and the first half of 2003 was the peak of Meche's professional career on the mound. Considering he didn't pitch in the Majors in 2001 and 2002, that's an accomplishment in itself, though of course we had some bigger expectations after that 2003 season. I could go further, but we'd go into that whole Bob Melvin argument, and then Bobby Madritsch would enter the story, etc.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 87-34 .719 -- L1
2002 74-47 .612 13 W1
2003 73-48 .603 14 L1
2000 69-52 .570 18 L5
2005 52-69 .430 35 L2
2004 45-76 .372 42 L3
It was painfully like the night before. The starting pitcher gave up early runs and it seemed like the Mariners weren't in it, but they were. In this game, they even got the lead, something they never got the night before. Yet I focus on one common thread -- big totals in bad categories for the starters. Just like Ryan Franklin probably should never win if he gives up eleven hits in six innings, Gil Meche should never win if he walks six batters in five innings of work. Technically it's worse since he walked the sixth batter after having only thrown 3 2/3 innings. I said in the goat paragraph that I'd get back to it, and here it is -- Meche has walked three or more hitters in each of his last five starts. Tonight's half-dozen is the capper of the bunch, which started with a trio of threes in the boxscore, followed by a four in his start on the 14th against the Angels. Unfortunately 3, 3, 3, 4, 6 doesn't shape itself out into some sort of nice Fibonacci sequence, so I can't tell you how many hitters Meche is going to walk five days from now. If you asked me and I was running the Mariners, he'd walk zero people five days from now because I'd cut him and let Jeff Harris have his month and a half of fame and hope he can catch on somewhere else.
I gave him the gameball the night before, but George Sherrill followed it up with a bad outing, of which he's had a few lately. By my count and discretion, four of his last five appearances have had an effect that is worse than desired. I guess I'll follow that up with what I said for the gameball paragraph from the last game -- he's not Ron Villone, and that's a good thing. I feel much more comfortable out there knowing that if Sherrill's going to get lit up, it's going to be by way of a solid base hit as opposed to a walk where none of the balls are even close to the strike zone or a beanball with an 0-2 count and runners on base or something, followed by a homer. Have I mentioned that I'm glad Ron Villone isn't a Mariner anymore? I'm glad Ron Villone isn't a Mariner anymore. I might stir myself a cup of chai to that, since I didn't do that right after the trade with the Marlins. I'll be tipping a glass of chai to the future of Yorman Bazardo. He's not just the man, he's Yorman.
Multi-hit games for Mariner hitters in this one belonged to Jeremy Reed, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Yorvit Torrealba. Reed hit a two-out homer in the second and singled to lead off the seventh. Betancourt was covered in the gameball paragraph. Torrealba worked his count in the third for a single to keep a near-rally alive, then singled with one out in the fifth. Time for some happy numbers regarding a couple of these hitters... Reed is hitting at a 7-for-15 clip (.467) in his last four games, and that includes an 0-for-4 in Thursday's game. Other than when Miguel Ojeda caught the Thursday game, Yorvit Torrealba has been the regular starting catcher, and he's been hitting now that the gig has been a regular one. He's hit in four of five games since the 14th for a mark of 8-for-16 (.500), and that includes an 0-for-4 night in the middle game of that Kansas City sweep. I've mentioned on a couple occasions how I liked the way his at-bats were turning out, and the Mariners have needed something (and anything) offensively out of the bottom third of the lineup. Now if they can have something coming out of that end of the lineup and have sombody on when Ichiro warms up again...then I reckon you have winning baseball or something thereabouts.
With this loss, the Mariners blew any chance they had of winning the four-game set in the Twin Cities. Not that I thought it was going to happen anyway. Anyone else notice how that extra-inning loss that never should have been has instead given the Twins a whole new lease on their season? In a vaguely related note, the Canucks gave the Maple Leafs a second life early in the 2003-04 season after Toronto had rumors swirling of Pat Quinn getting fired and whatnot. I just hate when it happens to my teams.
Hey, this time the Mariners went 2-2 between Felix starts. Last time through, it was 0-4. That's progress. At least it'll be watchable tomorrow. Of course, I hope MLB.tv gives me the Seattle feed since I haven't gotten it in about a week. Not that Dick Bremer and Bret Blyleven are horrible, but I need my home crew every once in a while. I don't feel the need to be circled by Bert though.
Hernandez. Lohse. Today.
In 25 words or less: A mostly typical start from a certain pitcher. Also, the game had drama, though the result was good ol' rehash.
[***NOTE -- posted mostly in full Sat ~2:03a.]
DON'T BE FOOLED, this isn't the same recap as the one for Thursday's game. The above photo IS A DIFFERENT PHOTO, taken by a different photographer, even. If you compare the photos side by side, Bloomquist is wearing a cap in one photo and not in the other, and there are other differences as well.
Scott Spiezio was released, and much too late at that. Greg Dobbs has come up to take his roster spot, and we know how much better he is in late-inning pinch-hit situations.
This one featured Gil Meche going up against sinkerballer Carlos Silva. Right off the bat, you know the Mariners are going to swing early in the count against him and hit a bunch of ground balls, so if something gets him out of the game, it won't be because of high pitch count.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C-
Too predictable. Ichiro flew out short of the leftfield track near the corner on a 1-2 pitch. Willie Bloomquist grounded the second pitch hard to third. Raul Ibañez took a 1-2 belt-high pitch over the inside corner.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C-
Sigh... Shannon Stewart grounded the second pitch deep into the hole at short, but it was too deep for even Yuniesky Betancourt to make a play on it. Nick Punto crushed the first pitch off the baggie in rightfield for a double, sending Stewart to third. Joe Mauer lined a 3-1 pitch to Ibañez in leftfield, scoring Stewart and moving Punto to third.
»» TWINS 1, MARINERS 0
Justin Morneau stuck the second pitch into centerfield for a single, scoring Punto.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 0
Matt LeCroy worked a 1-2 count for a walk, moving Morneau to second. Jacque Jones worked a 1-2 count full, but then whiffed on a full-count offspeed pitch over the outer half. Lew Ford chopped a 2-0 pitch to Beltre behind the bag at third, who ran over to step on the bag for the force.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C+
Lead halved. Richie Sexson popped a 1-2 pitch high to Brent Abernathy in shallow rightfield. Adrian Beltre bounced the second pitch up the middle to Punto at short. Jeremy Reed walloped the first pitch for a homer into rightcenter.
»» TWINS 2, MARINERS 1
Mike Morse couldn't check his swing on an 0-2 pitch inside.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B-
Aversion of trouble. Michael Cuddyer worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Brent Abernathy popped a 2-2 pitch to rightfield. Stewart got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch high and outside. Punto fell behind 0-2 and ended up grounding the 1-2 pitch to second for a 4-6-3 double play.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B+
What's this? Yuniesky Betancourt got ahead 2-0 and ended up rolling a single up the middle. Yorvit Torrealba fell behind 0-2, took two pitches barely off the outside corner, then drilled the 2-2 pitch up the middle for a single, moving Betancourt to second. Ichiro dumped the first pitch into rightfield for a single, loading the bases. Bloomquist grounded the first pitch hard to Morneau at first, who had the ball go off his glove on a scoop attempt and high into the air (error), enabling Betancourt and Torrealba to score, and Ichiro went to third.
»» MARINERS 3, TWINS 2
Ibañez lined the first pitch into rightfield, where Jones ran and dove for the catch, scoring Ichiro.
»» MARINERS 4, TWINS 2
Sexson fell behind 0-2. Bloomquist stole second on an 0-2 pitch to Sexson, who later bounced a 1-2 pitch to the mound, starting a 1-4-3 double play on which Abernathy dove across to get Bloomquist out, then threw back to first from the seat of his pants for the double play and the #2 Web Gem on the 7 PT edition of Baseball Tonight.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B-
It can never be easy. Mauer drove an 0-2 pitch about five rows deep into the leftfield seats.
»» MARINERS 4, TWINS 3
Morneau took a 1-2 curve over the plate. LeCroy got ahead 3-0 but flew out to the track in centerfield. Jones bounced to second.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C
Thwart. Beltre rolled the first pitch up the middle for a single. Reed flew out a few feet short of the track in centerfield. Morse fouled back a 1-2 pitch, getting a piece of Mauer's left arm and luring the trainer from the dugout. Morse took the next pitch over the outside corner, and Mauer gunned down Beltre by five feet trying to steal second.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C+
Slithery. Ford got ahead 3-0 and walked on a full-count pitch outside for a walk. Cuddyer fell behind 0-2 and grounded a 1-2 pitch to third to start a 5-4-3 double play. Abernathy fell behind 3-0 and walked on a full-count pitch up and in (he took all six pitches). Stewart got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch high, amidst a flurry of pickoff throws to first in Abernathy's direction. This lured pitching coach Bryan Price to the mound, not happy over six walks in 3 2/3 innings. Punto air-bunted the first pitch just out of Torrealba's reach in foul territory. Punto grounded the 0-2 pitch to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C
Nothing to see here. Betancourt popped an 0-2 pitch to rightfield. Torrealba dumped the second pitch into leftcenter for a single. Ichiro bounced the first pitch to Morneau on the right side, who went to second for the out (3-6 fielder's choice). Bloomquist took an 0-2 pitch over the outer half.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
Easy for this game. Mauer lined a 2-2 pitch to centerfield, where Reed ran in to make the catch. Morneau got ahead 2-0 and later flew out to leftfield. LeCroy cued a single into centerfield. Jones took an 0-2 curve over the outside corner.
Meche's line: 5 innings, 3 runs, 5 hits, 6 walks, 3 strikeouts, 102 pitches (54 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
Fast. Ibañez popped the second pitch to rightfield. Sexson bounced the first pitch behind the bag at third. Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Meche. Ford drove the first pitch into leftfield for a single. Cuddyer crushed the second pitch off the track and wall in leftcenter for a double, scoring Ford.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 4
Abernathy grounded hard to first, where Sexson tagged the bag, moving Cuddyer to third. Stewart whiffed on a 2-2 pitch off the plate outside. Punto flew out to rightfield on a full count.
Hasegawa's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 17 pitches (12 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C
Same ol' crap. Reed rolled a 2-0 pitch up the middle for a single. Morse bunted the first pitch in front of the plate, where Silva pounced on it and threw in time to Punto covering second, negating the bunt. Betancourt blooped the second pitch into centerfield for a single, moving Morse to second, where Jamal Strong ran for him. Pitching coach Rick Anderson came out to the mound. Torrealba smoked the second pitch, but right to Jones in rightfield. Ichiro chopped the second pitch to second.
Silva's line: 7 innings, 4 runs (3 earned), 8 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 77 pitches (62 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: D+
George Sherrill came in for Hasegawa. Mauer lasered a 1-2 pitch to short, where it handcuffed Betancourt, who fell down, picked the ball off the turf, then threw in time off one knee in time to first. Morneau blooped a 1-2 pitch down the rightfield line, where Bloomquist overran it, allowing Morneau to coast into second with a double. LeCroy was intentionally walked, and Jason Bartlett ran for him. Jones whiffed on an 0-2 pitch down and away.
Jeff Nelson came in for Sherrill. Ford clubbed the second pitch a few rows over the wall in leftcenter.
»» TWINS 7, MARINERS 4
Mike Cuddyer got ahead 2-0 and whiffed on a 2-2 slider outside.
Sherrill's line: 2/3 inning, 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 18 pitches (12 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C
Juan Rincon came in for Silva. Bloomquist fell behind 0-2 and later bounced the 1-2 pitch to short, but Bloomquist out the semi-lackadaiscal throw from Punto. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and eventually flew out to shallow leftcenter on the 2-2 pitch. Sexson took a 3-1 breaking ball up and away, moving Bloomquist to second. Beltre held his swing on a 1-2 slider outside, and later flew out to deep leftfield on a 2-2 pitch, advancing Bloomquist to third. Reed fell behind 0-2 before whiffing on a 1-2 pitch over the inside corner.
Rincon's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 27 pitches (17 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: A
Messing with us. Luis Rodriguez, hitting for Abernathy, popped a 2-2 pitch to Betancourt on the infield. Stewart popped the first pitch to Bloomquist in shallow rightfield. Punto worked a 1-2 count full before taking a slider over the meat of the plate.
Nelson's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 21 pitches (13 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C-
Joe Nathan came in for Rincon. Jamal Strong, hitting for Morse, got ahead 2-0 and flew out to Jones in shallow rightcenter on a full count. Betancourt popped the second pitch to Jones in shallow rightcenter. Dave Hansen, hitting for Torrealba, grounded the 0-2 pitch to second. Ballgame.
Nathan's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 12 pitches (9 strikes)
---
Gameball: Yuniesky Betancourt.
His defense puts him a cut above Jeremy Reed and Yorvit Torrealba on this night. He singled to lead off the third and hit a bloop single that would have been much more meaningful had Mike Morse bunted a little softer before him in the seventh. In the bottom half of that inning, Betancourt made that crazy play on the hard grounder off the bat of Joe Mauer. I know he hasn't been up that long and that I'm biased, but the guy looks like Gold Glove material out there. Not that the Gold Glove means anything, of course, since someone came up with the asinine rule that you have to be able to hit to win a Gold Glove, which is ironic since the Gold Glove award isn't shaped like a batting glove. For me, it's the rule that kept Jeff Cirillo from a Gold Glove in 2002. Eric Chavez was a more overrated fielder back then than he is now, but his bat won him that Gold Glove, and I'm convinced of that. Oh well. That said, I don't think there's any way Betancourt ends up disappointing us with the bath as much as Cirillo did, so I'll cut this off before I go even further into nowhere with this paragraph.
Goat: Gil Meche.
He has managed to raise his ERA with each of his last five starts. The last time his ERA went down was after his start in Cleveland on July 23rd, which fittingly was a loss. Only half of his four runs were earned in the seven innings he threw. Coincidentally, that was the last time he walked less than three hitters in a start, but I might get to that later. His ERA after the Cleveland start was 4.59. That actually seems decent, looking back at it. Meche's current ERA is 5.23, and it hasn't been this high since after beating Boston on May 15th. If you're like me, you might just feel like throwing up your hands trying to explain what's wrong with Gil Meche. Maybe nothing is wrong with him. Maybe this is Gil Meche we're watching. Maybe it's irreparable, and the first half of 2003 was the peak of Meche's professional career on the mound. Considering he didn't pitch in the Majors in 2001 and 2002, that's an accomplishment in itself, though of course we had some bigger expectations after that 2003 season. I could go further, but we'd go into that whole Bob Melvin argument, and then Bobby Madritsch would enter the story, etc.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 87-34 .719 -- L1
2002 74-47 .612 13 W1
2003 73-48 .603 14 L1
2000 69-52 .570 18 L5
2005 52-69 .430 35 L2
2004 45-76 .372 42 L3
It was painfully like the night before. The starting pitcher gave up early runs and it seemed like the Mariners weren't in it, but they were. In this game, they even got the lead, something they never got the night before. Yet I focus on one common thread -- big totals in bad categories for the starters. Just like Ryan Franklin probably should never win if he gives up eleven hits in six innings, Gil Meche should never win if he walks six batters in five innings of work. Technically it's worse since he walked the sixth batter after having only thrown 3 2/3 innings. I said in the goat paragraph that I'd get back to it, and here it is -- Meche has walked three or more hitters in each of his last five starts. Tonight's half-dozen is the capper of the bunch, which started with a trio of threes in the boxscore, followed by a four in his start on the 14th against the Angels. Unfortunately 3, 3, 3, 4, 6 doesn't shape itself out into some sort of nice Fibonacci sequence, so I can't tell you how many hitters Meche is going to walk five days from now. If you asked me and I was running the Mariners, he'd walk zero people five days from now because I'd cut him and let Jeff Harris have his month and a half of fame and hope he can catch on somewhere else.
I gave him the gameball the night before, but George Sherrill followed it up with a bad outing, of which he's had a few lately. By my count and discretion, four of his last five appearances have had an effect that is worse than desired. I guess I'll follow that up with what I said for the gameball paragraph from the last game -- he's not Ron Villone, and that's a good thing. I feel much more comfortable out there knowing that if Sherrill's going to get lit up, it's going to be by way of a solid base hit as opposed to a walk where none of the balls are even close to the strike zone or a beanball with an 0-2 count and runners on base or something, followed by a homer. Have I mentioned that I'm glad Ron Villone isn't a Mariner anymore? I'm glad Ron Villone isn't a Mariner anymore. I might stir myself a cup of chai to that, since I didn't do that right after the trade with the Marlins. I'll be tipping a glass of chai to the future of Yorman Bazardo. He's not just the man, he's Yorman.
Multi-hit games for Mariner hitters in this one belonged to Jeremy Reed, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Yorvit Torrealba. Reed hit a two-out homer in the second and singled to lead off the seventh. Betancourt was covered in the gameball paragraph. Torrealba worked his count in the third for a single to keep a near-rally alive, then singled with one out in the fifth. Time for some happy numbers regarding a couple of these hitters... Reed is hitting at a 7-for-15 clip (.467) in his last four games, and that includes an 0-for-4 in Thursday's game. Other than when Miguel Ojeda caught the Thursday game, Yorvit Torrealba has been the regular starting catcher, and he's been hitting now that the gig has been a regular one. He's hit in four of five games since the 14th for a mark of 8-for-16 (.500), and that includes an 0-for-4 night in the middle game of that Kansas City sweep. I've mentioned on a couple occasions how I liked the way his at-bats were turning out, and the Mariners have needed something (and anything) offensively out of the bottom third of the lineup. Now if they can have something coming out of that end of the lineup and have sombody on when Ichiro warms up again...then I reckon you have winning baseball or something thereabouts.
With this loss, the Mariners blew any chance they had of winning the four-game set in the Twin Cities. Not that I thought it was going to happen anyway. Anyone else notice how that extra-inning loss that never should have been has instead given the Twins a whole new lease on their season? In a vaguely related note, the Canucks gave the Maple Leafs a second life early in the 2003-04 season after Toronto had rumors swirling of Pat Quinn getting fired and whatnot. I just hate when it happens to my teams.
Hey, this time the Mariners went 2-2 between Felix starts. Last time through, it was 0-4. That's progress. At least it'll be watchable tomorrow. Of course, I hope MLB.tv gives me the Seattle feed since I haven't gotten it in about a week. Not that Dick Bremer and Bret Blyleven are horrible, but I need my home crew every once in a while. I don't feel the need to be circled by Bert though.
Hernandez. Lohse. Today.
/ Click for main page
MARINERS VS TWINS 8/19/05
Here's your game thread.
I'm headed up to Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas tomorrow morning. A proud member of the Sun Belt Conference, Arkansas State University boasts one of the best communications schools in the South, which I'll be a part of. Northeast Arkansas, here I come. I can probably assume that I'll be one of the only Seattle sports fans at Arkansas State, which is just fine with me. I wouldn't wish for anyone to be a Seattle sports fan at this point.
Anyways, this is your game thread. It is a Friday night, so if Gil Meche decides to blow up in the first inning, you have every right to just say the hell with the game and enjoy your Friday night doing something else.
See y'all later.
I'm headed up to Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas tomorrow morning. A proud member of the Sun Belt Conference, Arkansas State University boasts one of the best communications schools in the South, which I'll be a part of. Northeast Arkansas, here I come. I can probably assume that I'll be one of the only Seattle sports fans at Arkansas State, which is just fine with me. I wouldn't wish for anyone to be a Seattle sports fan at this point.
Anyways, this is your game thread. It is a Friday night, so if Gil Meche decides to blow up in the first inning, you have every right to just say the hell with the game and enjoy your Friday night doing something else.
See y'all later.
/ Click for main page
Thursday, August 18, 2005
GAME 120: TWINS 7, MARINERS 3
Twins 7, Mariners 3
In 25 words or less: This one's a lot more interesting if you knew about the ruckus in the Mariner dugout after the first inning.
[***NOTE -- recap posted in full Sat ~12:50a.]
This one featured Ryan Franklin going up against Joe Mays. Is it The Downward Spiro going up against the former Mariner farmhand? Why haven't I gotten the Mariner feed for the MLB.tv telecasts in about a week? I miss my crew.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C
Very not good. Ichiro looped the 2-0 pitch above Justin Morneau at first for a single. Willie Bloomquist shoveled the second pitch into centerfield for a single, moving Ichiro to second. Raul Ibañez took a 1-2 pitch a bit off the outside corner for a strikeout. Richie Sexson worked an 0-2 count full before chopping a ball to the right side, where Morneau tried to find another play and went back to Mays at first, but it wasn't in time, loading the bases. Adrian Beltre popped the second pitch to Morneau with the infield fly rule being called. Jeremy Reed bounced the second pitch to second.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: D
Dig it early. Shannon Stewart looped a single into shallow rightcenter. Nick Punto grounded the second pitch to the hole on the left side, where Yuniesky Betancourt dove to his right and threw in time to second from the seat of his pants for a 6-4 fielder's choice. Joe Mauer chopped a ball up the middle and into centerfield for a single, moving Punto to third. Justin Morneau grounded the first pitch to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice, though Morneau beat the throw back to first, and Punto scored.
»» TWINS 1, MARINERS 0
Matthew LeCroy fell behind 0-2 but clobbered a 1-2 pitch well over the 408-foot marker in dead centerfield for a two-run homer.
»» TWINS 3, MARINERS 0
Jacque Jones took an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B
It's something. Mike Morse lined a ball down the leftfield line where he only got a single out of it. This is where the FSN North feed showed the video replay of a Ryan Franklin/Adrian Beltre confrontation in the dugout (or so it was believed to be from the FSN North TV crew). Yuniesky Betancourt fell behind 0-2 before drilling a ball into the leftcenter gap, scoring Morse from first, though he ran through Carlos Garcia's stop sign at third.
»» TWINS 3, MARINERS 1
Miguel Ojeda took a high 3-1 pitch for a walk. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and later took a 2-2 dirtball that got away and went to the backstop, moving Betancourt and Ojeda to third and second, respectively. Ichiro wound up taking a full-count pitch up and in for a walk, loading the bases. Bloomquist roped the first pitch right into Morneau's glove at first, and the latter went over to second for the double play. Raul Ibañez poked a single into shallow leftcenter to score Betancourt and move Ichiro to second.
»» TWINS 3, MARINERS 2
Sexson tapped an 0-2 pitch back to the mound.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
Not bad. Lew Ford lasered a single into rightfield. Michael Cuddyer got ahead 2-0 and later grounded hard into a 6-4-3 double play. Brent Abernathy bounced a 1-2 pitch to second.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B-
Mildly eventful. Beltre blasted a pitch a couple rows over the fence in leftcenter.
»» TWINS 3, MARINERS 3
Reed popped a 2-2 pitch to Punto in shallow centerfield. Morse flew out to rightfield on the second pitch. Betancourt grounded an 0-2 pitch hard to third.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B+
Grr. Stewart poked the second pitch into leftfield for a single. Punto popped out near the leftfield corner. Mauer laced the second pitch up the middle for a single, moving Stewart to second. Morneau singled a 2-0 pitch under Sexson and into rightfield for a single, scoring Stewart and moving Mauer to second.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 3
Before anyone even realized it, Franklin was called for a balk, and the runners were moved to third and second (hidden ball trick gone wrong -- Betancourt kept the ball, but Franklin went to the mound without the ball). LeCroy got ahead 2-0 and barely missed a homer down the rightfield line. He later bounced out to third, and the runners held. Jones was intentionally walked to load the bases. Ford grounded an 0-2 pitch to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C
Nothing too shocking. Ojeda grounded the 3-1 pitch to short. Ichiro grounded the second pitch hard to short. Bloomquist grounded hard to third, where Cuddyer had the ball off his glove, then overthrew to first, allowing Bloomquist to move to second. Ibañez flew out to leftfield on the second pitch.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B
It's never totally easy. Cuddyer flew out to centerfield. Abernathy poked an 0-2 pitch through the hole on the left side for a single. Stewart popped to Reed in rightcenter. Abernathy stole second on the first pitch to Punto, barely beating the throw from Ojeda. Punto flew out to Betancourt in shallow centerfield on an 0-2 pitch.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C
More frustration. Sexson drilled a 2-0 pitch up the middle for a single. Beltre bounced a 3-1 pitch to short for a 6-3 double play. Reed rolled the second pitch to second.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A-
Pretty good. Mauer lined out to centerfield on the first pitch. Morneau had the hitters' counts and took the eighth pitch over the outside corner. LeCroy foul-tipped a 1-2 pitch into the catcher's glove.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
Ho hum. Morse worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing on a full-count pitch low and away. Betancourt reached for an 0-2 pitch low and away, grounding it to third, but nearly beating out the throw. Ojeda flew out to rightfield on the first pitch.
Mays' line: 6 innings, 3 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 94 pitches (57 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C+
Little damage is still damage. Jones chopped the first pitch to short. Ford bounced a pitch down the line near the third-base bag, but it went off Beltre's glove and into foul territory as Ford was credited with a single. Ford took off on a 1-0 pitch to Cuddyer, who broke for second but stopped halfway after Ojeda threw to second, but the throw was wide, and Betancourt beat Ford to the bag at second. Cuddyer bounced out to third. Abernathy drove the second pitch into rightcenter for a single, scoring Ford.
»» TWINS 5, MARINERS 3
Stewart drilled the second pitch off of Beltre's glove at third and into leftfield for a single, moving Abernathy to second. Punto got ahead 2-0 and later took a full-count pitch over the inside corner.
Franklin's line: 6 innings, 5 runs, 11 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 94 pitches (65 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C-
JC Romero came in for Mays. Ichiro fouled the second pitch off the outside of his left knee. After hobbling around a bit, he stayed to finish the at-bat. Ichiro chopped a 3-1 pitch to short. Bloomquist flew out to rightfield on the second pitch. Ibañez sliced a flyout short of the track in leftfield.
Romero's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (5 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B+
George Sherrill came in for Franklin. Mauer whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball. Morneau whiffed on an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner. LeCroy got ahead 2-0 and wound up walking on a full-count dirtball, and Jason Bartlett ran for him. Jones chopped the second pitch to Sexson at the bag at first.
Sherrill's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 17 pitches (11 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C
Boo. Sexson popped the second pitch very high to the rightfield corner. Beltre reached for an outside 0-2 pitch and chopped it just over Morneau at first and down the line for a single. Reed flew out to the track in leftfield on the 2-0 pitch. Morse worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing at a slider low and away.
Rincon's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 15 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: D+
JJ Putz came in for Sherrill. Ford flew out to left on a full count. Cuddyer drilled the first pitch over Ibañez' head and off the leftfield wall for a double. Rodriguez pulled a full-count pitch down the first-base line where Sexson stopped the ball behind the bag, but had no play as Cuddyer went to third. Stewart smacked the second pitch to centerfield for a single, scoring Cuddyer and moving Rodriguez to third.
»» TWINS 6, MARINERS 3
Punto drilled the second pitch up the middle for a single, scoring Cuddyer and moving Stewart to second.
»» TWINS 7, MARINERS 3
Matt Thornton came in for Putz. Mauer took a 2-2 breaking ball over the plate. Morneau was ahead 2-0 and later tapped the 2-2 pitch back to the mound.
Putz' line: 1/3 inning, 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 21 pitches (14 strikes)
Thornton's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C
Jesse Crain came in for Rincon. Dave Hansen, hitting for Betancourt, chopped the second pitch to Morneau behind the bag at first, and he stepped on it for the out. Scott Spiezio, hitting for Ojeda, nubbed the first pitch into rightcenter for a single (really). Ichiro grounded the second pitch up the middle to Rodriguez, who started a nifty 4-6-3 double play. Ballgame.
Crain's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 5 pitches (4 strikes)
---
Gameball: George Sherrill.
He gave up a two-out walk in the seventh in relief for Franklin, but I didn't figure it was enough to pan him for the gameball. He'd been having it pretty rough lately. Sherrill can struggle through growing pains trying to better adjust to the Major Leagues, but every time that happens, I just try to remind myself of one thing, and that's the fact that Sherrill isn't Ron Villone. Then I sleep a lot easier at night. If Georger Sherrill was with this team the entire year, I can't suppose they could have been much worse. They might have been better. Sherrill isn't "effectively wild." I guess I'm just glad that Villone is gone, and that he took all his overratedness with him. Effectively wild, versatile, gamer, all that crap. I tended to forget all of the good things about Ron Villone after he'd nail a guy and then allow a double to the next hitter. Don't forget when Hargrove would bring him out to face one lefty, and Villone would either walk him or nail him. Has anyone missed the beanballs over the past three weeks? I thought so.
Goat: JJ Putz.
Nothing like this outing to remind us that he definitely hasn't turned the corner yet. Luis Rodriguez' infield single was pretty unlucky, but four pitches later, the Mariners' deficit had gone from two runs to four. When you get pulled so that Matt Thornton can put out the fire, you know it's bad. Of course, the fact that two meat-of-the-order lefties were coming up might have had something to do with it as well. I guess what's different from earlier this year is that Putz didn't implode via the home run, so he's changed it up a bit since. Let's assume that Eddie Guardado is gone next year, which I think is a more-than-fair assumption. Who's your closer? We're a long way from deciding this, but who would you pick? Putz? Rafael Soriano? Ryan Franklin? Weirder things have happened. Yes, we've got a month and a half left in the 2005 season and I'm talking about the battle for the closer spot in the Mariner bullpen for 2006. Yes, it's been that kind of season. Of course, at this time last season, we were just aghast at how bad the team was.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 87-33 .725 -- W4
2002 73-47 .608 14 L1
2003 73-47 .608 14 W2
2000 69-51 .575 18 L4
2005 52-68 .433 35 L1
2004 45-75 .375 42 L2
[As the post was prefaced, this bottom part was typed up just after midnight, early Saturday morning]
After the Mariners loaded the bases in the first with one out and didn't score, Ryan Franklin served up the smash to Matt LeCroy. As was reported in the Seattle dailies, Franklin came back to the dugout between innings and "let off some steam," according to pitching coach Bryan Price. Franklin let off said steam behind the dugout, then came back out, and Price told him to calm down, etc. Apparently where Beltre came in was when Franklin needed to be separated from Price. Basically, it wasn't how it looked on television, and I'm guessing that the 7-second clip was taken out of context with the Price-related stuff, and therefore it looked like Beltre was going at Franklin for whatever reason, which was debunked afterward in the press. Since the Mariners didn't win, this part proved to be one of the more interesting things about the game. It's not every day the Mariners get skimrishes in the dugout. THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED WITH A PAT GILLICK TEAM! Chemistry is important, but it's not that important.
Lost in the dugout happenings that the fact that Franklin gave up early runs and dug a hole was the fact that Mariners were within one run of the Twins from the fourth to the sixth, and were down 5-3 in the seventh and eighth when they came to bat. They were within reach. The problem? After Adrian Beltre's leadoff homer in the third that tied the game at 3-3, the Mariners put only one runner on second base, and that was Willie Bloomquist reaching on an error with two out in the fourth. The only real scoring chance came when Richie Sexson led off the fifth with a single, but he was erased on a Beltre double-play ball.
Multi-hit games for Mariner hitters went to Willie Bloomquist, Richie Sexson, and Adrian Beltre. Bloomquist was 2-for-4, singling behind Ichiro with nobody out in the first, smoking the ball right to Morneau in the second, and apparently in the fourth they're counting that he got aboard on a hit, and that he advanced to second on the error, rather than just saying he got to first via the error. Sexson reached on a lucky play in the first and led off the fifth with a single. Beltre homered to tie the game in the third and singled with one out in the eighth.
It didn't seem like Franklin got rocked in the game. He gave up the three early and settled down a bit, then got touched up for a couple runs here and there later on in the game. It doesn't seem that bad. Then you look at his line, and sure enough, it's five runs and eleven hits. One walk is the best thing about his line. The scary thing is that the five runs actually lowered his ERA. The other scary thing is that eleven hits in six innings is a whole lot of hits. Hitters can hit Ryan Franklin, not that we don't already know this. Mike Hargrove and company could have easily refused comment on the Beltre/Franklin video clip and let the original speculation stand, and we probably wouldn't have known the difference considering Franklin's plight this year. Yes, it's a story of steroids, dugout tussles, and steroids...that sounds like a book deal to me. What if Franklin's a better writer than he is a pitcher? My mind's running wild.
Can the Mariners preserve their chances for a series win in the four-game set?
Meche. Silva. Tomorrow.
In 25 words or less: This one's a lot more interesting if you knew about the ruckus in the Mariner dugout after the first inning.
[***NOTE -- recap posted in full Sat ~12:50a.]
This one featured Ryan Franklin going up against Joe Mays. Is it The Downward Spiro going up against the former Mariner farmhand? Why haven't I gotten the Mariner feed for the MLB.tv telecasts in about a week? I miss my crew.
TOP 1ST
Grade: C
Very not good. Ichiro looped the 2-0 pitch above Justin Morneau at first for a single. Willie Bloomquist shoveled the second pitch into centerfield for a single, moving Ichiro to second. Raul Ibañez took a 1-2 pitch a bit off the outside corner for a strikeout. Richie Sexson worked an 0-2 count full before chopping a ball to the right side, where Morneau tried to find another play and went back to Mays at first, but it wasn't in time, loading the bases. Adrian Beltre popped the second pitch to Morneau with the infield fly rule being called. Jeremy Reed bounced the second pitch to second.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: D
Dig it early. Shannon Stewart looped a single into shallow rightcenter. Nick Punto grounded the second pitch to the hole on the left side, where Yuniesky Betancourt dove to his right and threw in time to second from the seat of his pants for a 6-4 fielder's choice. Joe Mauer chopped a ball up the middle and into centerfield for a single, moving Punto to third. Justin Morneau grounded the first pitch to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice, though Morneau beat the throw back to first, and Punto scored.
»» TWINS 1, MARINERS 0
Matthew LeCroy fell behind 0-2 but clobbered a 1-2 pitch well over the 408-foot marker in dead centerfield for a two-run homer.
»» TWINS 3, MARINERS 0
Jacque Jones took an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner.
TOP 2ND
Grade: B
It's something. Mike Morse lined a ball down the leftfield line where he only got a single out of it. This is where the FSN North feed showed the video replay of a Ryan Franklin/Adrian Beltre confrontation in the dugout (or so it was believed to be from the FSN North TV crew). Yuniesky Betancourt fell behind 0-2 before drilling a ball into the leftcenter gap, scoring Morse from first, though he ran through Carlos Garcia's stop sign at third.
»» TWINS 3, MARINERS 1
Miguel Ojeda took a high 3-1 pitch for a walk. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and later took a 2-2 dirtball that got away and went to the backstop, moving Betancourt and Ojeda to third and second, respectively. Ichiro wound up taking a full-count pitch up and in for a walk, loading the bases. Bloomquist roped the first pitch right into Morneau's glove at first, and the latter went over to second for the double play. Raul Ibañez poked a single into shallow leftcenter to score Betancourt and move Ichiro to second.
»» TWINS 3, MARINERS 2
Sexson tapped an 0-2 pitch back to the mound.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
Not bad. Lew Ford lasered a single into rightfield. Michael Cuddyer got ahead 2-0 and later grounded hard into a 6-4-3 double play. Brent Abernathy bounced a 1-2 pitch to second.
TOP 3RD
Grade: B-
Mildly eventful. Beltre blasted a pitch a couple rows over the fence in leftcenter.
»» TWINS 3, MARINERS 3
Reed popped a 2-2 pitch to Punto in shallow centerfield. Morse flew out to rightfield on the second pitch. Betancourt grounded an 0-2 pitch hard to third.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B+
Grr. Stewart poked the second pitch into leftfield for a single. Punto popped out near the leftfield corner. Mauer laced the second pitch up the middle for a single, moving Stewart to second. Morneau singled a 2-0 pitch under Sexson and into rightfield for a single, scoring Stewart and moving Mauer to second.
»» TWINS 4, MARINERS 3
Before anyone even realized it, Franklin was called for a balk, and the runners were moved to third and second (hidden ball trick gone wrong -- Betancourt kept the ball, but Franklin went to the mound without the ball). LeCroy got ahead 2-0 and barely missed a homer down the rightfield line. He later bounced out to third, and the runners held. Jones was intentionally walked to load the bases. Ford grounded an 0-2 pitch to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice.
TOP 4TH
Grade: C
Nothing too shocking. Ojeda grounded the 3-1 pitch to short. Ichiro grounded the second pitch hard to short. Bloomquist grounded hard to third, where Cuddyer had the ball off his glove, then overthrew to first, allowing Bloomquist to move to second. Ibañez flew out to leftfield on the second pitch.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B
It's never totally easy. Cuddyer flew out to centerfield. Abernathy poked an 0-2 pitch through the hole on the left side for a single. Stewart popped to Reed in rightcenter. Abernathy stole second on the first pitch to Punto, barely beating the throw from Ojeda. Punto flew out to Betancourt in shallow centerfield on an 0-2 pitch.
TOP 5TH
Grade: C
More frustration. Sexson drilled a 2-0 pitch up the middle for a single. Beltre bounced a 3-1 pitch to short for a 6-3 double play. Reed rolled the second pitch to second.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: A-
Pretty good. Mauer lined out to centerfield on the first pitch. Morneau had the hitters' counts and took the eighth pitch over the outside corner. LeCroy foul-tipped a 1-2 pitch into the catcher's glove.
TOP 6TH
Grade: C-
Ho hum. Morse worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing on a full-count pitch low and away. Betancourt reached for an 0-2 pitch low and away, grounding it to third, but nearly beating out the throw. Ojeda flew out to rightfield on the first pitch.
Mays' line: 6 innings, 3 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 94 pitches (57 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C+
Little damage is still damage. Jones chopped the first pitch to short. Ford bounced a pitch down the line near the third-base bag, but it went off Beltre's glove and into foul territory as Ford was credited with a single. Ford took off on a 1-0 pitch to Cuddyer, who broke for second but stopped halfway after Ojeda threw to second, but the throw was wide, and Betancourt beat Ford to the bag at second. Cuddyer bounced out to third. Abernathy drove the second pitch into rightcenter for a single, scoring Ford.
»» TWINS 5, MARINERS 3
Stewart drilled the second pitch off of Beltre's glove at third and into leftfield for a single, moving Abernathy to second. Punto got ahead 2-0 and later took a full-count pitch over the inside corner.
Franklin's line: 6 innings, 5 runs, 11 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 94 pitches (65 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C-
JC Romero came in for Mays. Ichiro fouled the second pitch off the outside of his left knee. After hobbling around a bit, he stayed to finish the at-bat. Ichiro chopped a 3-1 pitch to short. Bloomquist flew out to rightfield on the second pitch. Ibañez sliced a flyout short of the track in leftfield.
Romero's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (5 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B+
George Sherrill came in for Franklin. Mauer whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball. Morneau whiffed on an 0-2 pitch over the outside corner. LeCroy got ahead 2-0 and wound up walking on a full-count dirtball, and Jason Bartlett ran for him. Jones chopped the second pitch to Sexson at the bag at first.
Sherrill's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 17 pitches (11 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: C
Boo. Sexson popped the second pitch very high to the rightfield corner. Beltre reached for an outside 0-2 pitch and chopped it just over Morneau at first and down the line for a single. Reed flew out to the track in leftfield on the 2-0 pitch. Morse worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing at a slider low and away.
Rincon's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 15 pitches (10 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: D+
JJ Putz came in for Sherrill. Ford flew out to left on a full count. Cuddyer drilled the first pitch over Ibañez' head and off the leftfield wall for a double. Rodriguez pulled a full-count pitch down the first-base line where Sexson stopped the ball behind the bag, but had no play as Cuddyer went to third. Stewart smacked the second pitch to centerfield for a single, scoring Cuddyer and moving Rodriguez to third.
»» TWINS 6, MARINERS 3
Punto drilled the second pitch up the middle for a single, scoring Cuddyer and moving Stewart to second.
»» TWINS 7, MARINERS 3
Matt Thornton came in for Putz. Mauer took a 2-2 breaking ball over the plate. Morneau was ahead 2-0 and later tapped the 2-2 pitch back to the mound.
Putz' line: 1/3 inning, 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 21 pitches (14 strikes)
Thornton's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C
Jesse Crain came in for Rincon. Dave Hansen, hitting for Betancourt, chopped the second pitch to Morneau behind the bag at first, and he stepped on it for the out. Scott Spiezio, hitting for Ojeda, nubbed the first pitch into rightcenter for a single (really). Ichiro grounded the second pitch up the middle to Rodriguez, who started a nifty 4-6-3 double play. Ballgame.
Crain's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 5 pitches (4 strikes)
---
Gameball: George Sherrill.
He gave up a two-out walk in the seventh in relief for Franklin, but I didn't figure it was enough to pan him for the gameball. He'd been having it pretty rough lately. Sherrill can struggle through growing pains trying to better adjust to the Major Leagues, but every time that happens, I just try to remind myself of one thing, and that's the fact that Sherrill isn't Ron Villone. Then I sleep a lot easier at night. If Georger Sherrill was with this team the entire year, I can't suppose they could have been much worse. They might have been better. Sherrill isn't "effectively wild." I guess I'm just glad that Villone is gone, and that he took all his overratedness with him. Effectively wild, versatile, gamer, all that crap. I tended to forget all of the good things about Ron Villone after he'd nail a guy and then allow a double to the next hitter. Don't forget when Hargrove would bring him out to face one lefty, and Villone would either walk him or nail him. Has anyone missed the beanballs over the past three weeks? I thought so.
Goat: JJ Putz.
Nothing like this outing to remind us that he definitely hasn't turned the corner yet. Luis Rodriguez' infield single was pretty unlucky, but four pitches later, the Mariners' deficit had gone from two runs to four. When you get pulled so that Matt Thornton can put out the fire, you know it's bad. Of course, the fact that two meat-of-the-order lefties were coming up might have had something to do with it as well. I guess what's different from earlier this year is that Putz didn't implode via the home run, so he's changed it up a bit since. Let's assume that Eddie Guardado is gone next year, which I think is a more-than-fair assumption. Who's your closer? We're a long way from deciding this, but who would you pick? Putz? Rafael Soriano? Ryan Franklin? Weirder things have happened. Yes, we've got a month and a half left in the 2005 season and I'm talking about the battle for the closer spot in the Mariner bullpen for 2006. Yes, it's been that kind of season. Of course, at this time last season, we were just aghast at how bad the team was.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 87-33 .725 -- W4
2002 73-47 .608 14 L1
2003 73-47 .608 14 W2
2000 69-51 .575 18 L4
2005 52-68 .433 35 L1
2004 45-75 .375 42 L2
[As the post was prefaced, this bottom part was typed up just after midnight, early Saturday morning]
After the Mariners loaded the bases in the first with one out and didn't score, Ryan Franklin served up the smash to Matt LeCroy. As was reported in the Seattle dailies, Franklin came back to the dugout between innings and "let off some steam," according to pitching coach Bryan Price. Franklin let off said steam behind the dugout, then came back out, and Price told him to calm down, etc. Apparently where Beltre came in was when Franklin needed to be separated from Price. Basically, it wasn't how it looked on television, and I'm guessing that the 7-second clip was taken out of context with the Price-related stuff, and therefore it looked like Beltre was going at Franklin for whatever reason, which was debunked afterward in the press. Since the Mariners didn't win, this part proved to be one of the more interesting things about the game. It's not every day the Mariners get skimrishes in the dugout. THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED WITH A PAT GILLICK TEAM! Chemistry is important, but it's not that important.
Lost in the dugout happenings that the fact that Franklin gave up early runs and dug a hole was the fact that Mariners were within one run of the Twins from the fourth to the sixth, and were down 5-3 in the seventh and eighth when they came to bat. They were within reach. The problem? After Adrian Beltre's leadoff homer in the third that tied the game at 3-3, the Mariners put only one runner on second base, and that was Willie Bloomquist reaching on an error with two out in the fourth. The only real scoring chance came when Richie Sexson led off the fifth with a single, but he was erased on a Beltre double-play ball.
Multi-hit games for Mariner hitters went to Willie Bloomquist, Richie Sexson, and Adrian Beltre. Bloomquist was 2-for-4, singling behind Ichiro with nobody out in the first, smoking the ball right to Morneau in the second, and apparently in the fourth they're counting that he got aboard on a hit, and that he advanced to second on the error, rather than just saying he got to first via the error. Sexson reached on a lucky play in the first and led off the fifth with a single. Beltre homered to tie the game in the third and singled with one out in the eighth.
It didn't seem like Franklin got rocked in the game. He gave up the three early and settled down a bit, then got touched up for a couple runs here and there later on in the game. It doesn't seem that bad. Then you look at his line, and sure enough, it's five runs and eleven hits. One walk is the best thing about his line. The scary thing is that the five runs actually lowered his ERA. The other scary thing is that eleven hits in six innings is a whole lot of hits. Hitters can hit Ryan Franklin, not that we don't already know this. Mike Hargrove and company could have easily refused comment on the Beltre/Franklin video clip and let the original speculation stand, and we probably wouldn't have known the difference considering Franklin's plight this year. Yes, it's a story of steroids, dugout tussles, and steroids...that sounds like a book deal to me. What if Franklin's a better writer than he is a pitcher? My mind's running wild.
Can the Mariners preserve their chances for a series win in the four-game set?
Meche. Silva. Tomorrow.
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MARINERS VS TWINS 8/18/05
PETER BOULWARE TO RETURN TO RAVENS
Seahawks fans, you can scratch Peter Boulware off of your wishlist.
According to Yahoo, Boulware is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens, who had released him in May. He is the older brother of Seahawks second-year safety Michael Boulware.
The Seahawks were among a handful of teams interested in the linebacker. But there were still questions about Boulware's health. He missed the entire 2004 season because of knee and toe injuries. So it wasn't in the cards for the Seahawks to take a gamble on Boulware.
Move along, nothing to see here, Seahawks fans. The Peter Boulware Dramafest is over.
According to Yahoo, Boulware is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens, who had released him in May. He is the older brother of Seahawks second-year safety Michael Boulware.
The Seahawks were among a handful of teams interested in the linebacker. But there were still questions about Boulware's health. He missed the entire 2004 season because of knee and toe injuries. So it wasn't in the cards for the Seahawks to take a gamble on Boulware.
Move along, nothing to see here, Seahawks fans. The Peter Boulware Dramafest is over.
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GAME 119: MARINERS 11, ROYALS 5
Mariners 11, Royals 5
In 25 words or less: This one was out of doubt pretty quickly, and not a moment too soon. Sweeping is a nice remedy to getting swept.
This one featured DJ Carrasco going up against Jamie Moyer. When the RSTN showed Carrasco's pitching grips, as they do for every one of their starting pitchers on the broadcasts, it reminded me of one of ESPN's gags. They were showing highlights for a Kansas City game, and it turns out Jose Lima was starting that day. The anchor would say, "what are you going to get (hitter's name) out with?" Then they'd show Lima: "this is my curveball." Then they'd show Lima throwing that pitch and having it get drilled for a double or a homer or something. Hilarious. Not Charley-Steiner-laughing-at-Carl-Lewis-singing-the-National-Anthem funny, but funny nonetheless.
TOP 1ST
Grade: A
Nice. Emil Brown popped out to shallow centerfield. David DeJesus fell behind 0-2 before pounding a 2-2 pitch foul down the rightfield line, then he took the next pitch over the outside corner. Mike Sweeney whiffed on a 2-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: A-
Early explosion. Ichiro flew out to Chip Ambres on the track in leftfield, who had to reach back to make the catch. Willie Bloomquist blooped a single along the rightfield line, and Brown had a long way to run to get to it. Raul Ibañez walked on four pitches, moving Bloomquist to second. The runners moved forward on a 2-2 pitch to Richie Sexson buried way outside. Sexson ended up working a 1-2 count for a walk (took a 1-2 pitch barely inside, and the full count pitch wasn't off by much either), loading the bases. Adrian Beltre walloped the second pitch into the mass of inebriation beyond the leftcenter wall.
»» MARINERS 4, ROYALS 0
Jeremy Reed drove the second pitch into the leftcenter gap for a double, bringing pitching coach Guy Hansen to the mound. Mike Morse blew a checkswing on a 1-2 pitch. Reed was gunned down at third on the first pitch to Yuniesky Betancourt.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Easy. Matt Stairs whiffed on a full-count pitch over the outside corner. Chip Ambres got ahead 2-0 and later whiffed on a 2-2 pitch down and in. Mark Teahen grounded to Bloomquist on the outfield grass in the hole on the right side.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B
Adding machine. Betancourt scooped an 0-2 pitch past the shortstop and into centerfield for a single. Yorvit Torrealba stuck a single into centerfield, moving Betancourt to second. Ichiro grounded hard to first, where Stairs went to second for the force (no double play because of Ichiro). Betancourt moved to third on the play. Bloomquist popped out to centerfield, and Betancourt tagged easily and scored.
»» MARINERS 5, ROYALS 0
Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and later grounded to Stairs, who stepped on the bag. Bloomquist drew six pickoff throws during the Ibañez at-bat.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A
Cruising for Moyer. Angel Berroa took a 1-2 pitch barely off the inside corner before whiffing on a full-count pitch over the inner half. Paul Phillips bounced the second pitch to short. Donnie Murphy popped high to centerfield.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Quick. Sexson bounced out to third on the second pitch. Beltre popped a 2-2 pitch high to rightfield. Reed popped the first pitch near the leftfield line.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B+
Blip. Brown lined the first pitch right to Ichiro in rightfield. DeJesus dropped a single into centerfield, snapping Moyer's game-opening streak of ten straight retired Royals. Sweeney grounded the second pitch to short to start the 6-4-3 double play.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
Add on! Morse drove a 1-2 single into leftfield. Betancourt poked the first pitch into centerfield for a single, moving Morse to second. Torrealba worked an 0-2 count full before blooping a single into rightfield, scoring Morse and moving Betancourt to third.
»» MARINERS 6, ROYALS 0
Shawn Camp came in for Carrasco. Ichiro grounded the second pitch to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice, but Betancourt scored.
»» MARINERS 7, ROYALS 0
Ichiro was picked off by Camp with the count 1-1 on Bloomquist, who got ahead 3-1 and eventually grounded out to short.
Carrasco's line: 3 innings, 7 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 62 pitches (37 strikes)
TOP 5TH
Grade: B
Some ruckus. Stairs took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner. Ambres fell behind 0-2 before singling into leftfield. Teahen popped a 2-2 pitch to Ichiro just short of the track in rightfield. Berroa fell behind 0-2 and eventually driving a single into leftfield, moving Ambres to second. Phillips bounced the first pitch to short.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
Yes, you may have another. Ibañez chopped the first pitch to second, where Murphy bobbled it, then had to spin around and throw, but it was in time. Sexson popped the 1-1 pitch four rows into the rightfield seats. Pretty quick homer, really.
»» MARINERS 8, ROYALS 0
Beltre popped out to Brown near the rightfield line. Reed got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 inside pitch. With the count 0-1 on Morse, the fire alarm went off for a few seconds at the Safe again before it was shut off. Morse whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball outside.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
Damage. Murphy popped to Torrealba along the first base line in foul territory. Brown fell behind 0-2 and ended up flying out to centerfield. DeJesus poked the second pitch into the gap in leftcenter for a double. Sweeney blooped a single into shallow rightfield, scoring DeJesus.
»» MARINERS 8, ROYALS 1
Stairs drilled a single through the left side to move Sweeney to second. Ambres took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B
They weren't done yet. Torrealba drilled a single into leftfield.
Ambiorix Burgos came in for Camp. Ichiro drove a 2-2 pitch into the leftcenter gap for a double, scoring both Betancourt and Torrealba.
»» MARINERS 10, ROYALS 1
Ichiro scurried to third on an 0-1 dirtball to Bloomquist that got away from the catcher. Bloomquist whiffed at a 1-2 dirtball (2-3 putout). Ibañez whiffed on a 1-2 offspeed pitch over the outer half. Sexson was nailed on the left arm with the first pitch. Beltre was ahead 3-0 and later popped a full-count pitch to rightfield.
Camp's line: 2 innings, 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 29 pitches (17 strikes)
Burgos' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 24 pitches (16 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: A
Jamal Strong came in for Ichiro in rightfield. Teahen fell behind 0-2 and rolled a 1-2 pitch to second. Berroa fell behind 0-2 and lined the 2-2 pitch toward the right side, where Bloomquist leapt up to spear it for the out. Phillips flew out to centerfield on the second pitch.
Moyer's line: 7 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts, 104 pitches (68 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
Jimmy Gobble came in for Burgos (Denny Hocking came in for Berroa, and Joe McEwing came in for Stairs). Reed reached on a 1-2 pitch and dumped it into centerfield for a single. Morse grounded the first pitch hard to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Betancourt grounded to the hole on the right side for the unusual 4-1 putout.
Gobble's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (6 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: B+
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Moyer (Dave Hansen came in for Sexson, Scott Spiezio came in for Beltre). Murphy got ahead 3-0 and ended up grounding to first, where Hansen ran over to the bag. Brown flew out to fairly deep centerfield on the first pitch. DeJesus grounded the 2-2 pitch to Bloomquist's backhand side up the middle (nice play).
Hasegawa's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B-
Mike MacDougal came in for Gobble. Torrealba walked on a 3-1 pitch. Strong bounced the first pitch to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice. Bloomquist got the hitters' counts before taking a full-count pitch barely high for a walk. Ibañez had a 1-1 pitch get away, allowing Strong and Bloomquist to go to third and second. Ibañez later chopped a 3-1 pitch high to first, where the ball was fielded, but MacDougal failed to run over to cover. The bases were loaded since Strong held at third. Hansen tapped the 3-1 pitch back to the mound, where MacDougal shotputted the ball over Phillips' head, going to the backstop and scoring Strong easily, and leaving the bases still loaded.
»» MARINERS 11, ROYALS 1
Spiezio grounded the first pitch to second for a 4-6-3 double play.
MacDougal's line: 1 inning, 1 run (unearned), 1 hit, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 23 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: D+
Matt Thornton came in for Hasegawa (Morse moved to leftfield). Sweeney got ahead 3-1 and later walked on a full-count pitch up and away. McEwing got the hitters' counts and walked on a low 3-1 pitch, moving Sweeney to second, bringing pitching coach Bryan Price to the mound. Ambres grounded to third for a 5-4-3 double play, a meaningful contribution from Spiezio. Teahen worked a 1-2 count for a nine-pitch walk, checking his swing on the final pitch. Hocking got ahead 3-0 and took the 3-1 pitch low and inside, loading the bases. Phillips clobbered a 1-1 pitch about five rows above the manual scoreboard in leftfield for his first Major League homer. First slam, too.
»» MARINERS 11, ROYALS 5
Murphy whiffed on a full-count belt-high fastball. Ballgame.
Thornton's line: 1 inning, 4 runs, 1 hit, 4 walks, 1 strikeout, 39 pitches (17 strikes)
---
Gameball: Yorvit Torrealba.
After a second straight game of this kind of stuff, there was no way I could turn down Torrealba for a gameball this time. He singled the first three times he came up to the plate, and drew a walk in his final at-bat. Having the catcher get on base four times in a ballgame isn't something I can remember happening for this team in a freakin' long time. Seriously, I can't even warp my mind into thinking there was actually a scenario in which that happened this year. It might have happened, it might not have, but that might take a while for me to look up whether that's happened or not, so I'll leave it at that. In a year where the Mariners have gone through a billion catchers, Yorvit has proven over the last few games that he indeed can get some quality at-bats and make some contact with the ball. Quite simply, it's pretty cool to have someone actually on base when Ichiro gets to the plate in any inning that isn't the first. I was pretty surprised that Torrealba caught this game since it was a day game after he caught the night before, and he'd caught three straight games before this one.
Goat: Matt Thornton.
I know it was only supposed to be mop-up duty, and he was protecting an 11-1 lead, but maaaaaan. That was beyond sloppy. That was an all-out train wreck, but I'm glad it all ended somewhere. Back when I was thirteen, I beaned two guys in an inning and was warned after the second beanball. This wasn't on-purpose stuff, I was just wild. However, I don't think I ever walked four batters in an inning. Three, probably, but not four. The only good thing about Paul Phillips hitting the grand slam was that it cleared the bases so Thornton didn't have to deal with runners on and stuff. The good thing about having a ten-run lead going into the ninth is that you can give up a grand slam and still lead by six. Now if Thornton would have loaded the bases again and another Royal hit a grand slam, that would have been extremely dire. His ERA would have shot through the roof as well, but blowing a ten-run lead with two out in the ninth just wouldn't have been good. It would have been the undisputed choke job of the year.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 86-33 .723 -- W3
2002 73-46 .613 13 W1
2003 72-47 .605 14 W1
2000 69-50 .580 17 L3
2005 52-67 .437 34 W3
2004 45-74 .378 41 L1
R-O-Y-A-L-S spells relief. A sweep of the Royals is a good way to push away that whole four-game skid that immediately preceded it. Needless to say, this is the first sweep the Mariners have had since they swept four from the Angels on the road right before the All-Star break, and that was also the last time the Mariners won three straight. In 33 games since the All-Star break, the Mariners have had three winning streaks; they've won three straight once (current) and two straight twice. Even with this sweep, the Mariners are 13-19 since the break. The weird thing is (here comes wishful thinking), if the Mariners got on a roll and made that a 19-19 mark since the break, they'd be 59-67 and only eight games under .500. Of course, if this team got back to .500 at some point this year, I'd probably soil myself. If they finished .500 or better, the 2006 Mariners would probably be the most anticipated team of my lifetime. Other than the 2002 team, I guess.
The Mariners have once again tied their season-high mark of being seven wins better than the pace of the 2004 Mariners. If they win in the next two games, they'll set a new high. Last year's Mariners at this point in the schedule were busy losing seven of eight ballgames before reeling off a five-game win streak. Even with that streak, however, the 2004 Mariners only had 51 wins at the end of the streak. They lost ten of twelve afterward. We knew that team was bad when we were watching it, but I don't think we'll fully realize how bad it was until years later. The 2005 Mariners got their 52nd win in this game on August 17th. The 2004 Mariners got their 52nd win on...September 9th, the 139th game of the season. The Mariners are 20 games ahead in that regard, I guess.
Jamie Moyer just keeps chugging along at home. This win makes him the second ten-game winner on the staff this year, and it also makes him 7-0 at the Safe this season. I guess the more surprising thing is that he isn't the first ten-game winner on the staff, and that Gil Meche somehow was the first to get there. Moyer's ERA of 4.20 also is the lowest out of anyone in the starting rotation not named Felix (0.86). Since I know you want the other horrible ERAs in the rotation, here they be: Ryan Franklin at 4.99, Gil Meche at 5.22, and Joel Piñeiro at 5.56 even after three good starts. Like I said, I can't believe Meche is a ten-game winner with a 5.22 ERA.
Adrian Beltre's blast put this one out of reach early for the Royals, and the great thing was that the offense never let up. They had the four runs in the first, sure, but sometimes they've had the habit of just going stagnant after scoring a few runs. After scoring in the first, the Mariners scored in five of the next seven innings in which they sent hitters to the plate. That adds up to a run here, a run there, and a huge lead if a guy like Moyer is holding the fort on the other side. The Mariner bats just kept adding on, and it was great to see the Mariners get ahead and just keep piling on, even against a brutal team such as this. Sometimes you need a series like this just to remind yourself that yes, you are indeed capable of doing things like this. Now you just have to raise the level of the opposition, and I know that's way easier said than done, but hey, you've got to start somewhere.
Multi-hit games in this one belonged to Jeremy Reed, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Torrealba (gameball). Notice something about those three? Those are your sixth, eighth, and ninth hitters in this game. Mike Morse went 1-for-4 in the seventh slot. Put the numbers of the sixth through ninth hitters together, and you get a stellar (not sarcastic this time, this is actually good) 9-for-14 night out of the bottom of the order. In something somewhat related, Ichiro drove in three runs, though he only had one hit. Beltre of course had the grand slam, and Sexson hit his 30th homer of the year for his only hit, a solo shot.
What's next? Four in Minnesota. The road games don't tend as nicely to my schedule, especially when I have to wait a couple hours for MLB.tv to archive the game so that I can watch the first five innings or however so many I missed. Let's just hope for a series win. Felix goes once, right? Hope that's another one.
Franklin. Mays. Tonight.
In 25 words or less: This one was out of doubt pretty quickly, and not a moment too soon. Sweeping is a nice remedy to getting swept.
This one featured DJ Carrasco going up against Jamie Moyer. When the RSTN showed Carrasco's pitching grips, as they do for every one of their starting pitchers on the broadcasts, it reminded me of one of ESPN's gags. They were showing highlights for a Kansas City game, and it turns out Jose Lima was starting that day. The anchor would say, "what are you going to get (hitter's name) out with?" Then they'd show Lima: "this is my curveball." Then they'd show Lima throwing that pitch and having it get drilled for a double or a homer or something. Hilarious. Not Charley-Steiner-laughing-at-Carl-Lewis-singing-the-National-Anthem funny, but funny nonetheless.
TOP 1ST
Grade: A
Nice. Emil Brown popped out to shallow centerfield. David DeJesus fell behind 0-2 before pounding a 2-2 pitch foul down the rightfield line, then he took the next pitch over the outside corner. Mike Sweeney whiffed on a 2-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: A-
Early explosion. Ichiro flew out to Chip Ambres on the track in leftfield, who had to reach back to make the catch. Willie Bloomquist blooped a single along the rightfield line, and Brown had a long way to run to get to it. Raul Ibañez walked on four pitches, moving Bloomquist to second. The runners moved forward on a 2-2 pitch to Richie Sexson buried way outside. Sexson ended up working a 1-2 count for a walk (took a 1-2 pitch barely inside, and the full count pitch wasn't off by much either), loading the bases. Adrian Beltre walloped the second pitch into the mass of inebriation beyond the leftcenter wall.
»» MARINERS 4, ROYALS 0
Jeremy Reed drove the second pitch into the leftcenter gap for a double, bringing pitching coach Guy Hansen to the mound. Mike Morse blew a checkswing on a 1-2 pitch. Reed was gunned down at third on the first pitch to Yuniesky Betancourt.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Easy. Matt Stairs whiffed on a full-count pitch over the outside corner. Chip Ambres got ahead 2-0 and later whiffed on a 2-2 pitch down and in. Mark Teahen grounded to Bloomquist on the outfield grass in the hole on the right side.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B
Adding machine. Betancourt scooped an 0-2 pitch past the shortstop and into centerfield for a single. Yorvit Torrealba stuck a single into centerfield, moving Betancourt to second. Ichiro grounded hard to first, where Stairs went to second for the force (no double play because of Ichiro). Betancourt moved to third on the play. Bloomquist popped out to centerfield, and Betancourt tagged easily and scored.
»» MARINERS 5, ROYALS 0
Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and later grounded to Stairs, who stepped on the bag. Bloomquist drew six pickoff throws during the Ibañez at-bat.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A
Cruising for Moyer. Angel Berroa took a 1-2 pitch barely off the inside corner before whiffing on a full-count pitch over the inner half. Paul Phillips bounced the second pitch to short. Donnie Murphy popped high to centerfield.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Quick. Sexson bounced out to third on the second pitch. Beltre popped a 2-2 pitch high to rightfield. Reed popped the first pitch near the leftfield line.
TOP 4TH
Grade: B+
Blip. Brown lined the first pitch right to Ichiro in rightfield. DeJesus dropped a single into centerfield, snapping Moyer's game-opening streak of ten straight retired Royals. Sweeney grounded the second pitch to short to start the 6-4-3 double play.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: B-
Add on! Morse drove a 1-2 single into leftfield. Betancourt poked the first pitch into centerfield for a single, moving Morse to second. Torrealba worked an 0-2 count full before blooping a single into rightfield, scoring Morse and moving Betancourt to third.
»» MARINERS 6, ROYALS 0
Shawn Camp came in for Carrasco. Ichiro grounded the second pitch to second for a 4-6 fielder's choice, but Betancourt scored.
»» MARINERS 7, ROYALS 0
Ichiro was picked off by Camp with the count 1-1 on Bloomquist, who got ahead 3-1 and eventually grounded out to short.
Carrasco's line: 3 innings, 7 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 62 pitches (37 strikes)
TOP 5TH
Grade: B
Some ruckus. Stairs took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner. Ambres fell behind 0-2 before singling into leftfield. Teahen popped a 2-2 pitch to Ichiro just short of the track in rightfield. Berroa fell behind 0-2 and eventually driving a single into leftfield, moving Ambres to second. Phillips bounced the first pitch to short.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B
Yes, you may have another. Ibañez chopped the first pitch to second, where Murphy bobbled it, then had to spin around and throw, but it was in time. Sexson popped the 1-1 pitch four rows into the rightfield seats. Pretty quick homer, really.
»» MARINERS 8, ROYALS 0
Beltre popped out to Brown near the rightfield line. Reed got the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 inside pitch. With the count 0-1 on Morse, the fire alarm went off for a few seconds at the Safe again before it was shut off. Morse whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball outside.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
Damage. Murphy popped to Torrealba along the first base line in foul territory. Brown fell behind 0-2 and ended up flying out to centerfield. DeJesus poked the second pitch into the gap in leftcenter for a double. Sweeney blooped a single into shallow rightfield, scoring DeJesus.
»» MARINERS 8, ROYALS 1
Stairs drilled a single through the left side to move Sweeney to second. Ambres took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B
They weren't done yet. Torrealba drilled a single into leftfield.
Ambiorix Burgos came in for Camp. Ichiro drove a 2-2 pitch into the leftcenter gap for a double, scoring both Betancourt and Torrealba.
»» MARINERS 10, ROYALS 1
Ichiro scurried to third on an 0-1 dirtball to Bloomquist that got away from the catcher. Bloomquist whiffed at a 1-2 dirtball (2-3 putout). Ibañez whiffed on a 1-2 offspeed pitch over the outer half. Sexson was nailed on the left arm with the first pitch. Beltre was ahead 3-0 and later popped a full-count pitch to rightfield.
Camp's line: 2 innings, 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 29 pitches (17 strikes)
Burgos' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 24 pitches (16 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: A
Jamal Strong came in for Ichiro in rightfield. Teahen fell behind 0-2 and rolled a 1-2 pitch to second. Berroa fell behind 0-2 and lined the 2-2 pitch toward the right side, where Bloomquist leapt up to spear it for the out. Phillips flew out to centerfield on the second pitch.
Moyer's line: 7 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts, 104 pitches (68 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C
Jimmy Gobble came in for Burgos (Denny Hocking came in for Berroa, and Joe McEwing came in for Stairs). Reed reached on a 1-2 pitch and dumped it into centerfield for a single. Morse grounded the first pitch hard to short for a 6-4-3 double play. Betancourt grounded to the hole on the right side for the unusual 4-1 putout.
Gobble's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (6 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: B+
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came in for Moyer (Dave Hansen came in for Sexson, Scott Spiezio came in for Beltre). Murphy got ahead 3-0 and ended up grounding to first, where Hansen ran over to the bag. Brown flew out to fairly deep centerfield on the first pitch. DeJesus grounded the 2-2 pitch to Bloomquist's backhand side up the middle (nice play).
Hasegawa's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B-
Mike MacDougal came in for Gobble. Torrealba walked on a 3-1 pitch. Strong bounced the first pitch to short for a 6-4 fielder's choice. Bloomquist got the hitters' counts before taking a full-count pitch barely high for a walk. Ibañez had a 1-1 pitch get away, allowing Strong and Bloomquist to go to third and second. Ibañez later chopped a 3-1 pitch high to first, where the ball was fielded, but MacDougal failed to run over to cover. The bases were loaded since Strong held at third. Hansen tapped the 3-1 pitch back to the mound, where MacDougal shotputted the ball over Phillips' head, going to the backstop and scoring Strong easily, and leaving the bases still loaded.
»» MARINERS 11, ROYALS 1
Spiezio grounded the first pitch to second for a 4-6-3 double play.
MacDougal's line: 1 inning, 1 run (unearned), 1 hit, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 23 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: D+
Matt Thornton came in for Hasegawa (Morse moved to leftfield). Sweeney got ahead 3-1 and later walked on a full-count pitch up and away. McEwing got the hitters' counts and walked on a low 3-1 pitch, moving Sweeney to second, bringing pitching coach Bryan Price to the mound. Ambres grounded to third for a 5-4-3 double play, a meaningful contribution from Spiezio. Teahen worked a 1-2 count for a nine-pitch walk, checking his swing on the final pitch. Hocking got ahead 3-0 and took the 3-1 pitch low and inside, loading the bases. Phillips clobbered a 1-1 pitch about five rows above the manual scoreboard in leftfield for his first Major League homer. First slam, too.
»» MARINERS 11, ROYALS 5
Murphy whiffed on a full-count belt-high fastball. Ballgame.
Thornton's line: 1 inning, 4 runs, 1 hit, 4 walks, 1 strikeout, 39 pitches (17 strikes)
---
Gameball: Yorvit Torrealba.
After a second straight game of this kind of stuff, there was no way I could turn down Torrealba for a gameball this time. He singled the first three times he came up to the plate, and drew a walk in his final at-bat. Having the catcher get on base four times in a ballgame isn't something I can remember happening for this team in a freakin' long time. Seriously, I can't even warp my mind into thinking there was actually a scenario in which that happened this year. It might have happened, it might not have, but that might take a while for me to look up whether that's happened or not, so I'll leave it at that. In a year where the Mariners have gone through a billion catchers, Yorvit has proven over the last few games that he indeed can get some quality at-bats and make some contact with the ball. Quite simply, it's pretty cool to have someone actually on base when Ichiro gets to the plate in any inning that isn't the first. I was pretty surprised that Torrealba caught this game since it was a day game after he caught the night before, and he'd caught three straight games before this one.
Goat: Matt Thornton.
I know it was only supposed to be mop-up duty, and he was protecting an 11-1 lead, but maaaaaan. That was beyond sloppy. That was an all-out train wreck, but I'm glad it all ended somewhere. Back when I was thirteen, I beaned two guys in an inning and was warned after the second beanball. This wasn't on-purpose stuff, I was just wild. However, I don't think I ever walked four batters in an inning. Three, probably, but not four. The only good thing about Paul Phillips hitting the grand slam was that it cleared the bases so Thornton didn't have to deal with runners on and stuff. The good thing about having a ten-run lead going into the ninth is that you can give up a grand slam and still lead by six. Now if Thornton would have loaded the bases again and another Royal hit a grand slam, that would have been extremely dire. His ERA would have shot through the roof as well, but blowing a ten-run lead with two out in the ninth just wouldn't have been good. It would have been the undisputed choke job of the year.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 86-33 .723 -- W3
2002 73-46 .613 13 W1
2003 72-47 .605 14 W1
2000 69-50 .580 17 L3
2005 52-67 .437 34 W3
2004 45-74 .378 41 L1
R-O-Y-A-L-S spells relief. A sweep of the Royals is a good way to push away that whole four-game skid that immediately preceded it. Needless to say, this is the first sweep the Mariners have had since they swept four from the Angels on the road right before the All-Star break, and that was also the last time the Mariners won three straight. In 33 games since the All-Star break, the Mariners have had three winning streaks; they've won three straight once (current) and two straight twice. Even with this sweep, the Mariners are 13-19 since the break. The weird thing is (here comes wishful thinking), if the Mariners got on a roll and made that a 19-19 mark since the break, they'd be 59-67 and only eight games under .500. Of course, if this team got back to .500 at some point this year, I'd probably soil myself. If they finished .500 or better, the 2006 Mariners would probably be the most anticipated team of my lifetime. Other than the 2002 team, I guess.
The Mariners have once again tied their season-high mark of being seven wins better than the pace of the 2004 Mariners. If they win in the next two games, they'll set a new high. Last year's Mariners at this point in the schedule were busy losing seven of eight ballgames before reeling off a five-game win streak. Even with that streak, however, the 2004 Mariners only had 51 wins at the end of the streak. They lost ten of twelve afterward. We knew that team was bad when we were watching it, but I don't think we'll fully realize how bad it was until years later. The 2005 Mariners got their 52nd win in this game on August 17th. The 2004 Mariners got their 52nd win on...September 9th, the 139th game of the season. The Mariners are 20 games ahead in that regard, I guess.
Jamie Moyer just keeps chugging along at home. This win makes him the second ten-game winner on the staff this year, and it also makes him 7-0 at the Safe this season. I guess the more surprising thing is that he isn't the first ten-game winner on the staff, and that Gil Meche somehow was the first to get there. Moyer's ERA of 4.20 also is the lowest out of anyone in the starting rotation not named Felix (0.86). Since I know you want the other horrible ERAs in the rotation, here they be: Ryan Franklin at 4.99, Gil Meche at 5.22, and Joel Piñeiro at 5.56 even after three good starts. Like I said, I can't believe Meche is a ten-game winner with a 5.22 ERA.
Adrian Beltre's blast put this one out of reach early for the Royals, and the great thing was that the offense never let up. They had the four runs in the first, sure, but sometimes they've had the habit of just going stagnant after scoring a few runs. After scoring in the first, the Mariners scored in five of the next seven innings in which they sent hitters to the plate. That adds up to a run here, a run there, and a huge lead if a guy like Moyer is holding the fort on the other side. The Mariner bats just kept adding on, and it was great to see the Mariners get ahead and just keep piling on, even against a brutal team such as this. Sometimes you need a series like this just to remind yourself that yes, you are indeed capable of doing things like this. Now you just have to raise the level of the opposition, and I know that's way easier said than done, but hey, you've got to start somewhere.
Multi-hit games in this one belonged to Jeremy Reed, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Torrealba (gameball). Notice something about those three? Those are your sixth, eighth, and ninth hitters in this game. Mike Morse went 1-for-4 in the seventh slot. Put the numbers of the sixth through ninth hitters together, and you get a stellar (not sarcastic this time, this is actually good) 9-for-14 night out of the bottom of the order. In something somewhat related, Ichiro drove in three runs, though he only had one hit. Beltre of course had the grand slam, and Sexson hit his 30th homer of the year for his only hit, a solo shot.
What's next? Four in Minnesota. The road games don't tend as nicely to my schedule, especially when I have to wait a couple hours for MLB.tv to archive the game so that I can watch the first five innings or however so many I missed. Let's just hope for a series win. Felix goes once, right? Hope that's another one.
Franklin. Mays. Tonight.
/ Click for main page
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
NOW WHAT? SPORTS AND B'S TURNS 2!
(David's recap is here)
Two years ago today, we started Sports And Bremertonians.
Two years later, Sports And Bremertonians is still standing.
A lot has changed in two years, folks. When we rolled out this site, the Mariners were in a pennant race. Now, they're in a race to stay out of the cellar. That's how bad things have become in Marinerland. Oh, and David is in Hawaii. I'm still in Arkansas, even though I'm moving from Pine Bluff to Jonesboro on Saturday.
I've often said that we're not a baseball blog. I'd be an idiot, however, if I didn't realize that if it weren't for the Mariners, we wouldn't have the popularity that we do. Sure, we've talked about the Seahawks, the Sonics, and the Canucks a lot here. But let's face it, the Mariners are the biggest reason why people come to this place.
And what a place we have created, haven't we? Sports And Bremertonians isn't just a sports blog, as some of our readers have found out. Where else can I get away with talking about Murray Head on a sports blog? That's one of the reasons why this place is a special one.
Yes, this is only the internet. But David and I understand the fact that some of you take time out of your lives to read our material. If David's recaps and my various ramblings can make someone feel better about their life, hey, we've done something right here. I'd like to think so, anyway.
We've tried hard to make this place as fun as possible. David and I aren't experts on the Mariners, Seahawks, Sonics, Canucks, or any sports team. We're fans. Just like you. I'm proud of the fact that I've never tried to pass myself off as an expert here. I respect our readers way too much to do that.
I also respect our readers enough where I don't mind the off-topic comments. Hell, David and I go off-topic all the time. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. It's impossible to talk about the M's every waking minute. I would go insane if I did so. That's why it's important to have variety in your life, folks.
Our surge in popularity came during the months of November and December 2003, i.e. the offseason. My Miguel Tejada campaign (Miggy Hot Stove!) failed, which was a shame. But we gained a lot of attention during those months, as fellow Mariner blogs Mariner Musings and the goodship U.S.S. Mariner started to notice us. Going back to changes for a moment, the authors of Mariner Musings (Peter White and Jeff Shaw, who joined Musings in 2004) are now with the USSM. Peter and Jeff have always been good to us, so thanks for the support, fellas.
We've also had great support from SportSpot (formerly Top Forum), the Seattle P-I Mariners blog (Mike Thompson, you rock), Nice Guys Finish Third (Paul is the man), and Lookout Landing (formerly Leone For Third). The power of the blogosphere, folks.
Will we have a 3-year anniversary of Sports And Bremertonians? Who knows at this point?
Since we're Sports And Bremertonians, it's alright to go off-topic in the comments box. Hell, go ahead and use it as a game thread as well for today's ballgame.
Thanks, readers.
Two years ago today, we started Sports And Bremertonians.
Two years later, Sports And Bremertonians is still standing.
A lot has changed in two years, folks. When we rolled out this site, the Mariners were in a pennant race. Now, they're in a race to stay out of the cellar. That's how bad things have become in Marinerland. Oh, and David is in Hawaii. I'm still in Arkansas, even though I'm moving from Pine Bluff to Jonesboro on Saturday.
I've often said that we're not a baseball blog. I'd be an idiot, however, if I didn't realize that if it weren't for the Mariners, we wouldn't have the popularity that we do. Sure, we've talked about the Seahawks, the Sonics, and the Canucks a lot here. But let's face it, the Mariners are the biggest reason why people come to this place.
And what a place we have created, haven't we? Sports And Bremertonians isn't just a sports blog, as some of our readers have found out. Where else can I get away with talking about Murray Head on a sports blog? That's one of the reasons why this place is a special one.
Yes, this is only the internet. But David and I understand the fact that some of you take time out of your lives to read our material. If David's recaps and my various ramblings can make someone feel better about their life, hey, we've done something right here. I'd like to think so, anyway.
We've tried hard to make this place as fun as possible. David and I aren't experts on the Mariners, Seahawks, Sonics, Canucks, or any sports team. We're fans. Just like you. I'm proud of the fact that I've never tried to pass myself off as an expert here. I respect our readers way too much to do that.
I also respect our readers enough where I don't mind the off-topic comments. Hell, David and I go off-topic all the time. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. It's impossible to talk about the M's every waking minute. I would go insane if I did so. That's why it's important to have variety in your life, folks.
Our surge in popularity came during the months of November and December 2003, i.e. the offseason. My Miguel Tejada campaign (Miggy Hot Stove!) failed, which was a shame. But we gained a lot of attention during those months, as fellow Mariner blogs Mariner Musings and the goodship U.S.S. Mariner started to notice us. Going back to changes for a moment, the authors of Mariner Musings (Peter White and Jeff Shaw, who joined Musings in 2004) are now with the USSM. Peter and Jeff have always been good to us, so thanks for the support, fellas.
We've also had great support from SportSpot (formerly Top Forum), the Seattle P-I Mariners blog (Mike Thompson, you rock), Nice Guys Finish Third (Paul is the man), and Lookout Landing (formerly Leone For Third). The power of the blogosphere, folks.
Will we have a 3-year anniversary of Sports And Bremertonians? Who knows at this point?
Since we're Sports And Bremertonians, it's alright to go off-topic in the comments box. Hell, go ahead and use it as a game thread as well for today's ballgame.
Thanks, readers.
/ Click for main page
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
GAME 118: MARINERS 4, ROYALS 3
Mariners 4, Royals 3
In 25 words or less: Remember the Joel Piñeiro of old? One particular element of his game returned tonight, but it wasn't his velocity.
This one featured Zack Greinke going up against Joel Piñeiro. Would we know if we'd see the Piñeiro of the past two starts, or would we see the Piñeiro that was terrible for most of the season? Would the Mariners realize that they were facing the Royals like they did the night before? Could the Mariners win the series?
TOP 1ST
Grade: C-
Nice freakin' start. David DeJesus got ahead 2-0 and later walked on a high full-count pitch. Terrence Long took a first pitch that was pretty wild, and Piñeiro looked a bit flustered on his follow-through, possibly ticked about the holes in the front of the mound. Long got ahead 3-0 and ended up smacking a 3-1 single into the rightcenter gap, where Ichiro cut it off. DeJesus went to third on the play. Mike Sweeney popped to Yorvit Torrealba near the camera well on the third-base side. Matt Stairs grounded a ball to Adrian Beltre at third, who played the hop and had the ball go off the end of his glove and into shallow leftfield, scoring DeJesus and moving Long to third on what probably should have been a double-play ball.
»» ROYALS 1, MARINERS 0
Emil Brown flew out to Ichiro in deep rightfield on the first pitch, scoring Long.
»» ROYALS 2, MARINERS 0
Angel Berroa took a 1-2 pitch over the plate.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B+
They fought back. Ichiro laced the first pitch into centerfield for a single. Willie Bloomquist popped high to DeJesus running in to shallow centerfield. Ichiro easily stole second on the 2-1 pitch to Raul Ibañez, who ended up poking a full-count pitch to leftfield, scoring Ichiro, who drew a throw that was in time, but a couple feet in front of the plate.
»» ROYALS 2, MARINERS 1
Richie Sexson drilled a single into rightfield, moving Ibañez to second. Adrian Beltre got ahead 2-0 and ended up stinging a 2-2 pitch past the shortstop Berroa for a single, scoring Ibañez (wide throw by Long) and moving Sexson to second.
»» ROYALS 2, MARINERS 2
Jeremy Reed fell behind 0-2 and chopped out to the right side, a 3-1 putout, moving Sexson to third and Beltre to second. Mike Morse took a 3-1 pitch in the dirt, loading the bases. Yuniesky Betancourt fell behind 0-2 before grounding the 2-2 pitch to first for a 3-1 putout.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C+
Why? Mark Teahen whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball down and in. John Buck scooped a single into centerfield. Joe McEwing got ahead 3-0 and later drilled the 3-1 pitch down the leftfield line for a double, moving Buck to third and not to the plate since the ball was hit so hard. DeJesus fell behind 2-0, bringing pitching coach Bryan Price to the mound. DeJesus flew out to deep centerfield on the next pitch, easily scoring Buck and moving McEwing to third.
»» ROYALS 3, MARINERS 2
Long grounded the second pitch to first, where Sexson stepped on the bag.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
Zzzz. Yorvit Torrealba flew out to fairly deep centerfield. Ichiro was narrowly gunned down on a 1-2 grounder to short. Bloomquist fell behind 0-2, took a 2-2 pitch barely off the inside corner, then flew out foul near the rightfield corner on the full count.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A
Good inning. Sweeney grounded the first pitch to second. Stairs bounced the second pitch to short. Brown fell behind 0-2, took a 1-2 pitch barely off the plate outside, then whiffed on a 2-2 changeup.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B-
Something. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and eventually crushed a ball into the gap in rightcenter, and came out of it with a triple since the Kansas City outfielders didn't field it too cleanly. Sexson took a 1-2 pitch off the plate outside before taking a full-count breaking ball over the plate. Beltre took a 1-2 pitch up and in, and fell backwards, though unnecessarily. He flew out to rightcenter on a 2-2 pitch, scoring Ibañez, who came in standing up on a throw that wasn't very late.
»» ROYALS 3, MARINERS 3
Reed shoveled the first pitch into centerfield for a single. Morse popped the second pitch high to Berroa behind the mound.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A
Settling down? Berroa chopped the first pitch off the plate and high into the air, where Torrealba pounced on it and threw in time to first. Teahen popped the second pitch high to deep centerfield. Buck popped high to shallow leftfield.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Boo. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball low and away. Torrealba was badly jammed on the first pitch, having the bat splinter in his hand, grounding to the mound. Ichiro poked a ball with eyes up the middle for a single. Bloomquist foul-tipped a full-count breaking ball into the catcher's glove.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
Here's a slight jam. McEwing whiffed on a full-count fastball riding inside. DeJesus bounced the full-count pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first, and he ran it to first. Long took a full-count pitch low for a walk. Sweeney popped high to fairly deep centerfield.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C-
Eek. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and ended up poking a flyout near the leftfield corner. Sexson took a full-count fastball over the inner half. Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 pitch outside.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
A semi-jam again. Stairs got ahead 2-0 and smoked a pitch that got past Ichiro and went to the wall, but he stayed at second due to Ichiro's arm and due to the fact that he just came off a leg injury. Brown took Ichiro to the rightfield track for a flyout. Berroa grounded the second pitch to third, where Beltre threw high to second (Bloomquist's phantom tag a foot away from the bag wasn't hunky-dory), though the throw to first was in time. Teahen grounded a 1-2 pitch deep into the hole on the left side, and Betancourt tried to make the play, but it was too long a throw, and Sexson had to stop it at first as Stairs went to second. Buck popped the second pitch high to fairly deep leftcenter.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
Frustrating. Reed singled the first pitch into centerfield. Morse whiffed on a low 0-2 pitch. Betancourt flew out just short of the rightfield track on the second pitch. Reed stole on the first pitch to Torrealba, thanks in part to Buck having trouble transferring from glove to throwing hand. Torrealba ended up whiffing on a 1-2 pitch.
Greinke's line: 6 innings, 3 runs, 8 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, 105 pitches (67 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: A-
Nice for Joel. McEwing grounded out to third on a nice backhand shorthop play by Beltre. DeJesus got ahead 2-0 and eventually flew out high to leftfield. Long sliced the second pitch for a popout to leftfield.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C-
Jeremy Affeldt came in for Greinke. Ichiro got ahead 2-0 on lofty curveballs and eventually chopped the 2-2 pitch to short. Bloomquist popped the second pitch to centerfield. Ibañez bounced the 2-0 pitch to second.
TOP 8TH
Grade: A
Sheesh, Joel. Sweeney got under the second pitch, popping high to Ibañez on the track in front of the manual scoreboard in leftfield. Stairs flew out high to leftfield as the train whistles blew. Brown popped to Bloomquist on the outfield grass on the right side.
Piñeiro's line: 8 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 108 pitches (66 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B+
The Royals are a godsend. Sexson drove the 1-1 pitch to the track in centerfield, where DeJesus came down with it. Beltre waved hopelessly at a 1-2 ball in the dirt. Reed poked a low liner into leftfield for a single. Morse walked on four pitches. Betancourt (shaking his head after the first curveball) fell behind 0-2, and the runners took off on the next pitch, which wasn't caught cleanly by Buck. Reed scooted in to second, but Morse bailed and dove back to first. Betancourt ended up chopping to the left side, where Berroa ranged over and tried to get the out at second, but it was late. Reed scored, Morse was safe at second, and Betancourt reached.
»» MARINERS 4, ROYALS 3
Torrealba worked a 1-2 count full, then grounded to third, where the throw to second wasn't in time, but McEwing still nailed Torrealba at first in a weird 5-4-3 putout.
Affeldt's line: 2 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 39 pitches (22 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: A
Eddie Guardado came in to close the door, and Jamal Strong came in for Ibañez in leftfield. Berroa flew out to shallow rightfield on the first pitch. Teahen whiffed on a 1-2 offspeed pitch over the outer half. Buck flew out high to centerfield on an 0-2 pitch. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 8 pitches (7 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jeremy Reed.
He really needed a game like this at the plate to restore my faith in humanity. Okay, maybe the scope of it wasn't that big, but I needed to realize why I've been defending him all year, and tonight he came through. He also had two stolen bases, which hopefully doesn't get him or Mike Hargrove tempted to have him keep stealing since he has a terrible success rate doing it, but tonight I'll be focusing on the hits. He wasn't drilling the ball or anything, but he was putting some decent wood on the ball and managed to find the outfield. He went 3-for-4, and the one out he made was in the first on a ground ball to the right side that moved the two runners into scoring position, though with two out. Add Reed's usual solid defense in centerfield, and we have a very solid night for him. A banner night would involve a homer or something, maybe a couple of RBIs. By the way, Reed's last multi-hit game was a 2-for-4 day on July 31st against Cleveland, which of course means Reed hadn't had a multi-hit game in August. Waiting half the month to get one is better than going the entire month without one. Gotta start somewhere.
Goat: Willie Bloomquist.
At least Yorvit Torrealba has been cranking out some good at-bats lately, which includes his 0-for-4 night in this game. I'm not picking on Bloomquist here as I have in the past, but his line just pales in comparison to the rest of the Mariner cast, so he's got this here paragraph tonight. I guess the thing for me here is that Bloomquist never really got good wood on the ball in this game. He went 0-for-4. One of those outs was a strikeout, and the other three were flyouts, though all of them were fairly harmless. One of them was nearly a bloop single, but you can't really assume a bloop single, and it really wouldn't be a solid single if it landed anyway, etc. For me, Bloomquist has to hit line drives or hard ground balls. Why? He can't use his speed on a fly ball off his bat. At least if you hit a grounder, you're forcing the fielder to glove the ball cleanly and make a clean throw. He doesn't have Ichiro speed, sure, but surely he'd be able to beat out his share of throws on the infield. I guess it's a whole different counterpart of what I disliked about Mike Cameron at the plate (ball in play, i.e., no strikeout => use speed). In a somewhat related story, I used to get ticked off at Ichiro like this when he'd have a fly ball spell.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 85-33 .720 -- W2
2002 72-46 .610 13 L1
2003 71-47 .602 14 L1
2000 69-49 .585 16 L2
2005 51-67 .432 34 W2
2004 45-73 .381 40 W2
Relative to what he's done earlier in the year, tonight's start from Joel Piñeiro was certainly above average, maybe even great. In comparison to what we'd consider the Joel Piñeiro of recent years, is it something we've seen before? You remember old Joel, right? He'd do well as long as he got past the first inning relatively unscathed, then he'd settle down and hopefully not burn too many pitches in the first? I did check back in our archive just to make sure I wasn't confusing myself as to which Mariner pitcher had this first-inning habit, but it turns out it was indeed Joel. Tonight, he stumbled through the first inning (Beltre non-error aside) and got touched up in the third, and he fought out of a couple of jams along the way. He also had a stretch where he retired nine straight Royals and went twelve batters without yielding a hit, and ended the game by setting down seven straight. Of course, I'm liking the Joel of the past three starts much better than the one immediately before that. Remember, this was a guy who won his second game of the season on April 26th and didn't get his third win until July 7th, a stretch of 11 starts without a win. The sickening part is that he had a decent-enough ERA of 4.05 in the month of June and never got a win, but we know how this offense works. If you're curious, Joel's ERA by month: 5.85, 7.22, 4.05, 7.13, 2.86. He has two wins this month, and should have three (Bloomquist), which would have equaled his win total for the previous four months.
Multi-hit games in this one belonged to Ichiro, Raul Ibañez, and Reed (gameball). Ichiro went 2-for-4 with a steal. He led off the game with a single and got a base hit with two out in the fourth. Ibañez had Ichiro steal while he was at the plate in the first, and he drove him in with a single to cut the Royals' lead in half. He also tripled into the gap in the third, setting himself up to be driven in by an Adrian Beltre fly ball. But there's a bigger revelation in all of this. Both Ichiro and Ibañez have had three straight multi-hit games. Ichiro is 7-for-14 in his last three games, and Ibañez is 6-for-11. Ichiro has raised his batting average from .303 to .308 as a result (ten-game hitting streak), and Ibañez has gone from .289 to .295 in the span. Perhaps more importantly, Ibañez has helped along the 3-4-5 hitters, who went a combined 4-for-11 tonight. After Saturday's game, the 3-4-5 hitters in the Mariners' lineup had compiled a 24-for-120 month of August. They've gone 12-for-33 since. They are now 37-for-153, which is still a below-average clip of .242, but they were sitting at .200 after Saturday's game, so it's improvement.
Hooray for seeing Eddie Guardado work for the first time since last Wednesday (Bloomquist). As soon as Jeremy Reed crossed the plate in the eighth, Eddie got up in the bullpen, and there was a good feeling about this game. Needless to say, Eddie hadn't worked since Wednesday because the Angels busted out the brooms, and the Mariner bats were busy on Monday night, making a Guardado appearance unnecessary. It was a close one tonight, though, and we were able to see Eddie rack up number 29 in 31 chances. I wonder if I can tear my rotator cuff and experience similar success. Okay, I'm not going to try it, and neither should you. Appreciate your rotator cuffs, everyone. I'd try to explain a rotator cuff stretch that they showed us back in baseball camp, but that'd require some sort of drawing or me taking digital pictures of myself doing the stretches, and quite frankly, both of those scenarios would be uncomfortable for everyone reading this blog. Okay, I'll make it short. Light (one- to two-pound) dumbbells, thumbs inward, spread arms slowly to shoulder level until they're straight across.
Yes, the Royals are terrible. However, the Mariners have won this series, which hopefully was to be expected. Felix Hernandez and Joel Piñeiro have pitched the Mariners to a series win against Kansas City. A day game tomorrow awaits. I'll catch it when I get home, after it's already happened. Hooray for MLB.tv. I hope I get the FSNNW feed this time, good gracious. I've had to sit through two nights of RSTN. Equal time, people! Will a sweep be in order?
`
[Edit Wed ~1:41a -- Jeremy reveals that it's radio only back to the Seattle area for Wednesday afternoon's game. RSTN again. What the f#*$?]
Carrasco. Moyer. Tomorrow.
In 25 words or less: Remember the Joel Piñeiro of old? One particular element of his game returned tonight, but it wasn't his velocity.
This one featured Zack Greinke going up against Joel Piñeiro. Would we know if we'd see the Piñeiro of the past two starts, or would we see the Piñeiro that was terrible for most of the season? Would the Mariners realize that they were facing the Royals like they did the night before? Could the Mariners win the series?
TOP 1ST
Grade: C-
Nice freakin' start. David DeJesus got ahead 2-0 and later walked on a high full-count pitch. Terrence Long took a first pitch that was pretty wild, and Piñeiro looked a bit flustered on his follow-through, possibly ticked about the holes in the front of the mound. Long got ahead 3-0 and ended up smacking a 3-1 single into the rightcenter gap, where Ichiro cut it off. DeJesus went to third on the play. Mike Sweeney popped to Yorvit Torrealba near the camera well on the third-base side. Matt Stairs grounded a ball to Adrian Beltre at third, who played the hop and had the ball go off the end of his glove and into shallow leftfield, scoring DeJesus and moving Long to third on what probably should have been a double-play ball.
»» ROYALS 1, MARINERS 0
Emil Brown flew out to Ichiro in deep rightfield on the first pitch, scoring Long.
»» ROYALS 2, MARINERS 0
Angel Berroa took a 1-2 pitch over the plate.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: B+
They fought back. Ichiro laced the first pitch into centerfield for a single. Willie Bloomquist popped high to DeJesus running in to shallow centerfield. Ichiro easily stole second on the 2-1 pitch to Raul Ibañez, who ended up poking a full-count pitch to leftfield, scoring Ichiro, who drew a throw that was in time, but a couple feet in front of the plate.
»» ROYALS 2, MARINERS 1
Richie Sexson drilled a single into rightfield, moving Ibañez to second. Adrian Beltre got ahead 2-0 and ended up stinging a 2-2 pitch past the shortstop Berroa for a single, scoring Ibañez (wide throw by Long) and moving Sexson to second.
»» ROYALS 2, MARINERS 2
Jeremy Reed fell behind 0-2 and chopped out to the right side, a 3-1 putout, moving Sexson to third and Beltre to second. Mike Morse took a 3-1 pitch in the dirt, loading the bases. Yuniesky Betancourt fell behind 0-2 before grounding the 2-2 pitch to first for a 3-1 putout.
TOP 2ND
Grade: C+
Why? Mark Teahen whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball down and in. John Buck scooped a single into centerfield. Joe McEwing got ahead 3-0 and later drilled the 3-1 pitch down the leftfield line for a double, moving Buck to third and not to the plate since the ball was hit so hard. DeJesus fell behind 2-0, bringing pitching coach Bryan Price to the mound. DeJesus flew out to deep centerfield on the next pitch, easily scoring Buck and moving McEwing to third.
»» ROYALS 3, MARINERS 2
Long grounded the second pitch to first, where Sexson stepped on the bag.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: C-
Zzzz. Yorvit Torrealba flew out to fairly deep centerfield. Ichiro was narrowly gunned down on a 1-2 grounder to short. Bloomquist fell behind 0-2, took a 2-2 pitch barely off the inside corner, then flew out foul near the rightfield corner on the full count.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A
Good inning. Sweeney grounded the first pitch to second. Stairs bounced the second pitch to short. Brown fell behind 0-2, took a 1-2 pitch barely off the plate outside, then whiffed on a 2-2 changeup.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: B-
Something. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and eventually crushed a ball into the gap in rightcenter, and came out of it with a triple since the Kansas City outfielders didn't field it too cleanly. Sexson took a 1-2 pitch off the plate outside before taking a full-count breaking ball over the plate. Beltre took a 1-2 pitch up and in, and fell backwards, though unnecessarily. He flew out to rightcenter on a 2-2 pitch, scoring Ibañez, who came in standing up on a throw that wasn't very late.
»» ROYALS 3, MARINERS 3
Reed shoveled the first pitch into centerfield for a single. Morse popped the second pitch high to Berroa behind the mound.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A
Settling down? Berroa chopped the first pitch off the plate and high into the air, where Torrealba pounced on it and threw in time to first. Teahen popped the second pitch high to deep centerfield. Buck popped high to shallow leftfield.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C
Boo. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball low and away. Torrealba was badly jammed on the first pitch, having the bat splinter in his hand, grounding to the mound. Ichiro poked a ball with eyes up the middle for a single. Bloomquist foul-tipped a full-count breaking ball into the catcher's glove.
TOP 5TH
Grade: B-
Here's a slight jam. McEwing whiffed on a full-count fastball riding inside. DeJesus bounced the full-count pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first, and he ran it to first. Long took a full-count pitch low for a walk. Sweeney popped high to fairly deep centerfield.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: C-
Eek. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and ended up poking a flyout near the leftfield corner. Sexson took a full-count fastball over the inner half. Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 pitch outside.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B-
A semi-jam again. Stairs got ahead 2-0 and smoked a pitch that got past Ichiro and went to the wall, but he stayed at second due to Ichiro's arm and due to the fact that he just came off a leg injury. Brown took Ichiro to the rightfield track for a flyout. Berroa grounded the second pitch to third, where Beltre threw high to second (Bloomquist's phantom tag a foot away from the bag wasn't hunky-dory), though the throw to first was in time. Teahen grounded a 1-2 pitch deep into the hole on the left side, and Betancourt tried to make the play, but it was too long a throw, and Sexson had to stop it at first as Stairs went to second. Buck popped the second pitch high to fairly deep leftcenter.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: C-
Frustrating. Reed singled the first pitch into centerfield. Morse whiffed on a low 0-2 pitch. Betancourt flew out just short of the rightfield track on the second pitch. Reed stole on the first pitch to Torrealba, thanks in part to Buck having trouble transferring from glove to throwing hand. Torrealba ended up whiffing on a 1-2 pitch.
Greinke's line: 6 innings, 3 runs, 8 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts, 105 pitches (67 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: A-
Nice for Joel. McEwing grounded out to third on a nice backhand shorthop play by Beltre. DeJesus got ahead 2-0 and eventually flew out high to leftfield. Long sliced the second pitch for a popout to leftfield.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: C-
Jeremy Affeldt came in for Greinke. Ichiro got ahead 2-0 on lofty curveballs and eventually chopped the 2-2 pitch to short. Bloomquist popped the second pitch to centerfield. Ibañez bounced the 2-0 pitch to second.
TOP 8TH
Grade: A
Sheesh, Joel. Sweeney got under the second pitch, popping high to Ibañez on the track in front of the manual scoreboard in leftfield. Stairs flew out high to leftfield as the train whistles blew. Brown popped to Bloomquist on the outfield grass on the right side.
Piñeiro's line: 8 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 108 pitches (66 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B+
The Royals are a godsend. Sexson drove the 1-1 pitch to the track in centerfield, where DeJesus came down with it. Beltre waved hopelessly at a 1-2 ball in the dirt. Reed poked a low liner into leftfield for a single. Morse walked on four pitches. Betancourt (shaking his head after the first curveball) fell behind 0-2, and the runners took off on the next pitch, which wasn't caught cleanly by Buck. Reed scooted in to second, but Morse bailed and dove back to first. Betancourt ended up chopping to the left side, where Berroa ranged over and tried to get the out at second, but it was late. Reed scored, Morse was safe at second, and Betancourt reached.
»» MARINERS 4, ROYALS 3
Torrealba worked a 1-2 count full, then grounded to third, where the throw to second wasn't in time, but McEwing still nailed Torrealba at first in a weird 5-4-3 putout.
Affeldt's line: 2 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 39 pitches (22 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: A
Eddie Guardado came in to close the door, and Jamal Strong came in for Ibañez in leftfield. Berroa flew out to shallow rightfield on the first pitch. Teahen whiffed on a 1-2 offspeed pitch over the outer half. Buck flew out high to centerfield on an 0-2 pitch. Ballgame.
Guardado's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 8 pitches (7 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jeremy Reed.
He really needed a game like this at the plate to restore my faith in humanity. Okay, maybe the scope of it wasn't that big, but I needed to realize why I've been defending him all year, and tonight he came through. He also had two stolen bases, which hopefully doesn't get him or Mike Hargrove tempted to have him keep stealing since he has a terrible success rate doing it, but tonight I'll be focusing on the hits. He wasn't drilling the ball or anything, but he was putting some decent wood on the ball and managed to find the outfield. He went 3-for-4, and the one out he made was in the first on a ground ball to the right side that moved the two runners into scoring position, though with two out. Add Reed's usual solid defense in centerfield, and we have a very solid night for him. A banner night would involve a homer or something, maybe a couple of RBIs. By the way, Reed's last multi-hit game was a 2-for-4 day on July 31st against Cleveland, which of course means Reed hadn't had a multi-hit game in August. Waiting half the month to get one is better than going the entire month without one. Gotta start somewhere.
Goat: Willie Bloomquist.
At least Yorvit Torrealba has been cranking out some good at-bats lately, which includes his 0-for-4 night in this game. I'm not picking on Bloomquist here as I have in the past, but his line just pales in comparison to the rest of the Mariner cast, so he's got this here paragraph tonight. I guess the thing for me here is that Bloomquist never really got good wood on the ball in this game. He went 0-for-4. One of those outs was a strikeout, and the other three were flyouts, though all of them were fairly harmless. One of them was nearly a bloop single, but you can't really assume a bloop single, and it really wouldn't be a solid single if it landed anyway, etc. For me, Bloomquist has to hit line drives or hard ground balls. Why? He can't use his speed on a fly ball off his bat. At least if you hit a grounder, you're forcing the fielder to glove the ball cleanly and make a clean throw. He doesn't have Ichiro speed, sure, but surely he'd be able to beat out his share of throws on the infield. I guess it's a whole different counterpart of what I disliked about Mike Cameron at the plate (ball in play, i.e., no strikeout => use speed). In a somewhat related story, I used to get ticked off at Ichiro like this when he'd have a fly ball spell.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 85-33 .720 -- W2
2002 72-46 .610 13 L1
2003 71-47 .602 14 L1
2000 69-49 .585 16 L2
2005 51-67 .432 34 W2
2004 45-73 .381 40 W2
Relative to what he's done earlier in the year, tonight's start from Joel Piñeiro was certainly above average, maybe even great. In comparison to what we'd consider the Joel Piñeiro of recent years, is it something we've seen before? You remember old Joel, right? He'd do well as long as he got past the first inning relatively unscathed, then he'd settle down and hopefully not burn too many pitches in the first? I did check back in our archive just to make sure I wasn't confusing myself as to which Mariner pitcher had this first-inning habit, but it turns out it was indeed Joel. Tonight, he stumbled through the first inning (Beltre non-error aside) and got touched up in the third, and he fought out of a couple of jams along the way. He also had a stretch where he retired nine straight Royals and went twelve batters without yielding a hit, and ended the game by setting down seven straight. Of course, I'm liking the Joel of the past three starts much better than the one immediately before that. Remember, this was a guy who won his second game of the season on April 26th and didn't get his third win until July 7th, a stretch of 11 starts without a win. The sickening part is that he had a decent-enough ERA of 4.05 in the month of June and never got a win, but we know how this offense works. If you're curious, Joel's ERA by month: 5.85, 7.22, 4.05, 7.13, 2.86. He has two wins this month, and should have three (Bloomquist), which would have equaled his win total for the previous four months.
Multi-hit games in this one belonged to Ichiro, Raul Ibañez, and Reed (gameball). Ichiro went 2-for-4 with a steal. He led off the game with a single and got a base hit with two out in the fourth. Ibañez had Ichiro steal while he was at the plate in the first, and he drove him in with a single to cut the Royals' lead in half. He also tripled into the gap in the third, setting himself up to be driven in by an Adrian Beltre fly ball. But there's a bigger revelation in all of this. Both Ichiro and Ibañez have had three straight multi-hit games. Ichiro is 7-for-14 in his last three games, and Ibañez is 6-for-11. Ichiro has raised his batting average from .303 to .308 as a result (ten-game hitting streak), and Ibañez has gone from .289 to .295 in the span. Perhaps more importantly, Ibañez has helped along the 3-4-5 hitters, who went a combined 4-for-11 tonight. After Saturday's game, the 3-4-5 hitters in the Mariners' lineup had compiled a 24-for-120 month of August. They've gone 12-for-33 since. They are now 37-for-153, which is still a below-average clip of .242, but they were sitting at .200 after Saturday's game, so it's improvement.
Hooray for seeing Eddie Guardado work for the first time since last Wednesday (Bloomquist). As soon as Jeremy Reed crossed the plate in the eighth, Eddie got up in the bullpen, and there was a good feeling about this game. Needless to say, Eddie hadn't worked since Wednesday because the Angels busted out the brooms, and the Mariner bats were busy on Monday night, making a Guardado appearance unnecessary. It was a close one tonight, though, and we were able to see Eddie rack up number 29 in 31 chances. I wonder if I can tear my rotator cuff and experience similar success. Okay, I'm not going to try it, and neither should you. Appreciate your rotator cuffs, everyone. I'd try to explain a rotator cuff stretch that they showed us back in baseball camp, but that'd require some sort of drawing or me taking digital pictures of myself doing the stretches, and quite frankly, both of those scenarios would be uncomfortable for everyone reading this blog. Okay, I'll make it short. Light (one- to two-pound) dumbbells, thumbs inward, spread arms slowly to shoulder level until they're straight across.
Yes, the Royals are terrible. However, the Mariners have won this series, which hopefully was to be expected. Felix Hernandez and Joel Piñeiro have pitched the Mariners to a series win against Kansas City. A day game tomorrow awaits. I'll catch it when I get home, after it's already happened. Hooray for MLB.tv. I hope I get the FSNNW feed this time, good gracious. I've had to sit through two nights of RSTN. Equal time, people! Will a sweep be in order?
`
[Edit Wed ~1:41a -- Jeremy reveals that it's radio only back to the Seattle area for Wednesday afternoon's game. RSTN again. What the f#*$?]
Carrasco. Moyer. Tomorrow.
/ Click for main page
ROYALS VS MARINERS 8/16/05
BLACKOUT!!!!
I hate blackouts.
I hate blackouts when it comes to the NFL. And I certainly hate blackouts when it comes to Major League Baseball.
Case in point, last night.
I'm fired up to watch Felix Hernandez mow down a team that's worse than the Mariners, the Kansas City Royals. I've paid the $3.95 necessary to watch greatness unfold before my eyes. But there's a slight problem.
MLB.TV tells me that I'm in the Royals territory, so I can't watch the game.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
The majority of the Royals' games are not on television here in southeast Arkansas. The local PAX affiliate has recently started to show the Royals' games on Sunday afternoons, albeit all road games. The Royals have their own network, the Royals Sports Television Network. Why can't they be like most teams and just have their games televised on FSN Midwest?
Not only am I in the Royals territory, I'm in the Cardinals, Rangers, and Astros territories. That fact doesn't bother me as much, because I get to watch those teams' games on my cable system often (Cardinals FSN Midwest, Rangers & Astros FSN Southwest).
After I get the message about not being able to watch the game, I call MLB.TV's customer service hotline. The woman that takes my call was an arrogant you-know-what. I tell her my story, that I'm in Arkansas and I don't get the Royals on television here. She said that she couldn't do a thing for me, because of the blackout restrictions. Doesn't hurt to ask, though.
I love MLB.TV. I think it's a great deal for baseball fans everywhere, including myself. It's nice to have an option to watch the Mariners even though I'm in Arkansas. But if there's one major flaw with MLB.TV, it's definitely the blackout restrictions.
Why would a professional sports organization such as Major League Baseball want fans to not watch their product? Obviously, I know that Fox is as much to blame here as MLB is. Speaking of Fox, the Saturday blackouts are ridiculous as well. Again, why would you not want your customers to watch your product?
I missed out on watching Felix strike out 11 Royals.
Thanks a lot, MLB and Fox.
I hate blackouts when it comes to the NFL. And I certainly hate blackouts when it comes to Major League Baseball.
Case in point, last night.
I'm fired up to watch Felix Hernandez mow down a team that's worse than the Mariners, the Kansas City Royals. I've paid the $3.95 necessary to watch greatness unfold before my eyes. But there's a slight problem.
MLB.TV tells me that I'm in the Royals territory, so I can't watch the game.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
The majority of the Royals' games are not on television here in southeast Arkansas. The local PAX affiliate has recently started to show the Royals' games on Sunday afternoons, albeit all road games. The Royals have their own network, the Royals Sports Television Network. Why can't they be like most teams and just have their games televised on FSN Midwest?
Not only am I in the Royals territory, I'm in the Cardinals, Rangers, and Astros territories. That fact doesn't bother me as much, because I get to watch those teams' games on my cable system often (Cardinals FSN Midwest, Rangers & Astros FSN Southwest).
After I get the message about not being able to watch the game, I call MLB.TV's customer service hotline. The woman that takes my call was an arrogant you-know-what. I tell her my story, that I'm in Arkansas and I don't get the Royals on television here. She said that she couldn't do a thing for me, because of the blackout restrictions. Doesn't hurt to ask, though.
I love MLB.TV. I think it's a great deal for baseball fans everywhere, including myself. It's nice to have an option to watch the Mariners even though I'm in Arkansas. But if there's one major flaw with MLB.TV, it's definitely the blackout restrictions.
Why would a professional sports organization such as Major League Baseball want fans to not watch their product? Obviously, I know that Fox is as much to blame here as MLB is. Speaking of Fox, the Saturday blackouts are ridiculous as well. Again, why would you not want your customers to watch your product?
I missed out on watching Felix strike out 11 Royals.
Thanks a lot, MLB and Fox.
/ Click for main page
GAME 117: MARINERS 11, ROYALS 3
Mariners 11, Royals 3
In 25 words or less: If you were hoping this game would make you happy for the first time in five days, you got your wish.
This one featured Runelvys Hernandez going up against Felix Hernandez. 'Twas a battle of Hernandezian proportions at the Safe. The Mariners hadn't won since the last time Felix pitched. To put it in sandwich terms, the oodles of meat were instead replaced by four losses, whereas the bread was delectable in the form of pitching performances by Felix. Also, after operating with a 24-man roster in the final game of the series against the Angels, the Mariners sent down Wiki Gonzalez and brought up speedy outfielder Jamal Strong and catcher Miguel Ojeda.
TOP 1ST
Grade: A
Nice beginnings. David DeJesus got behind 0-2, fouled off a couple pitches, then ended up whiffing on some heat off the outside corner. Chip Ambres got behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 curve over the plate. Mike Sweeney grounded the second pitch to Sexson, who ran over to the bag.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C
Bah. Ichiro grounded the first pitch hard to third. Willie Bloomquist bunted the first pitch on the left side, where Runelvys Hernandez came off the mound and threw strongly and in time to first. Raul Ibañez walked on a 3-1 pitch high and away. Richie Sexson took an 0-2 fastball off the outside corner for a strikeout.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Mostly easy for Felix. Emil Brown took a 1-2 heater over the outside corner. Terrence Long grounded to Yuniesky Betancourt in the hole on the right side, who dove and threw from the seat of his pants to get the out. Angel Berroa laced the first pitch into leftfield for a single. Mark Teahen flew out to fairly deep centerfield on a 2-0 pitch.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
Actual runs! Adrian Beltre smacked the second pitch through the left side for a single. Jeremy Reed popped the second pitch to Mike Sweeney on the infield, who dropped the ball on the transfer to his throwing hand, but Reed was called out anyway (one of those infield fly situations anyway). Mike Morse bashed the second pitch into the visitors' bullpen in leftfield.
»» MARINERS 2, ROYALS 0
Yuniesky Betancourt popped the first pitch to Joe McEwing in shallow rightfield. Yorvit Torrealba nubbed the second pitch toward the left side, where the pitcher came off the mound to field the ball and bobbled it, but had time to throw out Torrealba anyway.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A
Easy chair. John Buck took an 0-2 curve barely low before whiffing on a 2-2 curve of death. Joe McEwing whiffed on another deathly 2-2 curve. DeJesus bounced the second pitch to short.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Gak. Ichiro popped the 1-1 pitch to foul territory on the left side, but Teahen couldn't quite make the grab. Ichiro ended up grounding the next pitch to short. Bloomquist took a 2-2 pitch just off the outside corner, fouled off a couple of pitches, then took a pitch at the knees on the inside corner. Ibañez reached for a 2-2 pitch and tapped it back to the mound.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A
This is fun. Ambres took a deathly 2-2 curve over the inner half. Sweeney bounced the second pitch up the middle, where Betancourt ranged to his backhand side and submarined a throw in time to first (amazing play). Brown whiffed on a 1-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
Ugh. Sexson foul-tipped a 1-2 pitch low and over the outside corner into the catcher's glove. Beltre was handcuffed and whiffed on a 1-2 pitch way inside. Reed took the 3-1 pitch to the track in rightfield for a flyout.
TOP 5TH
Grade: A-
This is nuts. Long rolled a 2-2 pitch to second. Berroa got behind 0-2 and ended up whiffing on a curve low and away. Teahen took a 2-2 pitch barely off the inside corner before whiffing on a full count.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B+
Yay! Morse grounded the first pitch to second. Betancourt popped high to shallow leftfield. Torrealba got behind 0-2 and later lined the 1-2 pitch over Berroa and into leftcenter for a single. Ichiro got ahead 2-0 and later lined a single into centerfield, moving Torrealba to third. Bloomquist poked the first pitch to rightfield, where Long dove forward for the ball and barely missed, and the ball rolled to the wall. Torrealba and Ichiro scored. Bloomquist coasted into third.
»» MARINERS 4, ROYALS 0
Ibañez lasered a 2-0 pitch into rightfield for a single.
»» MARINERS 5, ROYALS 0
Sexson was called for a 2-0 "swing." Ibañez took off on the 2-1 count, and the throw from Buck behind the plate went wide and into centerfield, enabling Ibañez to go to third. Sexson ended up walking on a pitch low and outside. Beltre whiffed on an 0-2 heater.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B
Some adversity this inning. Buck popped a 1-2 pitch to Torrealba behind the plate. McEwing got ahead 3-0 and held a checkswing on a 3-1 pitch up and in. DeJesus popped the second pitch to Morse in shallow centerfield. Ambres took the first pitch low and very away, and it rolled to the backstop off of Torrealba's glove, and McEwing went to second. Ambres bounced out to third.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B
Another case of the runs. Reed worked a 1-2 count full before flying out to centerfield. Morse poked a double down the rightfield line. Betancourt flew out to Teahen in front of the third-base dugout. Torrealba worked an 0-2 count full and blooped a fly ball along the rightfield line for a single, scoring Morse. However, Torrealba tried to stretch it into a double and was gunned down.
»» MARINERS 6, ROYALS 0
Runelvys Hernandez' line: 6 innings, 6 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, 98 pitches (63 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C+
Even more adversity. Sweeney smoked a 2-0 pitch into rightcenter for a single. Brown grounded the second pitch up the middle, where Morse dove for it and tried gunning to first, but it wasn't in time. Long grounded the 1-2 pitch to short, where Morse started what could have been a 6-4-3 double play, but Betancourt's throw pulled Sexson off the bag. Sweeney moved to third. Berroa bounced the 0-2 pitch to Morse, who threw to second for the 6-4 fielder's choice, but Long's slide at Betancourt's feet thwarted any attempt at a throw. Sweeney scored.
»» MARINERS 6, ROYALS 1
Teahen whiffed on an 0-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B
Add-on. Andrew Sisco came in for Runelvys Hernandez. Ichiro grounded an 0-2 pitch to third. Bloomquist fouled off an 0-2 pitch but eventually took a 1-2 fastball over the inside corner. Ibañez got ahead 3-0 and poked a 3-1 pitch over the left side for a single. Sexson got ahead 2-0 and later bashed a full-count pitch about nine rows deep into the rightfield stands.
»» MARINERS 8, ROYALS 1
Beltre poked a broken-bat 1-2 single into centerfield. Reed worked a 1-2 count full before walking on a high pitch.
Jonah Bayliss came in for Sisco. Morse got ahead 2-0 and foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into the catcher's glove.
Sisco's line: 2/3 innings, 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 33 pitches (21 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: A
He ended nicely. Buck flew out high to centerfield on the first pitch. McEwing took a 1-2 breaking ball over the plate. DeJesus chopped a ball toward a charging Betancourt, who made the throw in time.
Felix Hernandez' line: 8 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts, 99 pitches (67 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B
More, more, more. Betancourt got ahead 2-0 and later took a 2-2 fastball over the outer half. Torrealba walked on four pitches. Ichiro lined the second pitch four rows deep into the rightfield seats.
»» MARINERS 10, ROYALS 1
Bloomquist got behind 0-2 and foul-tipped a 1-2 high and away fastball into the catcher's glove. Jamal Strong, hitting for Ibañez, drew a four-pitch walk. Dave Hansen, hitting for Sexson, got the hitters' counts before walking on the 3-1 pitch. Beltre poked a 1-2 single through the left side, scoring Strong and moving Hansen to second.
»» MARINERS 11, ROYALS 1
Jimmy Gobble came in for Bayliss. Reed popped high to Long in shallow rightfield.
Bayliss' line: 1 inning, 3 runs, 2 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 33 pitches (14 strikes)
Gobble's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 4 pitches (2 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C
Jeff Nelson came in for Felix Hernandez. Ambres rolled a grounder to the left side that rolled up on him and went into leftfield for a single. Sweeney fell behind 0-2, took a 1-2 slider barely off the outside corner, and eventually popped high to centerfield. Brown shoveled an 0-2 pitch into rightfield for a single, moving Ambres to second. Long roped a ball into the rightfield corner, scoring Ambres and Brown.
»» MARINERS 11, ROYALS 3
Berroa popped to shallow centerfield, where Betancourt ranged backward, reached up, caught it, and nearly doubled off Long at second. Teahen roped the second pitch up the middle, where Morse got the ball off the heel of his glove and had no play (error) as Long scooted to third. Buck grounded to third on the second pitch, and Bloomquist started a 5-4 fielder's choice. Ballgame.
Nelson's line: 1 inning, 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 23 pitches (15 strikes)
---
Gameball: Raul Ibañez.
It's true. Back-to-back multi-hit games for Raul. He's got a three-game hit streak, but it looks better when you consider his latest stretch as a 5-for-11 mini-bulge. Of course, all of the hits in that stretch have been singles, but let's just take the fact he's getting on base first, then work upward from there. He went 2-for-3 in this game with a walk and an RBI. He had one lazyish groundout, but I really liked the singles he hit. He drilled a 2-0 pitch in the fifth to give the Mariners a 5-0 lead. He got way ahead in the count in the seventh, and he went the other way with a 3-1 pitch, putting it into leftfield. He smoked one ball and placed another one nicely. It's progress. Naturally, I'd like to see him get a hold of a low breaking ball and golf it out to rightfield, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here. That'd be like asking for 40 homers out of Ibañez or something, and we know that's not going to happen. As for a little more power, I think we can reasonably expect that to come in the following weeks. Baby steps, readers.
Goat: Jeff Nelson.
Even in an 11-3 romp, there has to be a goat. Mike Morse can make an error, but he'll mash a homer or something to make you kind of forget about it. Jeremy Reed made zero errors and did walk once. Yuniesky Betancourt never reached base, but made a couple of crazy defensive plays that really helped out Felix. So, that leaves us with Jeff Nelson, who came in for mop-up duty or garbage time, whatever you want to call it. Anyway, it took way too long, and he kind of got beaten around. Should it be disturbing that Aaron Sele and Jeff Nelson got minor-league invites to spring training this year and one of the two is still with the team? I'm not saying Jeff Nelson is completely worthless at this stage, and he can still get people out every once in a while, but does he really fit in with this team and where it's going? Does Jeff Nelson have much going left to do? When he's out there throwing now, I see that frisbee slider going every which way and I keep expecting that nasty fastball with movement to get over and surprise the hitters, but it never does. Why? Because this isn't 2001.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 84-33 .718 -- W1
2002 72-45 .615 12 W1
2003 71-46 .607 13 W2
2000 69-48 .590 15 L1
2005 50-67 .427 34 W1
2004 44-73 .376 40 W1
Look at it this way. It's August 15th and the Mariners finally have their 50th win. Last year, win number 50 occurred in the 130th game, on the 29th of August, and also against the Royals. This year's Mariners are 13 games quicker and 14 days quicker. It's something. I'm not sure if this is a faulty extrapolation I'm about to make, but let's say they finish 13 games better than last year...folks, that's not an improvement to scoff at. Thirteen games of improvement from one year to the next is great. Not every team goes worst to first like the 1991 Twins. That's a freak situation. Actually, it probably is a faulty extrapolation. They're six games ahead of last year's pace right now. There is hope though.
The Mariners had many multi-hit games from their hitters in this one, as one would expect from a stomping such as this. Adrian Beltre curiously had the three-hit game, getting singles in the second, seventh, and eighth, and driving in a run. Four other hitters had two-hit games. Ichiro went 2-for-5 with a homer, a couple of runs scored, and two RBIs. Raul Ibañez was covered in the gameball entry, though he had a stolen base as well. Mike Morse had the late error, but went 2-for-4 with a homer, a couple of runs, and a couple of RBIs. Too bad I prematurely made the gameball paragraph, because I probably should have given it to Yorvit Torrealba, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, scoring twice. Even more weird is the fact that Yorvit has played the last two games and is 3-for-6 at the plate. Yeah, I probably should have given him the gameball tonight, but since I feel I can legitimately argue for Ibañez, I won't feel bad for not going back and writing a completely different gameball entry for Torrealba, though he did do great at the plate in this one. The wild pitch that he didn't get in front of wasn't so good, but his offense was great.
Felix threw again, in case you weren't paying attention. I didn't feel he was quite as perfect as he was against the Twins, though it was still a highly solid performance. Though he struck out five more hitters than he did against the Twins, he seemed a bit more wild later on in this one. He only shows up with one walk in the boxscore, but that doesn't indicate the amount of times that he fell behind hitters and got into unadvantageous (is that a word?) counts. If Yuniesky Betancourt makes an accurate throw to first base to finish off the double play in the seventh, it's highly possible that Felix walks away from this start with another eight shutout innings. Nonetheless, he walks away giving up one run, but three-hitting the Royals over that span and striking out 11. I can't remember the last time a Mariner pitcher struck out 11 hitters in a start. I guess what was most fun was in some of the early innings, when I heard the Royals' crew trying to hold on to a shred of hope, saying that Runelvys Hernandez might not be too bad, either. Then a few more innings passed, a few more runs came across, and the Royals became the Royals.
The Mariners needed a walkover-type game like this. Their last two sizable wins came on July 27th against Detroit (9-3) and July 17th against Baltimore (8-2), both home games. A bit more disturbing is that the last time they scored ten runs in a game, they lost, and that was on the 19th of July in Toronto (12-10). To find the last time the Mariners scored double digits in a game and won, you'd have to go back to the second game of the Anaheim sweep before the All-Star break (10-4). The point is, the Mariners needed a game like this, for whatever reason you can think of, whether it be resting some of your regulars for a couple innings near the end of the game, whether it be preserving most of your guys in the bullpen from when Willie Bloomquist gutted the bullpen on the preceding Wednesday, or whether it be just for peace of mind, knowing that your team can still put a hurtin' on a team, albeit a very bad team. It's still a Major League ballclub that the Mariners whooped out there.
I guess the Mariners could have used a power game like this as well. Place your wagers now: how many more home games this year will see the Mariners homer three times? That's a rarity in itself, but even more rare in this game was that all three homers were of the two-run variety. Mike Morse drilled his homer, Ichiro lined his, and Richie Sexson hit an opposite-field blast, majestic as usual. Yes, the Mariners put up 11 runs in the game, but they never had the back-breaking inning that did in the Royals. They didn't need it. The Mariners scored in five of the eight innings in which they came to the plate, and they never scored more than three runs in any one inning. Of course, the three homers were big blows within their respective innings. The Mariners never had the inning that kept snowballing with eight singles in a row or anything like that. Like I said, they didn't need it.
Okay, fans. Go plan the next four nights and be social if you feel like it, because Felix doesn't throw again until Saturday afternoon. Until then, if Piñeiro's really settled down, you might get a good start out of him. Jamie Moyer you might get a watchable start. Gil Meche and Ryan Franklin, not so much. Saturday should be here by then.
Hope you enjoyed watching Felix tonight. Morgan in the game thread said that KJR is forcing "The Cat" onto the masses as a nickname for Felix. Frankly, I haven't been satisfied with any of the nicknames I've heard bandied about for Felix. And I'd rather use "El Gato" than the english version of that, though that may or may not have been used as a variation of Andres Galarraga's nickname of Big Cat. I don't remember anyone ever calling him Gato Grande though. Still, I'm perfectly content with Felix being known on a first-name basis. Pedro doesn't have a nickname, right?
Greinke. Piñeiro. Tonight.
In 25 words or less: If you were hoping this game would make you happy for the first time in five days, you got your wish.
This one featured Runelvys Hernandez going up against Felix Hernandez. 'Twas a battle of Hernandezian proportions at the Safe. The Mariners hadn't won since the last time Felix pitched. To put it in sandwich terms, the oodles of meat were instead replaced by four losses, whereas the bread was delectable in the form of pitching performances by Felix. Also, after operating with a 24-man roster in the final game of the series against the Angels, the Mariners sent down Wiki Gonzalez and brought up speedy outfielder Jamal Strong and catcher Miguel Ojeda.
TOP 1ST
Grade: A
Nice beginnings. David DeJesus got behind 0-2, fouled off a couple pitches, then ended up whiffing on some heat off the outside corner. Chip Ambres got behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 curve over the plate. Mike Sweeney grounded the second pitch to Sexson, who ran over to the bag.
BOTTOM 1ST
Grade: C
Bah. Ichiro grounded the first pitch hard to third. Willie Bloomquist bunted the first pitch on the left side, where Runelvys Hernandez came off the mound and threw strongly and in time to first. Raul Ibañez walked on a 3-1 pitch high and away. Richie Sexson took an 0-2 fastball off the outside corner for a strikeout.
TOP 2ND
Grade: A-
Mostly easy for Felix. Emil Brown took a 1-2 heater over the outside corner. Terrence Long grounded to Yuniesky Betancourt in the hole on the right side, who dove and threw from the seat of his pants to get the out. Angel Berroa laced the first pitch into leftfield for a single. Mark Teahen flew out to fairly deep centerfield on a 2-0 pitch.
BOTTOM 2ND
Grade: B+
Actual runs! Adrian Beltre smacked the second pitch through the left side for a single. Jeremy Reed popped the second pitch to Mike Sweeney on the infield, who dropped the ball on the transfer to his throwing hand, but Reed was called out anyway (one of those infield fly situations anyway). Mike Morse bashed the second pitch into the visitors' bullpen in leftfield.
»» MARINERS 2, ROYALS 0
Yuniesky Betancourt popped the first pitch to Joe McEwing in shallow rightfield. Yorvit Torrealba nubbed the second pitch toward the left side, where the pitcher came off the mound to field the ball and bobbled it, but had time to throw out Torrealba anyway.
TOP 3RD
Grade: A
Easy chair. John Buck took an 0-2 curve barely low before whiffing on a 2-2 curve of death. Joe McEwing whiffed on another deathly 2-2 curve. DeJesus bounced the second pitch to short.
BOTTOM 3RD
Grade: C-
Gak. Ichiro popped the 1-1 pitch to foul territory on the left side, but Teahen couldn't quite make the grab. Ichiro ended up grounding the next pitch to short. Bloomquist took a 2-2 pitch just off the outside corner, fouled off a couple of pitches, then took a pitch at the knees on the inside corner. Ibañez reached for a 2-2 pitch and tapped it back to the mound.
TOP 4TH
Grade: A
This is fun. Ambres took a deathly 2-2 curve over the inner half. Sweeney bounced the second pitch up the middle, where Betancourt ranged to his backhand side and submarined a throw in time to first (amazing play). Brown whiffed on a 1-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 4TH
Grade: C-
Ugh. Sexson foul-tipped a 1-2 pitch low and over the outside corner into the catcher's glove. Beltre was handcuffed and whiffed on a 1-2 pitch way inside. Reed took the 3-1 pitch to the track in rightfield for a flyout.
TOP 5TH
Grade: A-
This is nuts. Long rolled a 2-2 pitch to second. Berroa got behind 0-2 and ended up whiffing on a curve low and away. Teahen took a 2-2 pitch barely off the inside corner before whiffing on a full count.
BOTTOM 5TH
Grade: B+
Yay! Morse grounded the first pitch to second. Betancourt popped high to shallow leftfield. Torrealba got behind 0-2 and later lined the 1-2 pitch over Berroa and into leftcenter for a single. Ichiro got ahead 2-0 and later lined a single into centerfield, moving Torrealba to third. Bloomquist poked the first pitch to rightfield, where Long dove forward for the ball and barely missed, and the ball rolled to the wall. Torrealba and Ichiro scored. Bloomquist coasted into third.
»» MARINERS 4, ROYALS 0
Ibañez lasered a 2-0 pitch into rightfield for a single.
»» MARINERS 5, ROYALS 0
Sexson was called for a 2-0 "swing." Ibañez took off on the 2-1 count, and the throw from Buck behind the plate went wide and into centerfield, enabling Ibañez to go to third. Sexson ended up walking on a pitch low and outside. Beltre whiffed on an 0-2 heater.
TOP 6TH
Grade: B
Some adversity this inning. Buck popped a 1-2 pitch to Torrealba behind the plate. McEwing got ahead 3-0 and held a checkswing on a 3-1 pitch up and in. DeJesus popped the second pitch to Morse in shallow centerfield. Ambres took the first pitch low and very away, and it rolled to the backstop off of Torrealba's glove, and McEwing went to second. Ambres bounced out to third.
BOTTOM 6TH
Grade: B
Another case of the runs. Reed worked a 1-2 count full before flying out to centerfield. Morse poked a double down the rightfield line. Betancourt flew out to Teahen in front of the third-base dugout. Torrealba worked an 0-2 count full and blooped a fly ball along the rightfield line for a single, scoring Morse. However, Torrealba tried to stretch it into a double and was gunned down.
»» MARINERS 6, ROYALS 0
Runelvys Hernandez' line: 6 innings, 6 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, 98 pitches (63 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Grade: C+
Even more adversity. Sweeney smoked a 2-0 pitch into rightcenter for a single. Brown grounded the second pitch up the middle, where Morse dove for it and tried gunning to first, but it wasn't in time. Long grounded the 1-2 pitch to short, where Morse started what could have been a 6-4-3 double play, but Betancourt's throw pulled Sexson off the bag. Sweeney moved to third. Berroa bounced the 0-2 pitch to Morse, who threw to second for the 6-4 fielder's choice, but Long's slide at Betancourt's feet thwarted any attempt at a throw. Sweeney scored.
»» MARINERS 6, ROYALS 1
Teahen whiffed on an 0-2 pitch.
BOTTOM 7TH
Grade: B
Add-on. Andrew Sisco came in for Runelvys Hernandez. Ichiro grounded an 0-2 pitch to third. Bloomquist fouled off an 0-2 pitch but eventually took a 1-2 fastball over the inside corner. Ibañez got ahead 3-0 and poked a 3-1 pitch over the left side for a single. Sexson got ahead 2-0 and later bashed a full-count pitch about nine rows deep into the rightfield stands.
»» MARINERS 8, ROYALS 1
Beltre poked a broken-bat 1-2 single into centerfield. Reed worked a 1-2 count full before walking on a high pitch.
Jonah Bayliss came in for Sisco. Morse got ahead 2-0 and foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into the catcher's glove.
Sisco's line: 2/3 innings, 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 33 pitches (21 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Grade: A
He ended nicely. Buck flew out high to centerfield on the first pitch. McEwing took a 1-2 breaking ball over the plate. DeJesus chopped a ball toward a charging Betancourt, who made the throw in time.
Felix Hernandez' line: 8 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts, 99 pitches (67 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Grade: B
More, more, more. Betancourt got ahead 2-0 and later took a 2-2 fastball over the outer half. Torrealba walked on four pitches. Ichiro lined the second pitch four rows deep into the rightfield seats.
»» MARINERS 10, ROYALS 1
Bloomquist got behind 0-2 and foul-tipped a 1-2 high and away fastball into the catcher's glove. Jamal Strong, hitting for Ibañez, drew a four-pitch walk. Dave Hansen, hitting for Sexson, got the hitters' counts before walking on the 3-1 pitch. Beltre poked a 1-2 single through the left side, scoring Strong and moving Hansen to second.
»» MARINERS 11, ROYALS 1
Jimmy Gobble came in for Bayliss. Reed popped high to Long in shallow rightfield.
Bayliss' line: 1 inning, 3 runs, 2 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 33 pitches (14 strikes)
Gobble's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 4 pitches (2 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Grade: C
Jeff Nelson came in for Felix Hernandez. Ambres rolled a grounder to the left side that rolled up on him and went into leftfield for a single. Sweeney fell behind 0-2, took a 1-2 slider barely off the outside corner, and eventually popped high to centerfield. Brown shoveled an 0-2 pitch into rightfield for a single, moving Ambres to second. Long roped a ball into the rightfield corner, scoring Ambres and Brown.
»» MARINERS 11, ROYALS 3
Berroa popped to shallow centerfield, where Betancourt ranged backward, reached up, caught it, and nearly doubled off Long at second. Teahen roped the second pitch up the middle, where Morse got the ball off the heel of his glove and had no play (error) as Long scooted to third. Buck grounded to third on the second pitch, and Bloomquist started a 5-4 fielder's choice. Ballgame.
Nelson's line: 1 inning, 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 23 pitches (15 strikes)
---
Gameball: Raul Ibañez.
It's true. Back-to-back multi-hit games for Raul. He's got a three-game hit streak, but it looks better when you consider his latest stretch as a 5-for-11 mini-bulge. Of course, all of the hits in that stretch have been singles, but let's just take the fact he's getting on base first, then work upward from there. He went 2-for-3 in this game with a walk and an RBI. He had one lazyish groundout, but I really liked the singles he hit. He drilled a 2-0 pitch in the fifth to give the Mariners a 5-0 lead. He got way ahead in the count in the seventh, and he went the other way with a 3-1 pitch, putting it into leftfield. He smoked one ball and placed another one nicely. It's progress. Naturally, I'd like to see him get a hold of a low breaking ball and golf it out to rightfield, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here. That'd be like asking for 40 homers out of Ibañez or something, and we know that's not going to happen. As for a little more power, I think we can reasonably expect that to come in the following weeks. Baby steps, readers.
Goat: Jeff Nelson.
Even in an 11-3 romp, there has to be a goat. Mike Morse can make an error, but he'll mash a homer or something to make you kind of forget about it. Jeremy Reed made zero errors and did walk once. Yuniesky Betancourt never reached base, but made a couple of crazy defensive plays that really helped out Felix. So, that leaves us with Jeff Nelson, who came in for mop-up duty or garbage time, whatever you want to call it. Anyway, it took way too long, and he kind of got beaten around. Should it be disturbing that Aaron Sele and Jeff Nelson got minor-league invites to spring training this year and one of the two is still with the team? I'm not saying Jeff Nelson is completely worthless at this stage, and he can still get people out every once in a while, but does he really fit in with this team and where it's going? Does Jeff Nelson have much going left to do? When he's out there throwing now, I see that frisbee slider going every which way and I keep expecting that nasty fastball with movement to get over and surprise the hitters, but it never does. Why? Because this isn't 2001.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 84-33 .718 -- W1
2002 72-45 .615 12 W1
2003 71-46 .607 13 W2
2000 69-48 .590 15 L1
2005 50-67 .427 34 W1
2004 44-73 .376 40 W1
Look at it this way. It's August 15th and the Mariners finally have their 50th win. Last year, win number 50 occurred in the 130th game, on the 29th of August, and also against the Royals. This year's Mariners are 13 games quicker and 14 days quicker. It's something. I'm not sure if this is a faulty extrapolation I'm about to make, but let's say they finish 13 games better than last year...folks, that's not an improvement to scoff at. Thirteen games of improvement from one year to the next is great. Not every team goes worst to first like the 1991 Twins. That's a freak situation. Actually, it probably is a faulty extrapolation. They're six games ahead of last year's pace right now. There is hope though.
The Mariners had many multi-hit games from their hitters in this one, as one would expect from a stomping such as this. Adrian Beltre curiously had the three-hit game, getting singles in the second, seventh, and eighth, and driving in a run. Four other hitters had two-hit games. Ichiro went 2-for-5 with a homer, a couple of runs scored, and two RBIs. Raul Ibañez was covered in the gameball entry, though he had a stolen base as well. Mike Morse had the late error, but went 2-for-4 with a homer, a couple of runs, and a couple of RBIs. Too bad I prematurely made the gameball paragraph, because I probably should have given it to Yorvit Torrealba, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, scoring twice. Even more weird is the fact that Yorvit has played the last two games and is 3-for-6 at the plate. Yeah, I probably should have given him the gameball tonight, but since I feel I can legitimately argue for Ibañez, I won't feel bad for not going back and writing a completely different gameball entry for Torrealba, though he did do great at the plate in this one. The wild pitch that he didn't get in front of wasn't so good, but his offense was great.
Felix threw again, in case you weren't paying attention. I didn't feel he was quite as perfect as he was against the Twins, though it was still a highly solid performance. Though he struck out five more hitters than he did against the Twins, he seemed a bit more wild later on in this one. He only shows up with one walk in the boxscore, but that doesn't indicate the amount of times that he fell behind hitters and got into unadvantageous (is that a word?) counts. If Yuniesky Betancourt makes an accurate throw to first base to finish off the double play in the seventh, it's highly possible that Felix walks away from this start with another eight shutout innings. Nonetheless, he walks away giving up one run, but three-hitting the Royals over that span and striking out 11. I can't remember the last time a Mariner pitcher struck out 11 hitters in a start. I guess what was most fun was in some of the early innings, when I heard the Royals' crew trying to hold on to a shred of hope, saying that Runelvys Hernandez might not be too bad, either. Then a few more innings passed, a few more runs came across, and the Royals became the Royals.
The Mariners needed a walkover-type game like this. Their last two sizable wins came on July 27th against Detroit (9-3) and July 17th against Baltimore (8-2), both home games. A bit more disturbing is that the last time they scored ten runs in a game, they lost, and that was on the 19th of July in Toronto (12-10). To find the last time the Mariners scored double digits in a game and won, you'd have to go back to the second game of the Anaheim sweep before the All-Star break (10-4). The point is, the Mariners needed a game like this, for whatever reason you can think of, whether it be resting some of your regulars for a couple innings near the end of the game, whether it be preserving most of your guys in the bullpen from when Willie Bloomquist gutted the bullpen on the preceding Wednesday, or whether it be just for peace of mind, knowing that your team can still put a hurtin' on a team, albeit a very bad team. It's still a Major League ballclub that the Mariners whooped out there.
I guess the Mariners could have used a power game like this as well. Place your wagers now: how many more home games this year will see the Mariners homer three times? That's a rarity in itself, but even more rare in this game was that all three homers were of the two-run variety. Mike Morse drilled his homer, Ichiro lined his, and Richie Sexson hit an opposite-field blast, majestic as usual. Yes, the Mariners put up 11 runs in the game, but they never had the back-breaking inning that did in the Royals. They didn't need it. The Mariners scored in five of the eight innings in which they came to the plate, and they never scored more than three runs in any one inning. Of course, the three homers were big blows within their respective innings. The Mariners never had the inning that kept snowballing with eight singles in a row or anything like that. Like I said, they didn't need it.
Okay, fans. Go plan the next four nights and be social if you feel like it, because Felix doesn't throw again until Saturday afternoon. Until then, if Piñeiro's really settled down, you might get a good start out of him. Jamie Moyer you might get a watchable start. Gil Meche and Ryan Franklin, not so much. Saturday should be here by then.
Hope you enjoyed watching Felix tonight. Morgan in the game thread said that KJR is forcing "The Cat" onto the masses as a nickname for Felix. Frankly, I haven't been satisfied with any of the nicknames I've heard bandied about for Felix. And I'd rather use "El Gato" than the english version of that, though that may or may not have been used as a variation of Andres Galarraga's nickname of Big Cat. I don't remember anyone ever calling him Gato Grande though. Still, I'm perfectly content with Felix being known on a first-name basis. Pedro doesn't have a nickname, right?
Greinke. Piñeiro. Tonight.
