Saturday, August 12, 2006
EXHIBITION: COWBOYS-SEAHAWKS 8/12/06
Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks, 7:05 Pacific (KONG, KIRO 710 AM)
It is acceptable to refer to these games as "exhibition games." Don't let the NFL tell you otherwise. This is the same league that charges FULL PRICE for exhibition game tickets.
Then again, I wouldn't mind paying full price to see the NFC Championship banner being raised at Qwest Field tonight. Sure, the Seahawks can wait until their home opener against Arizona to raise the banner. But the way I look at it, maybe it's better this way. The 2006 season will already have begun and as fun as last year was, 2006 may be better. That's the way I'm feeling about this team. You should as well, if you aren't sucked into the feeling of "no team can win without a left guard." (Have fun in Minnesota, Steve. Remember that you are blocking for Brad Johnson and Chester Taylor, not the NFL MVP and the best quarterback in the NFC.)
Fortunately for me, I get to watch the first two exhibition games on TV here in Arkansas. Thank you, Dallas Cowboys Television Network. And next week, the Indianapolis game will be televised nationally on NBC. (I'm not going there.)
Anyway, this is a game thread. The first of many. Try 23 game threads.
That's 4 exhibition games, 16 regular season, 2 playoff games, and the Super Bowl. Which means that I'm expecting another year of homefield advantage in the loudest stadium in the National Football League.
Tony Romo. Seneca Wallace. Cowboys. Seahawks.
TONIGHT!
It is acceptable to refer to these games as "exhibition games." Don't let the NFL tell you otherwise. This is the same league that charges FULL PRICE for exhibition game tickets.
Then again, I wouldn't mind paying full price to see the NFC Championship banner being raised at Qwest Field tonight. Sure, the Seahawks can wait until their home opener against Arizona to raise the banner. But the way I look at it, maybe it's better this way. The 2006 season will already have begun and as fun as last year was, 2006 may be better. That's the way I'm feeling about this team. You should as well, if you aren't sucked into the feeling of "no team can win without a left guard." (Have fun in Minnesota, Steve. Remember that you are blocking for Brad Johnson and Chester Taylor, not the NFL MVP and the best quarterback in the NFC.)
Fortunately for me, I get to watch the first two exhibition games on TV here in Arkansas. Thank you, Dallas Cowboys Television Network. And next week, the Indianapolis game will be televised nationally on NBC. (I'm not going there.)
Anyway, this is a game thread. The first of many. Try 23 game threads.
That's 4 exhibition games, 16 regular season, 2 playoff games, and the Super Bowl. Which means that I'm expecting another year of homefield advantage in the loudest stadium in the National Football League.
Tony Romo. Seneca Wallace. Cowboys. Seahawks.
TONIGHT!
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GAME 115: RANGERS 14, MARINERS 7
[posted in full Sun ~3:09a]
In 25 words or less: Screw 'em.
This one featured Gil Meche going up against Kip Wells. The Mariners hoped to get their momentum back from the Tampa Bay sweep and hoped to get back to within one game of .500. Also, the Mariners hoped to get back into a virtual tie with the Rangers. If they lost, though, it make the hole a little deeper in last place for the Mariners, and with the season starting to wind down, the Mariners hoped not to repeat most of their Augusts past, referred to on many occasions as the Dog Days. Unfortunately, Meche lately hasn't been the Meche that was the best pitcher on the staff for about a month -- he'd been reverting back to his old Jekyll/Hyde self, not a good thing considering the overworked bullpen needed the rotation to get deep into some games thanks to a stretch of seventeen straight games without a day off, with fourteen of them coming against division rivals and the last eleven of which were road games. Yes, this game marked the eighth game of what ultimately was a make-or-break stretch in the Mariners' season, and coming into this game, they were 3-4 in said stretch.
TOP 1ST
Ichiro popped to right on the first pitch. Jose Lopez was down 0-2 before grounding to short on a 1-2 pitch. Adrian Beltre walloped a double off the base of the wall in leftcenter. Raul Ibañez worked a 1-2 count full but whiffed on a breaking ball away. Wells threw 15 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Gary Matthews, Jr. worked a 1-2 count for a walk. Michael Young walked on a 3-1 pitch inside, moving Matthews to second. Carlos Lee cranked the first pitch to Ichiro on the track in rightcenter, moving Matthews to third. Mark Teixeira walked on four pitches to load the bases. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves visited the mound. Hank Blalock was down 0-2 and bounced a 1-2 pitch to first, where Broussard bounced the throw to second (error) to start what would have been a double play as Matthews scored and the bases remained loaded.
»» RANGERS 1, MARINERS 0
Mark DeRosa dumped a single into shallow right, scoring Young and Teixeira and moving Blalock to third.
»» RANGERS 3, MARINERS 0
Matt Stairs popped a 3-0 pitch to shallow left. Ian Kinsler walked on a 3-1 pitch down and away, loading the bases once again. Rod Barajas bounced the second pitch to the left side past Beltre, but it was backed up by Betancourt, who airmailed the throw to first (error), scoring Blalock and DeRosa and moving Kinsler to third.
»» RANGERS 5, MARINERS 0
Matthews fell behind 0-2 but bounced a 1-2 pitch off of a diving Broussard (who probably should have stayed back at first) and through the right side for a single to score Kinsler and Barajas.
»» RANGERS 7, MARINERS 0
Young lined out to Ichiro near the rightfield track. Meche threw 40 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Richie Sexson walked on four pitches. Ben Broussard was up 3-0 but bounced a full-count pitch to first, where Teixeira threw to second for the force, but Broussard beat the back end of the double play. Kenji Johjima popped to right. Yuniesky Betancourt fell behind 0-2 but slapped a 1-2 pitch up the middle for a single. Adam Jones whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball off the plate away. Wells threw 23 pitches and had 38 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Lee was up 3-0 before walking on a full count. Teixeira had the hitters' counts and walked on a full-count pitch inside, moving Lee to second.
Jake Woods came in for Meche. Blalock knocked an 0-2 pitch over Betancourt up the middle on the shift, loading the bases on the single. DeRosa drilled the first pitch to the wall in the rightcenter gap, scoring Lee and Teixeira, but the throw home beat Blalock, who was running about five feet behind Teixeira.
»» RANGERS 9, MARINERS 0
Stairs was down 0-2 but drilled a 2-2 pitch into right for a single, scoring DeRosa.
»» RANGERS 10, MARINERS 0
Kinsler walked on four pitches, moving Stairs to second. Barajas whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Matthews had the hitters' counts and walked on a high 3-1 pitch. Young flew out to a running Jones in center on the second pitch. Woods threw 24 pitches.
Meche's line: 1 inning, 9 runs (4 earned), 2 hits, 6 walks, 0 strikeouts, 54 pitches (24 strikes)
TOP 3RD
Ichiro fell behind 0-2 before chopping a 1-2 pitch to second. Lopez was up 2-0 before popping high to right. Beltre reached the centerfield wall on one hop for a double. Ibañez looped the first pitch into center for a single, scoring Beltre.
»» RANGERS 10, MARINERS 1
Sexson drilled a single into center to move Ibañez to second. Wells got a visit from the pitching coach. Broussard popped high to center on the second pitch. Wells threw 20 pitches and had 58 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Lee blasted the first pitch inside the leftfield foul pole, twelve rows back or so.
»» RANGERS 11, MARINERS 1
Teixeira was ahead 3-1 but popped to Lopez in shallow center on a full count. Blalock was jammed and popped the second pitch to Lopez in shallow right. DeRosa crushed a homer that was kinda like Lee's, but a bit more to the right.
»» RANGERS 12, MARINERS 1
Stairs lined the first pitch over the reach of Lopez and into right for a single. Kinsler grounded to third on the second pitch. Woods threw 15 pitches and had 39 total.
TOP 4TH
Johjima roped the second pitch off the chalk near the base of the wall in the leftfield corner for a double. Betancourt beat the second pitch through the left side for a single, pushing Johjima to third. Jones bounced a double into the leftfield corner, scoring Johjima as well as Betancourt, the latter of whom scored from first.
»» RANGERS 12, MARINERS 3
Ichiro bounced an 0-2 pitch up the middle, where Kinsler had the ball go off the top of his glove (error) and into center, scoring Jones. Bucky Showalter and some members of the Texas training staff came to attend to Wells, who twisted an ankle trying to field the ball on the play.
»» RANGERS 12, MARINERS 4
Josh Rupe came in for Wells. Lopez poked the first pitch into right for a single, moving Ichiro to third. Beltre smoked the first pitch up the middle and it knocked off Rupe's glove, but Rupe got a hold of the ball and got Ichiro into a rundown, moving Lopez and Beltre to third and second. Ibañez rocked the first pitch into the Ranger bullpen in rightcenter, tying a career high for homers.
»» RANGERS 12, MARINERS 7
Sexson knocked a 2-0 pitch for a single through the right side. Rupe got a visit from his pitching coach. Broussard took the second pitch, a 93mph sinker, off the outside of his right knee, knocking him to the deck and moving Sexson to second (he stayed in the game). Johjima whiffed on a 1-2 curve up and in. Betancourt took a pitch that nearly hit him in the head. Betancourt was up 2-0 before flying out to shallow right. Rupe threw 17 pitches.
Wells' line: 3 innings, 5 runs, 8 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 69 pitches (45 strikes)
BOTTOM 4TH
Barajas popped the second pitch to Ichiro near the rightfield track. Matthews lined a 2-2 pitch just over the leftfield wall.
»» RANGERS 13, MARINERS 7
Young hit a soft liner on a full count to Lopez in the hole on the right side, who hot-potatoed it and had it drop (scored as a single). Lee had the hitters' counts before popping on a full count very high to Ibañez in leftcenter. Teixeira flew out high to Lopez in shallow center on a 2-0 pitch. Woods threw 21 pitches and had 60 total.
TOP 5TH
Jones grounded a 2-2 pitch to Kinsler's backhand side at second. Ichiro lined a single into right for his first hit of the series. Lopez bounced up the middle to Young, who ranged over to throw to first, moving Ichiro to second. Beltre was up 2-0 but bounced out to third on a 2-2 pitch. Rupe threw 17 pitches and had 34 total.
Rupe's line: 2 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 34 pitches (21 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Blalock mashed 2-2 pitch into center for a single. DeRosa fell back 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 low breaking ball. Stairs fell behind 0-2 before driving a full-count pitch deep to center, where Jones got back to the track and made the catch.
Sean Green came in for Woods. Kinsler smacked a ball up the middle that looked to be a single, but Lopez dove for it and tossed to Betancourt running to the bag at second for the force. Green threw four pitches.
Woods' line: 3 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 75 pitches (43 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Ron Mahay came in for Rupe. Ibañez worked an 0-2 count full but whiffed on a fastball. Sexson bounced an 0-2 pitch into center for a single. Eduardo Perez, hitting for Broussard, grounded right to second to start a 4-6-3 double play.
Mahay's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Eduardo Perez stayed in to play first. Barajas was ahead 3-0 before rolling a 3-1 pitch into center for a single. Matthews grounded the second pitch to the right side, where it ate up Perez and went into right for a single, moving Barajas to second. Young bounced the second pitch to short to start a 6-4-3 double play. Lee lined the second pitch right into Perez' glove at first. Green threw 11 pitches and had 15 total.
TOP 7TH
Wes Littleton came in for Mahay. Johjima chopped the second pitch behind the mound but Littleton moved back to glove the ball and throw to first. Betancourt dodged another inside pitch which this time would have hit him in a leg. Betancourt managed a swinging bunt along the third-base line on which Blalock had no play (single). Jones lined out to short on the second pitch. Ichiro bounced a 2-0 pitch to second. Littleton threw 12 pitches.
BOTTOM 7TH
Teixeira worked an 0-2 count full and reached on a low-and-away pitch, doubling off the top of the wall in rightcenter. Blalock was up 2-0 but grounded to Betancourt up the middle (shifted). DeRosa, a triple away from the cycle at this point, got the hitters' counts and popped out to left. The throw home by Ibañez was on line, but was a bit too short.
»» RANGERS 14, MARINERS 7
Stairs the second pitch popped to Betancourt in shallow left. Green threw 17 pitches and had 32 total.
TOP 8TH
Lopez popped the second pitch to DeRosa, who made a running catch near the rightfield line. Beltre popped an 0-2 pitch to Kinsler on the outfield grass. Ibañez popped the second pitch to first.
Littleton's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 19 pitches (14 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Kinsler bounced deep in the hole on the left side, where Betancourt ranged over and made the spin and long throw in time on a great play. Barajas looped into shallow center, but Betancourt moved back to reach and make the catch. Matthews flew out to Jones in deep rightcenter. Green threw
Green's line: 3 1/3 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 38 pitches (20 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Akinori Otsuka came in for Littleton and Jerry Hairston, Jr. came in for Matthews. Sexson got under the second pitch, popping high to shallow right. Perez fell behind 0-2 and bounced out to short on a 1-2 pitch. Johjima bounced the first pitch to third.
Otsuka's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (6 strikes)
---
Gameball: Richie Sexson.
This gameball is one of those "how often is that going to happen?" gameballs. Rare is the day when Sexson goes 3-for-4 with a walk. He got on base four times, for goodness' sake. That's been a rarity, more so this year than in the past, of course. The last time he had three hits in a game was in the middle game of the series in Toronto (July 15th), when he went 3-for-4 with a solo shot and a walk. In related news, he has hit only two homers and driven in eight runs so far in August (ten games). It's too simple of an extrapolation, but let's say two-thirds of the month remain and we can multiply the numbers by three to get his August totals. That'd be six homers and 24 RBIs for August. The 24 RBIs would eclipse his July total of 17, but the six homers would be three less than July. The 24 RBIs would also beat his April and May totals of 15 and 14, but those were horrible months that all Mariner fans would like to forget. The six homers, though low, would be the April and May totals of two and four, but not the eight of June and nine of July. That'd put him at 29 homers going into September, leaving him with a chance to end up with mid-30s for homers at season's end. I can tell you that on Memorial Day, there was no way in hell I saw Sexson ending up with 35 homers or anything close to that, and I'm a big fan of his.
Goat: Gil Meche.
I can't remember if it was last season or earlier this season, but MLB.tv sometimes varies their feed of the games, and not just with which team's television feed they show. Sometimes they show exactly what people are seeing on regular television. Other times they show the plain in-park or DiamondVision feed that has the TV play-by-play but with no commercials, on-screen graphics, or replays that to which the broadcasters might refer (yes, those MLB.tv broadcasts make me incredibly mad). On one of the games of the latter scenario, MLB.tv was late flashing away from the ballpark feed and Dave Niehaus' microphone was still on. Meche had pitched, and there was a fielding error behind him, then he really got into trouble. After Meche finally got the third out, the MLB.tv feed cut away, and the regular broadcast feed I'm sure had gone to break, and that's when Niehaus remarked that bad plays in the field seem to really affect Meche more than the usual pitcher (I forget which game it was, so "usual pitcher" might actually be "anyone"). Meche doesn't even have that excuse for this game, though, since he walked three guys before Ben Broussard made the first error of the first inning. That doesn't mean he should walk another guy and have six more runs score in that inning. I know it sucks to have errors behind you when you're pitching, but it's not like Meche doesn't have the stuff to get strikeouts, because he does. He recorded zero strikeouts in this game, his shortest outing of the year. He walked two more hitters to start the second before getting yanked and then having Jake Woods get burned for the next three games. The sentence I'm currently typing is from when I came back to the paragraph since I remembered that the strike zone was pretty small. Even still, Ranger pitchers walked only one batter the whole night.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 83-32 .722 -- L1
2002 71-44 .617 12 W2
2003 69-46 .600 14 L3
2000 68-47 .591 15 W1
2006 56-59 .487 27 L2
2005 49-66 .426 34 L3
2004 43-72 .374 40 L2
Moyer. Volquez. Tonight.
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Friday, August 11, 2006
GAME 114: RANGERS 8, MARINERS 2
In 25 words or less: Piñeiro shines early, then falls apart with assistance from Mateo. The Mariners are now 4-7 when they have a chance to climb to .500.
This one featured Joel Piñeiro going up against Adam Eaton. The temperature at game time was a mere 102 degrees. The Mariners and Rangers were in a virtual third-place tie in the standings coming into this game, with the Mariners at 56-57 and the Rangers at 57-58. Whoever won this game would be at .500. If the Mariners did something fun and swept the Rangers aside, the Mariners at 59-57 would be up on the 57-61 Rangers, which would be a lead of three games and would do the Mariners wonders in their fight for meaningful September baseball. Of course, the sad part is that the Mariners had to send Piñeiro to the mound to try and extend their winning streak to four games. Opponents hit .312 off Piñeiro coming into the game, good for third-worst (from Piñeiro's perspective, anyway) in the American League. In addition, Piñeiro came in with only one win in seven career starts in Arlington. At the risk of going on another uniform-related rant, I'll just say I hate the Rangers' alternate jerseys, which are the vests. It's mostly because of the number being way down on one side and the T way high on the other. It messes with the balance. The right way to do it is on the White Sox' home jerseys.
TOP 1ST
Ichiro popped a 3-1 pitch to short. Jose Lopez grounded a 1-2 pitch to Kinsler at second, who knocked it down and threw to first in time. Adrian Beltre ripped an 0-2 pitch right into Blalock's glove at third. Eaton threw 13 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Gary Matthews, Jr. was ahead 2-0 and lined out to first on a 2-2 pitch. Michael Young popped a 3-1 pitch to first. Carlos Lee grounded to Beltre behind the bag at third. Piñeiro threw 17 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Raul Ibañez popped an 0-2 pitch to Young in shallow left. Richie Sexson was down 0-2 and took a 1-2 curve over the outside corner. Ben Broussard had a 3-0 count go full before flying out to fairly deep center. Eaton threw 15 pitches and had 28 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Mark Teixeira whiffed on a 2-2 pitch, losing his bat in the process, which flew toward the rotating sign behind the plate. Hank Blalock bounced to Betancourt near the middle with the shift on. Mark DeRosa grounded the second pitch to third. Piñeiro threw ten pitches and had 27 through two.
TOP 3RD
Kenji Johjima lined out to left on the second pitch. Yuniesky Betancourt scorched the second pitch, but it was speared by Kinsler at second, who made a leaping catch. Adam Jones lined an 0-2 pitch just over the wall for his first Major League home run. Good stuff.
»» MARINERS 1, RANGERS 0
Ichiro lined out to second, but no leap was needed from Kinsler this time, who didn't leave his feet for the catch. Eaton threw ten pitches and had 38 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Matt Stairs grounded the first pitch to first. Ian Kinsler looped a 2-2 pitch just over the reach of a leaping Lopez and into shallow center for a single. Rod Barajas popped a 1-2 pitch to center. Matthews flew out to Betancourt on the infield grass on the second pitch. Piñeiro threw 12 pitches and had 39 through three.
TOP 4TH
Lopez bounced the second pitch to second and Kinsler's throw pulled Teixeira off the bag a bit, but he was able to get back to it in time. Beltre ripped a 1-2 pitch into left for a single. Ibañez whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball down and away. Sexson got ahead 2-0 but watched as Beltre was gunned down trying to steal second on a perfect throw by Barajas. Eaton threw 16 pitches and had 54 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Young worked a 1-2 count full and chopped high over Beltre on the left side, and Betancourt tried backing up and making something of the play, and his throw was beaten by a stride and a half at first. Lee worked an 0-2 count for a walk, moving Young to second. Teixeira flew out to Jones in rightcenter, who saw Young was two-thirds of the way to third base and threw to Betancourt covering the bag at second as Young was doubled off. Blalock lined out to Lopez in shallow right on the first pitch with the shift in place once again. Piñeiro threw 16 pitches and had 55 through four.
TOP 5TH
Sexson bounced the second pitch to short. Broussard was up 2-0 before hitting a high fly to rightcenter that reached the Ranger bullpen for a homer, but not before going off the side of Matthews' glove on what would have been a leaping and homer-robbing catch.
»» MARINERS 2, RANGERS 0
Johjima laced a line drive, but right to Lee in left. Betancourt drove the second pitch to center and got Matthews turned around, but Matthews got his bearings quickly and made the catch just short of the track. Eaton threw 11 pitches and had 65 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
DeRosa lined the second pitch into center for a single. Stairs was down 0-2 and just got under a 2-2 pitch, flying out high to right. Kinsler split his bat and bounced a 2-2 pitch to third to start a 5-4-3 double play. Piñeiro threw 12 pitches and had 67 through five.
TOP 6TH
Jones lined a 2-0 pitch right at Matthews in center. Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and bounced a 1-2 pitch to second. Lopez lined the second pitch into center for a single. Beltre took the first pitch inside, which went off of Barajas' glove (passed ball) and to the backstop, moving Lopez to second. Beltre popped to Teixeira in front of the first-base dugout.
Eaton's line: 6 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 77 pitches (56 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Barajas lined a 2-2 pitch into center for a single. Matthews walked on four pitches, moving Barajas to second. Young flew out to left on the second pitch. Lee fell behind 0-2 and pulled a 1-2 pitch off of third-base coach Steve Smith before poking the next pitch up the middle to load the bases. Teixeira drove the second pitch and hit the base of the wall in the rightfield corner on the fly, clearing the bases (double).
»» RANGERS 3, MARINERS 2
Blalock grounded to the mound, where Piñeiro reached behind himself after his follow-through, then gloved the ball and threw to first. DeRosa bounced to third, where Beltre tried to tag Teixeira coming down the line, but spun and threw to first instead. Piñeiro threw 24 pitches and had 91 through six.
TOP 7TH
They must have brought out Eaton to warm up, but then Bucky Showalter came out with the hook.
CJ Wilson came in for Eaton. Ibañez bounced a 1-2 pitch to short. Sexson whiffed on a 2-2 fastball. Broussard was jammed and tapped out to the left of the mound.
Wilson's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Stairs chopped a 2-2 pitch to short. Kinsler smashed the first pitch for a single past Beltre's backhand side at third and into left. Barajas cranked the first pitch to the leftfield corner for a double, moving Kinsler to third. Matthews was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Julio Mateo came in for Piñeiro. Young doubled into the leftfield corner on the first pitch, scoring all three runners. The relay throw home (from Betancourt, who double-clutched and missed a chance to get Matthews at the plate) got past Johjima and went into the dugout, scoring Young. You gotta love these guys!
»» RANGERS 7, MARINERS 2
Lee popped the first pitch into shallow rightcenter, where it eluded Lopez running backward and Ichiro coming in. Teixeira worked a 1-2 count full before walking on a breaking ball low and away (tenth pitch), moving Lee to second. Blalock whipped the second pitch into right for a single to load the bases.
Sean Green came in for Mateo. DeRosa chopped the second pitch to the left side, where the ball hit Teixeira in the back running from second to third (he was called out) and DeRosa was credited with the single. The play was scored 5 unassisted, and the bases were now loaded (Lee was not awarded home plate from third). Stairs was nailed beside the right knee with the second pitch, forcing Lee across.
»» RANGERS 8, MARINERS 2
Kinsler bounced a 1-2 pitch to third, where Beltre ran it to the bag. Green threw nine pitches.
Piñeiro's line: 6 1/3 innings, 6 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout, 102 pitches (57 strikes)
Mateo's line: 0 innings, 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 15 pitches (9 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Rick Bauer came in for Wilson. Johjima smacked the second pitch a single past Young at short and into center. Betancourt had the hitters' counts before walking on a 3-1 pitch down and away. Greg Dobbs, hitting for Jones, bounced up the middle to Young, who wasn't led enough to the bag at second and threw to first, moving Johjima and Betancourt to third and second. Ichiro whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball away, punctuating his 7-for-47 slide. Lopez chopped out to short. Bauer threw 17 pitches.
BOTTOM 8TH
Willie Bloomquist came in to play center. Barajas flew out to Bloomquist making a running catch in leftcenter. Matthews flew out to left on a 1-2 pitch. Young knocked a 2-2 pitch up the middle for a single. Lee solidly singled to shallow center on the first pitch. Teixeira got ahead 2-0 and rolled to Betancourt up the middle on a full count.
Green's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 28 pitches (17 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Beltre lined out to right. Ibañez popped to left. Sexson whiffed on a full count.
Bauer's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 29 pitches (17 strikes)
---
Gameball: Adam Jones.
So he gets his first big-league homer, makes a couple decent catches in center, starts a double play when Michael Young comes too far off the second-base bag, and the rest of the team sans Ben Broussard does nothing? Heck yes, I'll give the gameball to Jones. He was lifted for Greg Dobbs in the top of the eighth and didn't get his third at-bat of the game, so he finished 1-for-2. The one out he made was when he lined out to center in the sixth, so he hit everything hard and that's a good thing. He is now 13-for-59 (.220) in the Majors with three doubles, a homer, four RBIs, two walks, 16 strikeouts (yikes), and he's 2-for-3 on steals. He's played in 20 games. In other gameball-worthy news, Ben Broussard freed himself from my goats-until-hitting edict, and he did so with his second homer as a Mariner. He is now hitting 4-for-28 (.143) as a Mariner with two homers, two RBIs, a walk, and seven strikeouts in ten games (nine starts). It'd be good to get Broussard warmed up since the lineup badly needs lefthanded sock that isn't named Raul Ibañez.
Goat: Ichiro.
Broussard got a hit (homer), so he was off the hot seat, freeing it up for Ichiro, who is cooler than cool (ice cold, even). He is 6-for-39 so far in August. Tack on the last three games of July, and Ichiro is 8-for-51 (.157) with three doubles, zero RBIs, two walks, five strikeouts, and not a steal attempt to be found. Steals are kinda hard to attempt without getting on base, and Ichiro has a .154 on-base percentage for August, which is the same as his batting average. After he went 2-for-4 on July 28th, Ichiro was sitting with a .347 batting average. If you want to go further back, he was hitting .359 after the final game of the Colorado series on July 2nd. After this game, he is at .327. He's chopped 20 points off his season average in less than two weeks and 32 points in a little less than six weeks. It's like the complete opposite of a miracle weight-loss diet.
Ichiro has now gone hitless in 27 of the Mariners' 114 games this season. In those games, the Mariners have a record of 7-20, meaning the Mariners have won 35% of the games where Ichiro hangs up a goose egg.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 83-31 .728 -- W3
2002 70-44 .614 13 W1
2003 69-45 .605 14 L2
2000 67-47 .588 16 L1
2006 56-58 .491 27 L1
2005 49-65 .430 34 L2
2004 43-71 .377 40 L1
Meche. Wells. Tonight.
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Thursday, August 10, 2006
GAME 113: MARINERS 2, DEVIL RAYS 0
In 25 words or less: The Mariners aren't the ones getting shut out this time. If they carry this into Texas, it'll be just dandy.
This one featured James Shields going up against Jarrod Washburn. The Devil Rays came in with a 1-11 road record after the All-Star break. The Mariners had a chance to sweep the Devil Rays, and to do it just three days after having been swept themselves. Though it would have helped them a lot more to sweep Oakland than to sweep Tampa Bay, three straight wins are three straight wins, and the Mariners would take that any time. A win in this game would also propel them back to where they were before the Oakland series, or at least that would be the case in terms of games below .500. A win would bring the Mariners to within a game of .500. The Mariners of course haven't been at or above .500 since early July, when the residue of the team's hot June was still apparent. The bullpen going into this game got a much-needed break (mostly) from Felix Hernandez the night before, who turned in a great start, the first in a while from the Mariners' starting rotation. Knowing what we know about Washburn, however, it appeared the bullpen might only get one day of not being overworked. Unless, of course, surprises might be in the works. Dave Niehaus on the radio broadcast raved about the weather on the Wednesday afternoon in Seattle and lamented the weather of the next series down in Arlington, where triple-digit heat is in the forecast.
TOP 1ST
Damon Hollins got ahead 2-0 before rolling to the hole on the right side, where Lopez made a sliding stop on one knee and threw in time to first. Carl Crawford was up 2-0 before walking on a full-count pitch low and away, the ninth pitch of the at-bat. Greg Norton bounced a 2-2 pitch to Beltre behind the bag at third, who threw to first after double-clutching a bit and losing the chance to go to second with a throw. Travis Lee popped out to Ibañez near the line in left. Washburn threw 21 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro chipped the second pitch into the rightfield corner for a leadoff double. Jose Lopez bunted the first pitch to the left side, moving Ichiro to third. Adrian Beltre lasered the second pitch through the left side for a single that scored Ichiro.
»» MARINERS 1, DEVIL RAYS 0
Raul Ibañez took an 0-2 pitch in the dirt that bounced over Paul behind the plate and to the backstop, moving Beltre to second. Ibañez grounded a 1-2 pitch hard to first (3-1 putout), moving Beltre to third. Richie Sexson whiffed on a full-count breaking ball. Shields threw 15 pitches.
TOP 2ND
BJ Upton popped out to right. Jonny Gomes had the hitters' counts before flying out to Jones in rightcenter on a full count. Josh Paul got ahead 2-0 but popped out to Rivera in front of the first-base dugout near the coaches' box. Washburn threw 16 pitches and had 37 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Ben Broussard popped the first pitch to Upton in foul ground near the leftfield line. Yuniesky Betancourt was down 0-2 before grounding a 1-2 pitch hard to third. Rene Rivera drove a fly ball to the track in center. Shields threw nine pitches and had 24 through two.
TOP 3RD
Ben Zobrist popped to Sexson in foul ground on the right side past the bag. Tomas Perez popped the first pitch to Lopez backing into shallow center. Hollins flew out to left. Washburn threw seven pitches and had 44 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Adam Jones flew out to Norton in rightcenter. Ichiro whiffed on a 1-2 breaking ball down and away. Lopez flew out to Lee in foul ground near the bag at first. Shields threw 11 pitches and had 35 through three.
TOP 4TH
Crawford flew out to Jones in deep leftcenter. Norton flew out to rightcenter (2-2 pitch), where Jones made a mildly nifty running catch. Lee failed to check a swing on an 0-2 breaking ball away. Washburn threw 11 pitches and had 55 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Beltre walloped the second pitch, reaching the hitters' backdrop on one hop beyond the centerfield fence. It's a lucky 13 homers for Beltre as well as a winner in the Taco Del Mar Home Run Inning. Yippee! Fish tacos! If you're into that.
»» MARINERS 2, DEVIL RAYS 0
Ibañez grounded a 1-2 pitch to first (3-1 putout). Sexson walked on a 3-1 pitch down and away. Broussard popped an 0-2 pitch high to Hollins in shallow center. Betancourt was down 0-2 and rolled a 1-2 pitch to short. Shields threw 18 pitches and had 53 through four.
TOP 5TH
Upton was ahead 2-0 before flying out on a full count to Jones running toward the track in center. Gomes whiffed on a 2-2 letter-high fastball inside. Paul bounced the second pitch to second. Washburn threw 16 pitches and had 71 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Rivera was down 0-2 before whiffing on a 1-2 pitch. Jones ripped the 3-1 pitch for a double down the leftfield line and off the angled wall in front of the stands in foul ground. Ichiro bounced the second pitch to first, moving Jones to third. Lopez whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball in the dirt away. Shields threw 14 pitches and had 67 through five.
TOP 6TH
Zobrist bunted the first pitch down the third-base line, where Beltre charged and tried to barehand it, but couldn't get a handle on it, and the Devil Rays had their first hit of the game as I didn't even realize Washburn had taken a no-hitter into the sixth. Perez worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing on a full-count fastball (tenth pitch of the at-bat). Hollins whiffed on a 2-2 low breaking ball. Crawford lined a 2-2 pitch to Ibañez in left. Washburn threw 21 pitches and had 92 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Beltre was ahead 2-0 but reached and popped a 2-2 pitch to Perez backing into shallow center. Ibañez flew out high to right on a 3-1 pitch. Sexson fouled a 2-2 pitch hard off his foot and hobbled to the batters' box, getting some attention from Rick Griffin. Sexson punched the next pitch through the left side for a single. Broussard rolled the first pitch to second. Shields threw 17 pitches and had 84 through six.
TOP 7TH
Norton fell behind 0-2 and flew out to a running Ichiro in right on a 2-2 pitch. Lee dumped a single into rightcenter for Tampa Bay's second hit of the game. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Upton shot the second pitch past the reach of Betancourt and through the left side for a single to move Lee to second. Gomes popped to Jones in shallow center, who called off Ichiro and Lopez in the process.
Rafael Soriano came in for Washburn. Dioner Navarro, hitting for Paul, took a 2-2 up in the zone and over the outer half. Soriano threw five pitches.
Washburn's line: 6 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 106 pitches (69 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Betancourt bounced the second pitch to Upton on the left side, who made a Beltre-type spin-and-throw move to get the out at first. Rivera whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball down and away. Jones checkswung but made contact and rolled to second. Shields threw eight pitches and had 92 through seven.
TOP 8TH
Zobrist fell behind 0-2 but dumped a 1-2 pitch into shallow center for a single after Jones sprinted inward and whiffed on a diving catch attempt. Perez popped the first pitch to Betancourt on the outfield grass on the left side. Hollins walked on four pitches, moving Zobrist to second. Chaves visited the mound again. Crawford popped an inside 1-2 pitch to Lopez in shallow center. Norton bounced a 1-2 pitch to Betancourt up the middle.
Soriano's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 22 pitches (13 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Ichiro bounced the second pitch to second. Lopez popped a 1-2 pitch to Upton reaching over the rail of the third-base dugout. Beltre whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball in the dirt.
Shields' line: 8 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 103 pitches (70 strikes)
TOP 9TH
JJ Putz came in for Soriano. Lee tapped the second pitch to short. Upton was down 0-2 and waved at a 1-2 fastball. Gomes fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 fastball.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 10 pitches (9 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jarrod Washburn.
This is kinda one of those gameballs where I give it out because I really don't know if he'll be worthy of another one anytime soon the way he's been going this year. He got the big contract last offseason of which we are all too aware. At least they only have him for a few more years, right? Now his record stands at 6-11. The eleven losses are his secondmost in a single season in his career. Not that Bill Bavasi saw any possible downturn in career numbers for the guy, given his age and everything. Still, his performance in this game isn't anything I can pick a bone with. Before Felix Hernandez on Tuesday night, the last solid start by a Mariner pitcher (in my opinion) was Washburn two starts before this one on July 29th. He went seven innings in his last start against Oakland, but I goated him anyway since I probably would have pulled him after the sixth, and I was probably miffed that in the half-inning after the Mariners tied the game, Washburn gave up two runs. That stuff usually makes me a tiny bit irate.
Goat: Ben Broussard.
This may be completely unfair, but I think I'm going to stick with it -- I'm going to goat Broussard for every game he starts until he gets a hit. He had two hits in the Oakland series, but all I'm asking for now is just a plain ol' hit because he went 0-for-10 against Tampa Bay pitching in this series. His main contribution was running to first to score the tying run in Tuesday's game after he whiffed on a ball in the dirt, then the overthrow followed and he ended up on second base. His numbers as a Mariner right now are 3-for-25 (.120) with the lone homer on which the lone RBI came in the first game at Cleveland. His Cleveland numbers this year? He played in 88 games and hit .321, hitting 14 doubles and 13 homers, and he drove in 46 runs. No, we as Mariner fans aren't reaping the benefits of this. Not beyond the one game, anyway. By making the Broussard goat stand, it's bad for me too because I have to think of different ways to fill this paragraph. I talked about the Eduardo Perez/Broussard platoon yesterday, and I don't know how much mileage I can get out of it.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 82-31 .726 -- W2
2002 69-44 .611 13 L2
2003 69-44 .611 13 L1
2000 67-46 .593 15 W5
2006 56-57 .496 26 W3
2005 49-64 .434 33 L1
2004 43-70 .381 39 W2
Piñeiro. Eaton. Tonight.
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Wednesday, August 09, 2006
GAME 112: MARINERS 5, DEVIL RAYS 1 (10 INNINGS)
In 25 words or less: If only all extra-inning games could be this quick. The starting pitching and the finish were...well, grand.
This one featured Jae Seo going up against Felix Hernandez. Since the beginning of July, Hernandez had gone 2-2 over five starts, giving up 11 earned runs on 26 hits. He struck out 25 hitters and (this is what sticks out for me) walked 17. Mariner fans this year know all too well that the Felix they've seen this year hasn't been the on-fire guy everyone saw last year. Still, first-half Felix didn't really tend to walk this many hitters. Early-season Felix didn't average three walks a game. Most of all, though, the Mariners hoped to put together a winning streak after the horrid Oakland series last weekend. Also on the shoulders of Hernandez was the in-the-toilet performances lately of the starting rotation, who had saddled the bullpen with mucho overtime in recent games. JJ Putz was unavailable for the game on account of having thrown a combined 58 pitches the two nights before in a loss to Oakland and a save situation (win) against the Devil Rays.
TOP 1ST
Rocco Baldelli was drilled in the left kneecap with an 0-2 fastball. Carl Crawford bounced the first pitch up the middle to Betancourt. Jorge Cantu stung an 0-2 pitch down the leftfield line past a diving Beltre for a double. Travis Lee grounded the second pitch to first. Hernandez threw nine pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro got down 0-2 and badly whiffed on a change down and away. Jose Lopez hit the second pitch for a line drive that took Branyan to the track in right. Adrian Beltre grounded hard to short on a 3-1 pitch. Seo threw 11 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Greg Norton whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball down and in. Dioner Navarro bounced a 2-2 pitch to first. BJ Upton grounded the first pitch hard to first. Hernandez threw 13 pitches and had 22 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Raul Ibañez reached down and pushed the second pitch, bouncing it up the middle and into center for a single. Richie Sexson fell behind 0-2 before lining a 2-2 pitch into the gap in leftcenter for a single that moved Ibañez to second. Ben Broussard whiffed on a high 0-2 fastball. Kenji Johjima popped a sinking 0-2 fly into shallow right. Yuniesky Betancourt popped the second pitch high to Lee halfway down the first-base line in foul ground. Seo threw 17 pitches and had 28 through two.
TOP 3RD
Russell Branyan was up 2-0 and shot a full-count pitch past a diving Sexson at first and into right for a single. Ben Zobrist fell behind 0-2, fouled a ball off Johjima's right instep, then took a 2-2 pitch that went off Johjima's glove (passed ball) and to the backstop, moving Branyan to second. Zobrist took the next pitch low for a walk. Baldelli whiffed on a low 1-1 fastball and Tampa Bay pulled off a double steal with Branyan beating Johjima's throw to third. Baldelli ended up bouncing a 2-2 pitch up the middle to Betancourt as Branyan scored and Zobrist moved to third.
»» DEVIL RAYS 1, MARINERS 0
Crawford popped the second pitch to Betancourt in foul ground down the leftfield line as Branyan held at third. Cantu tapped the second pitch back to the mound. Hernandez threw 23 pitches and had 45 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Willie Bloomquist was down 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch over the outside corner, or barely off it (called a strike). Ichiro got down 0-2 and bounced a 2-2 pitch to second. Lopez was down 0-2 and bounced a 1-2 pitch to Upton's backhand side, and Upton didn't get the glove down enough (error) and through as Lopez reached. Beltre was up 2-0 whiffed on a 2-2 breaking ball down and in. Seo threw 18 pitches and had 46 through three.
TOP 4TH
Lee grounded a 2-0 pitch to first. Norton drilled the second pitch into the rightfield corner for a double. Navarro lined out to left. Upton bounced a 2-0 pitch to short. Hernandez threw ten pitches and had 55 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Ibañez flew out to fairly deep right. Sexson popped to Lee in foul ground near first. Broussard nubbed the second pitch to Seo in front of the mound. Seo threw eight pitches and had 54 through four.
TOP 5TH
Branyan lined out to right on a 2-0 pitch. Zobrist fell behind 0-2 and couldn't check his swing on a 2-2 breaking ball in the dirt (iffy on the checkswing). Baldelli whiffed on a devil curve down and away. Hernandez threw 12 pitches and had 67 through five.
BOTTOM 5TH
Johjima grounded to Upton on the left side. Betancourt reached and bounced through Upton but Zobrist was there to back up and throw to first in time. Bloomquist lined out to right on the first pitch. Seo threw seven pitches and had 61 through five.
TOP 6TH
Crawford popped high to shallow left. Cantu bounced out to short. Lee bounced an 0-2 pitch up the middle and off the mound to Betancourt. Hernandez threw 12 pitches and had 79 through six.
BOTTOM 6TH
Ichiro dumped a single into shallow rightcenter, dropping it between Baldelli, Branyan, and Cantu. Lopez popped the second pitch to Zobrist backing into shallow left. Beltre was down 0-2 before smacking a 1-2 pitch into left for a single. Ibañez popped the first pitch high to short with the infield fly rule called. Sexson bounced up the middle to short, where Zobrist barely tagged the bag at second in time to force out Beltre. Seo threw 14 pitches and had 75 through six.
TOP 7TH
Norton bounced a 3-1 pitch to first. Navarro rolled a 1-2 pitch just past Sexson and toward the angled stands down the rightfield line for a double. Upton took the first pitch in the dirt away, and it went toward the backstop, moving Navarro to third. Upton was up 2-0 and bounced hard to third, where Beltre checked Navarro back to third and threw to first for the out. Branyan whiffed on a 2-2 curve down and in. Hernandez threw 18 pitches and had 97 through seven.
BOTTOM 7TH
Damon Hollins came in to play right for Branyan. Broussard whiffed on an 0-2 pitch in the dirt that got away from Navarro, who got to the ball and threw to first, but it got past Lee and went down the line, allowing Broussard to scoot all the way to second (wild pitch, error on throw). Johjima stuck the second pitch down the leftfield line for a single to score Broussard.
»» DEVIL RAYS 1, MARINERS 1
Betancourt bunted an up-and-in first pitch along the first-base line, getting thrown out but moving Johjima to second. Adam Jones came in to run for Johjima. Bloomquist popped the second pitch high to Navarro behind the plate, who bumped into Upton in pursuit of the ball. Ichiro served an 0-2 pitch for a line drive to a diving Zobrist at short. Seo threw 13 pitches and had 88 through seven.
TOP 8TH
Rene Rivera came in to catch. Zobrist whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball in the dirt (2-3 putout). Baldelli punched a single through the left side. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Crawford popped the second pitch high to Ibañez in left. Cantu took a first-pitch fastball in the dirt away that got away from Rivera behind the plate, allowing Baldelli to move to second. Cantu flew out to Bloomquist in rightcenter.
Hernandez' line: 8 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 111 pitches (68 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Lopez rolled the first pitch to short, but Zobrist had the ball roll up his glove and arm and never came up with it, allowing Lopez to reach. Beltre walked on four pitches to move Lopez to second, with an appearance of temperamentality from Seo after a 2-0 slider was down and away.
Jon Switzer came in for Seo. Ibañez whiffed at an 0-2 breaking ball in the dirt away.
Shawn Camp came in for Switzer. Sexson popped the second pitch high to right. Broussard bounced out to second. Camp threw five pitches.
Seo's line: 7 innings, 1 run (unearned), 5 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 93 pitches (64 strikes)
Switzer's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 3 pitches (3 strikes)
TOP 9TH
George Sherrill came in for Hernandez. Lee whiffed on an 0-2 fastball. Norton foul-tipped an 0-2 outside-corner fastball into Rivera's glove behind the plate. Navarro walked on four pitches.
Julio Mateo (great situation for Mark Lowe** since JJ Putz is burnt) came in for Sherrill. Upton popped high to Betancourt backing into shallow left. Mateo threw two pitches.
Sherrill's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Rivera was behind 0-2 before rolling a 1-2 pitch to short. Betancourt tapped the second pitch back to the mound. Bloomquist popped the first pitch to Cantu moving into shallow right. Camp threw eight pitches and had 13 total.
TOP 10TH
Hollins whiffed on an 0-2 pitch over the inner half. Zobrist worked an 0-2 count full before knocking a single into shallow center on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Baldelli took a first-pitch breaking ball and Rivera nailed Zobrist trying to steal second, who probably got his left hand on the bag before Lopez tagged him. Baldelli whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball down and away. Mateo threw 14 pitches and had 16 total.
Mateo's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 16 pitches (12 strikes)
BOTTOM 10TH
Ichiro slapped the second pitch past a drawn-in Upton at third, but Crawford came up throwing and nearly got Ichiro, except the throw was high, so Ichiro had the double.
Seth McClung came in for Camp. Lopez bunted to the left side to Upton, who threw to first for the out, moving Ichiro to third. Beltre was intentionally walked. Ibañez was intentionally walked to load the bases. Pitching coach Mike Butcher came to the mound for a visit. Sexson crushed the second pitch to the seats just to the right side of the mass of inebriation beyond the fence in center (left of the hitters' backdrop). That's a slam. Once it left the bat, the game was won since the fly ball was long enough. The fact that it was a homer was moot, but hey, who doesn't like a slam?
»» MARINERS 5, DEVIL RAYS 1
Camp's line: 1 2/3 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 16 pitches (11 strikes)
McClung's line: 1/3 inning, 3 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (3 strikes)
---
Gameball: Felix Hernandez.
Was this dominant Felix? No. To me, that's seven innings, maybe a walk, and eight strikeouts, maybe two or three runs, six or seven hits. He only struck out five batters in this game, so more people were making contact against him, more dependence on the defense, etc. It's good when the only disturbing thing I can point out with his start is that three of the five hits he gave up were doubles. What was the best thing about what Felix did? Honestly, I didn't think he was going to do it, but he did -- he stepped up where the rest of the rotation didn't and couldn't. On a normal day without the bullpen burnt, Hernandez still goes a solid seven innings, and I would have been fine with that. Mike Hargrove is Hargrove, though, and combined with the fact that JJ Putz was unavailable for the night, the bullpen was a bit out of whack in terms of roles. Though Hargrove didn't have it backfire, there's no way I want to see Julio Mateo trotting out of the bullpen to get one out in a tie game in the ninth inning. I don't know if Hargrove was trying to save Mark Lowe** for the extra innings or what. Maybe he had some bad bullpen sessions I haven't heard about. I know he struggled on Saturday and did throw 39 pitches, but did that really sock him in from being used three days later?
Goat: Ben Broussard.
His first game as a Mariner was great. His homer won the second game of the series at Cleveland the night after Shin-Soo Choo beat Felix Hernandez 1-0. He has played in eight games as a Mariner, starting in five of them. His totals? He's gone 4-for-22 (.182) with the one homer, the one RBI, a walk, and seven strikeouts. I know they've only had him for a week and a half, but so far he's done little more than contribute in the one game in Cleveland. While Eduardo Perez has been with the team since the beginning of July, the full-on platoon has only been in effect since the Cleveland series, which started on July 28th. Throw in the Perez numbers, and the ex-Cleveland platoon has gone 8-for-39 (.205) with a homer, two RBIs, four walks, and 12 strikeouts. Of course I think this is going to get better soon, but it's not exactly what we all expected out of them. I'm sure most fans expected not exactly a tear out of these two guys, but at least some hits here and there to remind us that they've got some warmth in their bats. I'm reminded of the NHL trade deadline in 2003-04, when Todd Bertuzzi did that whole suckerpunch thing and Brian Burke had to quickly restructure the roster. He traded for Martin Rucinsky because of his reputation as a goal scorer, someone who could finish. What happened? Well, look no further than the second line of his 2003-04 numbers. Let's hope the platoon is more Andy Benes down the stretch than Rucinsky.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 81-31 .723 -- W1
2002 69-43 .616 12 L1
2003 69-43 .616 12 W3
2000 66-46 .589 15 W4
2006 55-57 .491 26 W2
2005 49-63 .438 32 W2
2004 42-70 .375 39 W1
Shields. Washburn. Today.
[**typed before I found out the Mariners were hiding Lowe's supposedly nonserious elbow problems and that he may be back for Friday.]
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Tuesday, August 08, 2006
GAME 111: MARINERS 5, DEVIL RAYS 4
In 25 words or less: The bullpen does the job again because they're awesome, but it's partly because Moyer couldn't get out of the fifth.
This one featured Tim Corcoran going up against Jamie Moyer. Coming off of what most likely was the death knell to their playoff hopes, the Mariners hoped to rebound from yet another sweep at the hands of the Oakland Athletics. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays came to town, and the Mariners hoped to take a series or something. Of course, the last time Jamie Moyer faced the Devil Rays, he balked in the only run of the game and Scott Kazmir shut down the Mariner bats. Going in the Mariners' favor was the fact that there was no one of Kazmir calibre taking the mound for Tampa Bay in this game.
TOP 1ST
Damon Hollins foul-tipped a full-count change on the outer half. Carl Crawford shot the first pitch just inside the bag at first and the ball banked off the stands and juked Ichiro, resulting in an easy triple. Jorge Cantu punched the second pitch through the right side of a drawn-in infield (why?) for a single, scoring Crawford.
»» DEVIL RAYS 1, MARINERS 0
Travis Lee nearly homered on a full count but ended up walking on an inside pitch. Greg Norton fell behind 0-2 before whiffing on a 1-2 pitch and Cantu took third on the pitch, though Lee stayed at first. Dioner Navarro hit a 2-2 pitch and flew out to Ichiro, who had to run all the way near the line to make the catch. Moyer threw 25 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro bounced to third on a 1-2 pitch. Jose Lopez slapped a low-and-away first pitch into the rightfield corner for a double. Adrian Beltre clubbed the second pitch beyond the mass of inebriation to the right of the Mariners' bullpen and back toward some select eateries.
»» MARINERS 2, DEVIL RAYS 1
Raul Ibañez drove a long fly ball to center on a 2-2 pitch, but Hollins caught it and had hopped into the wall in a low-speed collision. Richie Sexson fell behind 0-2 and took a 2-2 curve over the outside corner, possibly a bit low. Corcoran threw 19 pitches.
TOP 2ND
BJ Upton was ahead 3-0 (and shook off being misidentified by Dave Niehaus as Jonny Gomes, then Niehaus said David Wright was a Yankee) and popped a full-count pitch to right. Jonny Gomes had the hitters' counts before whiffing on a full-count change. Ben Zobrist (Niehaus was on fire at this point, saying "Zobriski" before correcting himself) got ahead 2-0 and ended up flying out to center. Moyer threw 18 pitches and had 43 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Ben Broussard popped the first pitch very high to Lee behind the bag at first. Kenji Johjima popped the second pitch lazily to center. Yuniesky Betancourt bounced a single through the left side just past the reach of Zobrist at short. Willie Bloomquist watched the second pitch go by as Betancourt was gunned down by a one-hop throw from Navarro to Zobrist, who picked it nicely and laid down the tag. Corcoran threw nine pitches and had 28 through two.
TOP 3RD
Hollins hit a sinking liner to center that was caught on the run by Bloomquist. Crawford lined an 0-2 pitch to Ibañez in left. Cantu walked on a 3-1 pitch and really appeared at this point to not be too pleased with the strike zone. Lee smoked a 1-2 pitch up the middle for a single to move Cantu to second. Norton bounced the second pitch through the left side for a single to score Cantu, who easily beat the Ibañez throw to the plate.
»» DEVIL RAYS 2, MARINERS 2
Navarro checkswung on a high pitch and tapped back to the mound. Moyer threw 20 pitches and had 63 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Willie Bloomquist drilled a 2-2 pitch into center for a single, giving him a five-game hitting streak (true). Ichiro popped the second pitch high to shallow rightcenter. Lopez laced the first pitch into the leftcenter gap for a double, moving Bloomquist to third. Beltre ripped the second pitch right into Cantu's glove at second. Ibañez got ahead 2-0 and was given the final two balls intentionally, loading the bases. Sexson took a full-count pitch low, forcing Bloomquist across and leaving the bases loaded.
»» MARINERS 3, DEVIL RAYS 2
Broussard bounced up the middle over the second-base bag, but Zobrist got to it and backhand flipped to a covering Cantu to force out Sexson. Corcoran threw 23 pitches and had 51 through three.
TOP 4TH
Upton worked an 0-2 count full before shooting a grounder past Betancourt and into left for a single. Gomes watched as Upton took off on first move and took second even with Moyer going to first on a pickoff throw as Upton beat the throw back to second. Gomes whiffed on an 0-2 pitch. Zobrist punched a double down the leftfield line, scoring Upton easily.
»» DEVIL RAYS 3, MARINERS 3
Hollins grounded hard to third, where Beltre went to a knee and did the whole spin-and-throw thing, getting the out at first as Zobrist held at second. Crawford laid the wood on the second pitch (the swing looked funny), scoring Zobrist. Ichiro's throw home was caught by Johjima about ten feet in front of the plate.
»» DEVIL RAYS 4, MARINERS 3
Cantu fell behind 0-2 and ended up flying out to the track in right on a 1-2 pitch. Moyer threw 23 pitches and had 86 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Johjima fell behind 0-2 before popping a 2-2 pitch to Lee in foul ground on the right side. Betancourt took a 2-2 breaking ball just off the outside corner, but it was called a strike. Bloomquist was down 0-2 and ended up whiffing on a 1-2 fastball. Corcoran threw 14 pitches and had 65 through four.
TOP 5TH
Lee bounced a 3-1 pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first (3-1 putout). Norton poked a 2-0 pitch into the rightfield corner for a double. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Navarro walked on a 3-1 pitch away.
Julio Mateo came in for Moyer. Upton popped to left on the first pitch. Gomes popped high to center. Mateo threw four pitches.
Moyer's line: 4 1/3 innings, 4 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, 99 pitches (55 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Ichiro rolled the second pitch to short and was barely beat by the throw from Zobrist. Lopez spanked a 2-2 pitch into center for a single. Beltre put a good charge into an 0-2 pitch but got under it a bit much and flew out to the track in left. Ibañez smacked the second pitch for a line drive four rows into the rightfield seats.
»» MARINERS 5, DEVIL RAYS 4
Sexson whiffed on a 1-2 pitch away.
Corcoran's line: 5 innings, 5 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 83 pitches (52 strikes)
TOP 6TH
Zobrist took a 2-2 change at the knees. Hollins had the hitters' counts and walked on a full-count pitch down and away. Crawford drilled the second pitch into right for a single to move Hollins to second. Cantu popped to Sexson behind the bag at first.
George Sherrill came in for Mateo. Lee bounced an 0-2 pitch to short, and Sexson nicely picked the Betancourt throw at first. Sherrill threw three pitches.
Mateo's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 23 pitches (15 strikes)
BOTTOM 6TH
Dan Miceli came in for Corcoran. Broussard fell behind 0-2 and lost his bat on a 1-2 pitch on which he'd whiffed. Johjima got too much under one, hitting it hard but flying out to left. Betancourt rolled the second pitch to short, where Zobrist made a nice play on the run.
Miceli's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (7 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Norton fell behind 0-2 and popped to Betancourt in shallow left on a 2-2 pitch (eighth pitch of the at-bat). Navarro whiffed on an 0-2 pitch.
Rafael Soriano came in for Sherrill. Upton was down 0-2 before whiffing on a 1-2 fastball. Soriano threw four pitches.
Sherrill's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 14 pitches (12 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Chad Harville came in for Miceli. Bloomquist chopped the second pitch to second. Ichiro lined a 1-2 pitch right to Zobrist at short. Lopez popped a 3-1 pitch to Cantu backing onto the outfield grass. Harville threw 11 pitches.
TOP 8TH
Gomes flew out to Ichiro in rightcenter on an 0-2 pitch. Zobrist lined the first pitch in front of Ichiro in right for a single. Hollins hit the second pitch for a sinking liner into rightcenter that looked like it might drop, but Ichiro ran all the way over to make the catch. Crawford fouled an 0-2 pitch back and off of Bruce Froemming's left shoulder behind the plate, and he took a few seconds to shake it off and have the company of Rick Griffin. Johjima got Crawford's follow-through off his mask as well on the pitch. Crawford ended up dumping a 2-2 pitch into the leftcenter gap for a single, moving Zobrist to third.
JJ Putz came in for Soriano. Cantu watched the second pitch as Crawford took second on indifference. Cantu was ahead 2-0 before whiffing on a full-count splitter. Putz threw six pitches.
Soriano's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeouts, 16 pitches (13 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Beltre bounced the first pitch to first (3-1 putout). Ibañez rolled to the hole on the left side, where Zobrist had a way to go to get to it and did so, but booted it once he gloved it. Sexson bounced a 3-0 pitch to short to start an easy 6-4-3 double play.
Harville's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 19 pitches (11 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Lee poked the second pitch through the right side for a single. Norton popped the first pitch to Bloomquist in rightcenter. Navarro watched as Lee stole second on a 2-0 pitch. Navarro was ahead 3-0 before walking on a full-count fastball up and in, then Josh Paul came in to run for him. Upton broke his bat on a slow bouncer to short, and Betancourt charged and threw to first in time, but Lee moved to third. Gomes took a full-count splitter down and in, loading the bases. Chaves visited the mound. Zobrist mercifully popped a 2-2 pitch to Bloomquist in shallow center to end Putz' best Eddie Guardado impression (the good kind).
Putz' line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 29 pitches (15 strikes)
---
Gameball: Raul Ibañez.
He was 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs, and an intentional walk. Even the out he made was on a drive that went to the warning track. That hard-hit ball was more worthy of a hit than the roller to short that Ben Zobrist booted, but oh well. He was hitting the ball hard. By my count and discretion, the last solid start from a Mariner starting pitcher was on July 29th in Cleveland, when Jarrod Washburn went 6 1/3 and gave up a run on five hits, walked one, and struck out five. That in and of itself doesn't have much to do with Ibañez, but what it does say to me is that if the starting pitching is faltering and if the bullpen is currently getting worked hard and soaking up a ton of innings, the offense has to put it together and step it up. It'd also be nice if the bullpen got some more low-pressure innings, though I guess that ends up on the shoulders of the early-inning relievers like a Jake Woods or a Julio Mateo or a Sean Green. Then you hope those guys don't toss away the game so you can get into the deeper reaches of the bullpen with Rafael Soriano, George Sherrill, Mark Lowe, JJ Putz, etc.
Goat: Jamie Moyer.
It was apparent early on that the strike zone wasn't much in Moyer's favor. He surrendered three walks in the game. In the last three games, Seattle starting pitchers have combined to throw a grand total of twelve innings. All Mariner fans as well as I love how the Mariner bullpen has done all year. So when the Mariners have 13 games left in a stretch where they play 17 games without a day off, the rested bullpen is a good bullpen. Joel Piñeiro, Gil Meche, and now Moyer have all done terrible and have all turned it over to the bullpen to get massive innings. Let's hope that the Mariner bullpen doesn't implode onto itself, but the only way to alleviate the problem is if one of the starting pitchers steps up and gives seven or gets into the eighth. Of course, it's all on Felix to do that in the middle game of this series. What'll he end up doing? I'll venture to guess he won't throw any more than six innings, hopefully give up just two or three runs, maybe seven hits. Most importantly, I hope he doesn't walk a bunch of guys. No more than two walks from Hernandez would be nice. Seven or eight strikeouts would be nice. Anyway, the fact that the Mariners need Felix to be the stopper (of the bad-start streak) tells you all you need to know about the starting pitching situation right now.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 80-31 .721 -- L1
2002 69-42 .622 11 W6
2003 68-43 .613 12 W2
2000 65-46 .586 15 W3
2006 54-57 .486 26 W1
2005 48-63 .432 32 W1
2004 41-70 .369 39 L1
Seo. Hernandez. Tonight.
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Monday, August 07, 2006
GAME 110: ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 6
In 25 words or less: The Mariners held a lead through one frame of Oakland offense, and that was as good as it got this weekend.
This one featured Joe Blanton going up against Gil Meche. Raul Ibañez came into the game hitting .190 against Blanton. The Mariners hoped salvage the final game of an already disastrous three-game series to snap a string of 11 straight losses at the hands of their division rivals. They hoped to come away with a victory against Blanton, who had three wins against the Mariners this season coming into this game. There were four possible outcomes of this series -- the Mariners would gain or lose one or three games on Oakland. By losing the first two games of the series, the Mariners put themselves in a precarious position of possibly losing three games in the standings to Oakland and burying themselves in the cellar of the AL West. A win in this game, and the damage is somewhat limited as the net result would have the Mariners losing just one game on the A's.
TOP 1ST
Jason Kendall rolled a single up the middle and past a diving Betancourt into center for a single. Mark Kotsay whiffed over an 0-2 curve. Milton Bradley bounced an 0-2 pitch right to Lopez to start a 4-6-3 double play. Meche threw ten pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro drilled the second pitch into the rightfield corner for a double, making his slump look less worse at 3-for-24. Jose Lopez grounded the second pitch hard to first, moving Ichiro to third. Adrian Beltre tapped a 1-2 pitch right back to the mound as Ichiro had to hold at third. Raul Ibañez was down 0-2 and got a steady diet of breaking balls before crushing a low fastball into right for a single, scoring Ichiro.
»» MARINERS 1, ATHLETICS 0
Richie Sexson had the hitters' counts before blistering a ball into the gap in rightcenter, and Ibañez sped through Carlos Garcia's stop sign at third and scored. It helped that the relay back to the infield was botched.
»» MARINERS 2, ATHLETICS 0
Ben Broussard pounded the second pitch for a single into left, moving Sexson to second. Kenji Johjima punched an 0-2 breaking ball through the right side for a single, but for some reason Sexson was sent from third and was out by roughly a mile at home on the throw. Sexson came up hobbling after the play as a result of landing a bit hard on his knee. Blanton threw 26 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Frank Thomas flew out to shallow left on a 2-0 pitch. Eric Chavez was ahead 2-0 and later took a full-count change low and away for a walk. Jay Payton hit a line drive off the top portion of the wall in rightfield for a double (nearly missed a homer), moving Chavez to third. Nick Swisher was jammed and popped an 0-2 pitch high to Beltre on the infield grass. Marco Scutaro was up 2-0 and later bounced out to third on a full count. Meche threw 22 pitches and had 32 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Yuniesky Betancourt popped the first pitch high to first. Adam Jones was down 0-2 and bounced out to third on a 1-2 pitch. Ichiro rolled a 2-2 pitch to Chavez plugging the hole on the left side. Blanton threw ten pitches and had 36 through two.
TOP 3RD
Mark Ellis took a 1-2 fastball over the inside corner for strike three. Kendall worked a 1-2 count full before walking on a curve. Kotsay was up 2-0 before lining a single to right, moving Kendall to second. Bradley bounced the first pitch to second, moving Kendall and Kotsay to third and second. Thomas blasted a high 0-2 fastball ten rows into the elevated leftfield bleachers in left.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 2
Chavez walked on a full-count pitch away. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves visited the mound. Payton laced a full-count pitch for a line drive into the leftcenter gap, scoring Chavez as Jones muffed the ball on the transfer (double and error, no RBI), moving Payton to second.
»» ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 2
Swisher got ahead 2-0 before line-driving a 2-2 to Ibañez on the track in center. Meche threw 38 pitches and had 70 through three.
BOTTOM 3RD
Lopez singled into left on the second pitch. Beltre whiffed on an 0-2 pitch half a foot off the plate outside for strike three. Ibañez spanked a 2-2 curve through the right side for a single, moving Lopez to second. Sexson popped the first pitch high to Bradley a couple steps short of the track in right, moving Lopez to third. Broussard grounded hard to second. Blanton threw 15 pitches and had 51 through three.
TOP 4TH
Scutaro popped to Ichiro near the rightfield corner. Ellis was down 0-2 and rolled a 2-2 pitch to short. Kendall was ahead 2-0 and later bounced over the mound to second. Meche threw 12 pitches and had 82 through four.
BOTTOM 4TH
Johjima fell behind 0-2 and drilled a 1-2 pitch (eighth pitch of the at-bat) into center for a single. Betancourt got behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Jones got ahead 3-0 but popped lazily to center on a 3-1 pitch. Ichiro rolled a 1-2 pitch to short, where Scutaro threw to second for the force on Johjima. Blanton threw 21 pitches and had 72 through four.
TOP 5TH
Kotsay looped the first pitch into shallow center, but Lopez moved back for the catch. Bradley smoked the first pitch for a hard roller into the rightfield corner for a double. Thomas was ahead 2-0 and pulled a full-count pitch for a single near the line in left, scoring Bradley.
»» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 2
Chavez bounced the second pitch up the middle and Lopez moved over to get it, but it went under his glove and through his legs (error) on what could have been a double play, moving Thomas to second. Payton flew out to Ichiro near the corner in right on the first pitch. Swisher cranked a full-count pitch for a hard single to right, and Thomas scored from second, bad wheels and all, thanks to Ichiro's airmail throw over Johjima. Swisher went to second on the play.
»» ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 2
Scutaro inadvertently checkswung at a 2-0 pitch but made contact and rolled to second.
Meche's line: 5 innings, 6 runs (4 earned), 8 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 102 pitches (62 strikes)
BOTTOM 5TH
Lopez bounced out to third. Beltre was up 3-0 before taking a full-count breaking ball over the inner half. Ibañez got ahead 3-0 and walked on a 3-1 pitch inside. Sexson cranked a double off the base of the wall in leftcenter, scoring Ibañez from first.
»» ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 3
Broussard went fishing and popped a 1-2 pitch to third. Blanton threw 21 pitches and had 93 through five.
TOP 6TH
Sean Green came in for Meche. Ellis was up 2-0 and ended up rolling out to second. Kendall was up 2-0 and rolled out to second on a 2-2 pitch. Kotsay lined out to third on a 2-0 pitch. Green threw 12 pitches.
BOTTOM 6TH
Johjima lined a single into center. Betancourt got ahead 2-0 and later hit a hard line drive, but it was caught on the run by Payton in left. Greg Dobbs, hitting for Jones, fell behind 0-2 and grounded a 1-2 pitch right to second for what wasn't quite a double play as Dobbs beat out the back end on Ellis' slight muff of the ball. Ichiro took the first pitch in the dirt away, and it got away from Kendall, moving Dobbs to second. Ichiro rolled out to second on a 1-2 pitch.
Blanton's line: 6 innings, 3 runs, 10 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, 109 pitches (74 strikes)
TOP 7TH
Willie Bloomquist came in to play center. Bradley lined a 1-2 pitch to Beltre, who went to a knee to snare the hot shot. Thomas grounded a 1-2 pitch hard to second. Chavez bounced a drive over the wall in leftcenter for a double. Payton lined out to a charging Bloomquist in shallow center on the second pitch. Green threw 15 pitches and had 27 total.
BOTTOM 7TH
Kiko Calero came in for Blanton, Bobby Kielty came in to play left, Payton moved over to center. Lopez rolled the first pitch to Ellis in the hole on the right side. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and bounced a 2-2 pitch to the right of the mound, where Calero came off to make the play.
Brad Halsey came in for Calero. Ibañez walked on a full-count pitch down and away, the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Sexson took a ball in the dirt that got away from Kendall and moved Ibañez to second. Sexson walked on four pitches. Eduardo Perez was announced as the pinch-hitter for Broussard, and manager Ken Macha came to the mound with the hook.
Justin Duchscherer came in for Halsey. Eduardo Perez, hitting for Broussard, had the hitters' counts and singled the 3-1 pitch past Scutaro at short and into leftcenter, scoring Ibañez and moving Sexson to second.
»» ATHLETICS 6, MARINERS 4
Johjima fell behind 0-2 and popped a 2-2 pitch to shallow center as Payton had moderate trouble with the sun. Duchscherer threw 12 pitches.
Calero's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (6 strikes)
Halsey's line: 0 innings, 1 run, 0 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 12 pitches (4 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Swisher drove a little homer about five rows into the stands in rightcenter.
»» ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 4
Scutaro one-hopped to third. Ellis rolled to Betancourt in the hole at short, who made the off-balance throw to first. Kendall smacked the second pitch for a single past a diving Beltre and into left. Kielty was up 2-0 and later grounded out to short.
Green's line: 3 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 42 pitches (26 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Betancourt slapped a single into shallow right. Bloomquist broke his bat on a bouncing ball to the left side that went off the glove of a diving Chavez, and it deflected past Scutaro backing up, moving Betancourt to second. Ichiro whiffed horribly on an 0-2 breaking ball down and away. Lopez drilled a ball off of Duchscherer's glove, and it deflected away from the mound and toward the basepath between first and second, but Duchscherer had no play after he got to it, and the bases were now loaded.
Huston Street came in for Duchscherer. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and looped a 2-2 pitch for a fly ball into left that dropped in front of Kielty (who got a bad jump on the ball) and behind Scutaro, scoring Betancourt and leaving the bases loaded.
»» ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 5
Ibañez grounded the first pitch right to first to start what usually would have been a double play, but Beltre made a hard slide (kind of late too) to take out Scutaro at second, nixing any throw attempt back to first. Bloomquist scored on the play and Ichiro moved to third.
»» ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 6
Sexson took a pitch in the dirt that was blocked by Kendall so Ichiro had to hold at third, but Ibañez was able to move to second. Sexson was ahead 3-1 before taking a full-count breaking ball down and over the outside corner. Street threw six pitches.
Duchscherer's line: 2/3 inning, 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 24 pitches (16 strikes)
TOP 9TH
JJ Putz came in for Green. Bradley flew out on the second pitch to Ichiro a couple steps in front of the rightfield track. Thomas got ahead 3-0 and lined a full-count pitch for a single into left. Chavez whiffed on a high full-count fastball. Payton worked a 1-2 count full and singled over Betancourt and into center for a single, moving Thomas to second. Antonio Perez came in to run for Thomas. Chaves visited the mound. Swisher waved through a high 2-2 fastball.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 29 pitches (18 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Perez bounced out to second. Johjima fell behind 0-2 and rolled a 1-2 pitch to short. Betancourt looped a 2-2 pitch for a fly ball into shallow right that normally would have been caught, but Ellis lost the ball in the sun and it landed a couple feet to his left. Bloomquist took a high 0-2 pitch and Betancourt took off, stealing second on a high throw. Bloomquist whiffed on a 2-2 slider down and away.
Street's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 30 pitches (19 strikes)
---
Gameball: Raul Ibañez.
For coming into the game hitting so crappily against Joe Blanton, he was able to do his part in turning it around. Ibañez reached base every time he got to the plate. He reached on a fielder's choice in the eighth, which is why his line shows as 2-for-3 in the boxscore. Still, a 2-for-3 day with two RBIs and two walks is quite a day, especially against Oakland considering how crappy it's gone against them. The other thing about Ibañez was that the two hits he had today were only his second and third hits of the month. Sure, it's only been five games in August, but he's 3-for-17 with no extra-base hits. Hopefully this game gets him started on a tear, though, because now that the Mariners crapped the bed against Oakland, they'll need a few guys to click so they can try hammering away at the now-huge deficit in the standings. Also, Ibañez was hitting .286 after the middle game of the Detroit series on July 8th. Almost a month later, he sits at a .274 season average. We all knew going into the season that a lot of things would have to go right for this team to make a run, and Ibañez getting warm is just one of many.
Goat: Gil Meche.
He hasn't recorded an out in the seventh inning in any of his last five starts. Meche has thrown 38 1/3 innings in July and August. The bad news is that it averages to only 5 1/3 innings per start, so the bullpen's getting burned. To think he became the team's most reliable starter is pretty telling about how this rotation is in shambles. He's picked up 0.52 on his ERA since July started as well. It's been five starts since he recorded a win. He's walked a total of ten batters over his last three starts. In all of July and this start, he has an ERA of 5.87. I'm not asking for Meche to go out and be a worldbeater or anything, but I'd take it every time out if he got into the seventh and gave up four runs. That's it. He'd get far enough into the game so the bullpen wouldn't get burned as heavily, and the team would still have a chance to win. The whole burning-the-bullpen thing is a lot more magnified now since the Mariners' schedule has taken a busy turn and they don't have every single Thursday off like they did in July. This game was the third in a stretch of 17 straight without a day off for the Mariners.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 80-30 .727 -- W4
2002 68-42 .618 12 W5
2003 67-43 .609 13 W1
2000 64-46 .582 16 W2
2006 53-57 .482 27 L3
2005 47-63 .427 33 L2
2004 41-69 .373 39 W1
Corcoran. Moyer. Tonight.
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Sunday, August 06, 2006
GAME 109: ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 2
In 25 words or less: The last 18 Mariner hitters got only three balls out of the infield. Piñeiro was horrible. In other words, GO SEAHAWKS!
This one featured Dan Haren going up against Joel Piñeiro. Piñeiro had allowed 15 first-inning runs so far this season. Adrian Beltre came into the game 7-for-18 against Haren. Righties were hitting .326 this season against Piñeiro. This is apparently the same guy that set down 51 straight righthanded batters when he first came to the Majors. The Mariners had lost their last ten games against Oakland. Their only win against the A's came in the first meeting between the teams this season. The Mariners really had to win the last two games of the series. They lost the first game of the series, and the Mariners needed this one because going up against Joe Blanton on Sunday was pretty much a win for Oakland. The Blue Angels flew overhead during the game, but how would the Mariners fly during Seafair weekend?
Oh yeah, I was blacked out by MLB.tv (Fox), so this is off of Dave Niehaus/Ron Fairly and the last couple innings after the blackout ended. There's really no use to go back through this game and visually clarify everything, especially given the final result.
TOP 1ST
Jason Kendall worked a 1-2 count full before whiffing. Mark Kotsay was down 0-2 but grounded to short on a full count. Milton Bradley doubled down the leftfield line on the first pitch. Frank Thomas lined a single into right, and Ichiro threw home to try to get Bradley, but Bradley's slide knocked the ball loose from Rene Rivera's glove. Thomas went to second on the throw.
»» ATHLETICS 1, MARINERS 0
Eric Chavez grounded the first pitch to second. Piñeiro threw 19 pitches.
BOTTOM 1ST
Ichiro tapped the first pitch to the right side, where Haren came off the mound and threw to first. Jose Lopez flew out to Kotsay in deep leftcenter. Adrian Beltre walked on a full-count slider low and away. Raul Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and badly whiffed on a 1-2 sinker. Haren threw 16 pitches.
TOP 2ND
Jay Payton shot a grounder past a diving Beltre and into left for a single. Nick Swisher walked on four pitches. Marco Scutaro looped a ball into shallow left, and Betancourt moved back to snare the fly. Mark Ellis drove the second pitch a few feet short of the track in center, where Jones got to it and made the catch. Kendall poked a single into center to score Payton and moved Swisher to third.
»» ATHLETICS 2, MARINERS 0
Kotsay looped the first pitch for a single in front of Ibañez, scoring Swisher and moving Kendall to second.
»» ATHLETICS 3, MARINERS 0
Bradley laced a 1-2 pitch into right for a double, scoring Kendall and moving Kotsay to third. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves visited the mound.
»» ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 0
Thomas was down 0-2 and took a 1-2 curve barely off the plate inside before walking on a full-count pitch inside on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, loading the bases. Chavez, the ninth batter to the plate in the inning, fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Piñeiro threw 33 pitches and had 52 through two.
BOTTOM 2ND
Richie Sexson was up 2-0 and ended up flying out high to right. Ben Broussard lined the second pitch into left for a single. Yuniesky Betancourt singled into the hole on the left side, moving Broussard to second. Rene Rivera drove a fly ball into deep rightcenter, where it was caught by Kotsay, but Broussard was able to tag and throw to third. Adam Jones was up 2-0 but whiffed on a 2-2 pitch in the dirt. Haren threw 18 pitches and had 34 through two.
TOP 3RD
Payton bounced to short, but Betancourt threw too high to first (error) and over the reach of Sexson. Swisher hit a high fly ball to Ichiro in rightcenter on the second pitch. Scutaro was ahead 3-1 before doubling into the leftfield corner on a full count, moving Payton to third. Ellis was intentionally walked ot load the bases. Kendall got ahead 3-0 but popped to Lopez on the right side on a 3-1 pitch with infield fly rule being called.
Jake Woods came in for Piñeiro. Kotsay worked a 1-2 count full before grounding out to second. Woods threw six pitches.
Piñeiro's line: 2 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 76 pitches (45 strikes)
BOTTOM 3RD
Ichiro popped out to Ellis backing into shallow right. Lopez smacked the second pitch into the leftfield corner for a double. Beltre was ahead 3-1 and hit a high fly to left that barely got over the wall in left, scoring Lopez.
»» ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 2
Ibañez grounded to first on the second pitch (3-1 putout). Sexson bounced to third, but the ball went off the glove of Chavez (error), snapping his 65-game errorless streak. Broussard fell behind 0-2 and foul-tipped a 1-2 pitch into Kendall's glove behind the plate. Haren threw 21 pitches and had 55 through three.
TOP 4TH
Bradley broke his bat on the first pitch, grounding to short and just getting beaten by Betancourt's throw. Thomas took the first pitch for a strike, but took the next four for balls. Chavez fell behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch at the knees for strike three. Payton rolled a 2-2 pitch to second, where Lopez went to Betancourt at the bag for the force. Woods threw 16 pitches and had 22 total.
BOTTOM 4TH
Betancourt was ahead 3-0 before walking on a 3-1 pitch. Rivera rolled the second pitch to Chavez behind the bag at third, who went to second for the force, but the turn to first wasn't in time for a double play. Jones grounded a 1-2 pitch to Chavez, who made a nice pick to his glove side and nearly turned the double play, but Jones beat it out at first (Rivera was forced). Ichiro rode a 3-1 pitch in front of the track in left for a flyout. Haren threw 16 pitches and had 71 through four.
TOP 5TH
Swisher slapped a 2-2 pitch into right for a single. Scutaro flew out to center on an 0-2 pitch. Ellis popped the second pitch high to third. Kendall was down 0-2 and flew out to right on a 1-2 pitch. Woods threw 16 pitches and had 38 total.
BOTTOM 5TH
Lopez grounded out to third. Beltre flew out to Bradley in rightcenter on a 1-2 pitch. Ibañez popped a 2-0 pitch to Chavez in foul ground on the left side. Haren threw ten pitches and had 81 through five.
TOP 6TH
Kotsay singled up the middle into center. Bradley whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Thomas banged the first pitch into left for a single. Chavez grounded the second pitch to second to start a 4-6-3 double play. Woods threw 13 pitches and had 49 total.
BOTTOM 6TH
Sexson whiffed on a 1-2 fastball. Broussard took an 0-2 pitch over the inside corner. Betancourt whiffed on an 0-2 pitch. Haren struck out the side on ten pitches and had 91 through six.
TOP 7TH
Payton rolled to Sexson at first, who bobbled it and tried to tag Payton as he went by, but it was with the glove, which didn't have the ball in it. Mike Hargrove came out to argue, but it was to no avail. Swisher was up 3-0 and checked his swing on a full-count pitch, moving Payton to second.
Mark Lowe came in for Woods. Scutaro bunted along the left side, where Beltre threw to first as Payton and Swisher moved to third and second. Ellis had the hitters' counts before walking on a full-count pitch outside. Kendall took the first pitch and it went to the backstop, scoring Payton from third and moving Swisher and Ellis to third and second. Chaves came to the mound for a visit.
»» ATHLETICS 5, MARINERS 2
Kendall grounded the next pitch to third, where Beltre threw straight home and Rivera tagged out Swisher as Ellis went to third. Kotsay took a 1-2 pitch low and Rivera snap-threw to third and nearly got Ellis leaning too far off the bag. Kotsay whiffed on the next pitch. Lowe threw 15 pitches.
Woods' line: 3 1/3 innings, 1 run (unearned), 3 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 56 pitches (35 strikes)
BOTTOM 7TH
Greg Dobbs, hitting for Rivera, grounded a 1-2 pitch under Haren's glove, but Ellis made the play to first. Jones whiffed on a 2-2 pitch. Ichiro grounded back to the mound.
Haren's line: 7 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, 106 pitches (67 strikes)
TOP 8TH
Kenji Johjima came in to catch. Bradley grounded to short on the first pitch. Thomas was up 2-0 and ended up grounding under a diving Betancourt for a single. Chavez flew out to center on a 1-2 pitch. Payton had the hitters' counts before walking on a 3-1 pitch outside. Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Swisher took an 0-2 fastball for strike three.
Lowe's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 33 pitches (18 strikes)
BOTTOM 8TH
Kiko Calero came in for Haren. Lopez popped to second on the second pitch. Beltre whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Ibañez took a 2-2 pitch over the inside corner.
Calero's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 14 pitches (10 strikes)
TOP 9TH
Rafael Soriano came in for Lowe. Scutaro drove a fly to Ichiro on the warning track on the second pitch. Ellis got ahead 3-0 but whiffed on a full count. Kendall walked on a full count. Kotsay walked, moving Kendall to second. Bradley exploded his bat and rolled the second pitch to first.
Soriano's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, 21 pitches (8 strikes)
BOTTOM 9TH
Huston Street came in for Calero. Sexson took a 2-2 fastball over the outside corner. Broussard flew out to deep left on the first pitch. Betancourt was up 2-0 but grounded out to short.
Street's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 10 pitches (6 strikes)
---
Gameball: Jake Woods.
If you go and look at this guy's game log, he really hasn't sucked since May. Lately, Mike Hargrove has been using him in more late-inning situations than he had earlier in the season. On Friday night, for instance, he had a later-inning appearance. When Joel Piñeiro goes and craps the bed against a division rival, though, the fact that Woods pitched an inning the night before didn't mean he wasn't going to come in for long relief in this one. He ate up a few innings and was pulled from the game in a precarious situation, and one of his runners ended up scoring thanks to an error and Mark Lowe having his shakiest appearance since being called up. Still, the run was unearned. Woods has made 13 appearances since the end of May, and he has only given up earned runs in two of those appearances. Of course, Woods can't do much to keep the Mariners from having to try and salvage a game in the series against Joe Blanton. So yeah, we might as well make it twelve straight losses by the Mariners at the hands of the A's. Pathetic.
Goat: Joel Piñeiro.
I really really really really really wish they could have gotten rid of him at the deadline or before the season. Anything to spare us from what we're seeing from him now. Though it's highly unlikely, I think it's definitely to the point where if Piñeiro is ever the same pitcher he used to be and the same pitcher we thought would be very good someday, it's not going to be in Seattle. He can't rush the fastball up to the plate at 94 like he used to do, and now he gets hit way too hard. It's just sad to see it all degenerate into what it is now. Not a lot of people have brought this up yet (at least I don't think so), but the Mariners after 109 games have had the same five starting pitchers all year, much like they did in that 2003 season. I hate that the Mariners have lost the first two games of this Oakland series, sure, and I hate that they don't seem to have any jump at all. Still, the Mariners were saddled with the brutal misfortune of getting Oakland on the schedule and having Jarrod Washburn and Piñeiro starting the first two games of the series.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
2001 79-30 .725 -- W3
2002 67-42 .615 12 W4
2003 66-43 .606 13 L1
2000 63-46 .578 16 W1
2006 53-56 .486 26 L2
2005 47-62 .431 32 L1
2004 40-69 .367 39 L1
Blanton. Meche. Today.