Monday July 21, 2008

Red Sox 4, Mariners 0

Hometown boy Jon Lester was declared cancer free in 2007 in Seattle after receiving treatments for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  Tonight Lester put on a show for the hometown fans.

Lester (8-3) struck out six and walked zero batters in 7 1/3 innings of work to lead the Red Sox to a 4-0 shut out at Safeco in Seattle.  It took a hard chopper off his shin to get him out of the ballgame.  The Tacoma native has traditionally not pitched well in Seattle. “It’s nice to come back home and pitch halfway decent,” Lester said.  Lester had left the bases loaded when he left the mound, but Jonathan Papelbon got Raul Ibanez to ground into a double-play to get out of the jam.  Papelbon finished of the M’s in the ninth for his 29th save of the season.

Seattle starter Jarrod Washburn kept it close through four innings shutting out the potent Red Sox lineup.  In the fifth inning though, the Red Sox finally got on the board.  Former Mariner prospect from the past Jason Varitek hit a two-run shot over the left field wall scoring Coco Crisp to make it 2-0.  “Wash” allowed seven hits in 5 2/3 innings allowing only two runs.  For the M’s lefty it was the seventh out of eight starts with two runs or less allowed.  He only has picked up two wins over those starts.  Washburn has rebounded over the last month and should draw some interest before the July 31st deadline.

Jed Lowrie added a two-run single in the eighth, and Manny Ramirez slammed three singles for Boston to lead the attack.  Ramirez has hit safely in 10 straight games.  Tampa won last night, so Boston remains 1½ games behind in the AL East.

The Mariners bats remained silent stranding six base runners.  Ichiro Suzuki went without a hit for the second consecutive game and remains within seven hits of 3,000 professionally.  Adrian Beltre and Yuniesky Betancourt each had two hits for the Mariners.

In Game two of the series tomorrow night, R.A. Dickey (2-4) will take the bump against Daisuke Matsuzaka (10-1) at 7:10 PT.

Mariners Blog

Monday July 14, 2008

Startribune.com in Minneapolis, Minnesota is reporting a “club source” has contacted Seattle about third baseman Adrian Beltre.  This not news, considering it was all over the Internet last week.  Apparently though the Twins are acting on their “internal discussions” by contacting Seattle.

Although Beltre is just what the Twins need, I just don’t buy this deal for a second.  The Twinkies have a history of being “sellers” but remaining competitive by being smart with their player decisions  much like Billy Beane in Oakland.  With Beltre due to make $12 million this season and again in ‘09, I just can’t see the Twins taking on that contract.

On the Mariners side, Beltre may possibly be the teams best player at the moment.  He is looked upon by many as very underrated because of the high expectations due to his lofty price tag when he signed with Seattle as a free agent.  He plays a gold glove caliber third, and puts up decent numbers for receiving little protection in the lineup. Also, the M’s have little in the way of prospects coming through the system ready to play third for the big club.  I think unless someone knocks the M’s socks off with a deal, Beltre will be a Mariner in ’09. 

Mariners Blog

Sunday July 13th, 2008

Mariners 4, Royals 3

In a season when the Mariners can’t seem to get out of their own way, the M’s finally got some luck Sunday afternoon in route to a 4-3 win heading into the All-Star break.

In the top of the 9th, a throwing error by Royals catcher John Buck during a wacky “pickle” play scored Adrian Beltre to give the Mariners a 4-3 lead.  The play happened as a result of a quick come-backer to the mound by Willie Bloomquist that caught Beltre leaning toward home plate. Thanks to Buck he luckily got out of it.

Brandon Morrow got a chance at redemption to end what has been his roughest week of the 2008 season.  Morrow again saw himself facing David DeJesus with two outs and the game on the line.  Bombtrack forced DeJesus to fly out to left to pick up the save.

Royals starter Kyle Davies was working on a nice ballgame going into the 7th inning pitching with a 2-1 lead.  That was until Jeff Clement smacked a full-count pitch over the wall to score Bloomquist to give Seattle a 3-2 lead.  For Clement, it was his 5th home-run of the season and first hit in his last 16 at bats.  Bloomquist added a solid showing at the plate going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. 

For KC Mike Aviles (3-for-4, 2 RBI) tied the score with an RBI groundout in the 7th, but the Royals couldn’t come up with any offense for the remainder of the contest.  Sean Green and Arthur Rhodes came in and combined for two scoreless, hit-less innings of work until Morrow came in to close it down.

With the All-Star break coming up, lets see what Seattle decides to do for the second half.  Manager Jim RIggleman said the staff is going to come together and figure out their “plan”.  Riggleman did mention that he has been encouraged with the teams recent play and may not want to “blow it up” just yet.   The Mariners skipper mentioned several times how he hasn’t had a healthy ball club since April and that he was anxious to see what his team will look like with a healthy lineup. He also added that he is hoping that the team doesn’t give up its best players. 

This can’t be music to Mariners fans’ ears considering all the injuries have been to the pitching staff, which is the strength of the team lately.  Hitting is and always has been the problem.  Lets face it, Riggleman doesn’t want to blow it up; he wants to be the manager in ‘09.  The only way that happens is a strong second half.  Same with the front office within the organization; they all need results to keep jobs.  We will see.

Mariners Blog

July 12, 2008

Royals 5, Mariners 4

Brandon Morrow took the hill in the 9th inning Saturday night with a 4-3 lead.  After blowing his first save of the season earlier in the week against Oakland, Morrow was looking to get back on track.  Morrow retired the first two batters he faced, and only needed to get pinch hitter Billy Butler to end it.  Morrow walked Butler and put the winning run to the plate.  David DeJesus wasted no time jumping on a Morrow fastball and putting it over the right field wall to win it for the Royals 5-4.  It was the first walk-off home-run for the Royals since 2005. 

Mark Grudzielanek recorded his 2,000th career hit earlier in the game and became the 251st player to achieve that feat.  I’m sure Grudzielanek will never forget this game.

Former Mariner Horacio Ramirez picked up the win in relief for the Royals.  He pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of another former Mariner GIl Meche.  The M’s got to Meche for four runs on ten hits.

With Meche pitching with a 3-0 lead in the bottom of top of the 6th, Raul Ibanez hit his 11th home-run of the season scoring Ichiro Suzuki to cut the lead to 3-2.  A two-run double by Jeremy Reed scored Adrian Beltre and Jose Vidro to put the M’s up 4-3 in the inning.  The middle relief was stellar again for the M’s as Sean Green and Arthur Rhodes set the table for Morrow who couldn’t hold on in the 9th.  Jarrod Washburn pitched solid allowing three runs over six innings of work.

Recent call-up Tug Hulett played in his first game in the Majors and recorded his first career hit, a single in the 5th off Meche.  Hulett was the DH for the night.

Sunday Pitching Probables :

Mariners vs. Royals @ 2:10 ET

Carlos Silva (4-11) vs. Kyle Davies (3-1)

Mariners Blog

Saturday  July 11, 2008

Royals 3, Mariners 1

Felix Hernandez finally made his return back to the Mariner rotation on Friday night against the Kansas City Royals.  Hernandez retired the first ten batters he faced, throwing five innings striking out eight.  The Royals got to Felix in the 5th for their only runs of the ballgame.  Joey Gathright scored Ross Gload on an RBI single to start off the scoring.  David DeJesus picked up a two run double in the 5th to give the Royals all the offsense they would need for the night.

The return of King Felix was overshadowed by a lights out performance by Royals starter Luke Hochevar.  Hochevar called it his best performance of his career.  Hochevar threw seven innings, recording zero walks, and striking out four.

Some Mariner notes

- Cesar Jimenez bounced back nicely from yesterdays loss and pitched two scoreless innings in relief striking out two batters.

- Adrian Beltre keeps raking going 2-for-4 with his 15th double of the season.  He scored the lone Mariner run.

- Ichiro Suzuki went 0-for-4 ending a 26-game hit streak against the Royals.  It marked the first game Ichiro didn’t record a hit against the Kansas City in his career.

- Jared Wells was sent back to Tacoma with the return of Felix Hernandez from the 15 day DL.

- The M’s aquired 1B/OF Craig Wilson from the Pirates for a player to be named later.  Wilson has played this season in the Minors.  He will be assigned to Triple A Tacoma.

Game two of the series on Saturday will feature former Mariner Gil Meche on the bump against the recently hot Jarrod Washburn.  Tug Hulett is expected to play in his first career major league game as he will DH for the M’s.

Mariners Blog

Thursday July 10, 2008

Athletics 3, Mariners 2

R.A. Dickey and Greg Smith dueled 7 shutout innings of a pitchers game until in the 8th things got crazy when it was handed to the repective bullpens.

 In the top of 8th, Jose Lopez finally sparked the offense by leading off the inning with a double.  After Oakland intentionally walked the hot hitting Adrian Beltre, Jose Vidro reached base on an infield single scoring Lopez to make it 1-0.  Sean Green replaced Dickey and got through the bottom half of the inning.  In the 9th with one out, Willie Bloomquist recorded a ground rule double to left field.  With Lopez at the plate “Willie Ballgame” got a nice jump off the pitch and swiped third base.  Bloomquist then scored on a Lopez double, his second of the game to make it 2-0.

Enter Brandon Morrow in the 9th and its automatic, ballgame over, see ya later…right? 

Oakland finally got the bats around on those Morrow gassers. Jack Cust and pinch hitting Kurt Suzuki both went yard in the bottom half to tie the game at 2-2.  Mark Lowe got the M’s off the hook and struck out Jack Hannahan to send it to extras.  For Morrow, it was the first run allowed for him in well over a month, and his first blown save in nine chances. 

Lowe got the M’s throught to the 11th, and handed the ball to Lefty Cesar Jimenez.  Jimenez has been pitching fabulous for the M’s since his recent call up.  Jimenez struck out Cust to start the inning, but Emil Brown homered to left field to break the Mariners hearts in the bottom of the 11th. 

Once again, the Mariners kept up with their theme of stranding baserunners as they left 12 on base.  With the release of Richie Sexson today, will the fire sale begin?

Huston Street picked up the win to improve his record to 2-2.  Jimenez picked up first loss to fall to 0-1.  The M’s fall to 36-56  on the season.

The M’s will head to Kansas City for the teams last series before the All-Star break.  It will mark the return of Felix Hernandez to the mound.  He will face Luke Hochevar for the Royals to start a three-game set. 

Mariners Blog

Wednesday July 9th, 2008

Mariners 6, Athletics 4

 On the strength of three-run double by Jose Lopez in a five-run fifth inning, the Seattle Mariners ended a three-game losing streak picking up a 6-4 win in Oakland Wednesday night.  Adrian Beltre chipped in with three hits and drove in 2 runs.  Raul Ibanez also drove in a RBI for the winners.

The Mariners bullpen continued being a busy group as Miguel Batista had to leave early with a groin strain in the 3rd inning.   Ryan Rowland-Smith struggled a bit taking over as the A’s got to him for three runs on five hits in 1 and 1/3rd innings.  Enter Roy Corcoran in the 4th inning.  Corcoran inherited two baserunners from Rowland-Smith and was in lock down mode getting eight of nine A’s batters out in 2 2/3rds.  The effort for Corcoran earned him the traditional pie in the face from J.J. Putz after the game, as he picked up his first big league win.  The combination of Arthur Rhodes, Sean Green, and Brandon Morrow, finished the final three frames without allowing only one hit.  The final inning for Morrow earned him his 8th straight converted save, and lowered his ERA to a ridiculous 0.63.

In a losing effort for the A’s, Joe Blanton allowed six runs on nine hits in six innings of work to record the loss.  Jack Cust hit his 16th homerun of the season off a Batista in the 2nd inning.  Donnie Murphy added three runs batted in for Oakland.

Tomorrow’s contest will be a day game starting at 3:35 PT.  It will feature R.A. Dickey for the M’s, against Left Greg Smith for the A’s.  Ichiro Suzuki is expected to miss the contest with a tight hamstring.

Mariners Blog

In Monday’s series opener against the A’s, Richie Sexson started the M’s off with a three-run homerun to give the boys an early 3-0 lead.  Unfortunately they never crossed home plate for the rest of the night. 

Oakland 1st Basemen Wes Blankston picked up his first Major league knock, and Mark Ellis, and Ryan Sweeney knocked in runs to help get the 4-3 victory.  A’s starter Dana Eveland struggled a bit going over his 5 1/3 innings allowing 9 hits.  The M’s had runners in scoring position all night, but never capitalized on it after the 1st inning. The A’s converted three double plays to end threats, as well as tossing out Willie Bloomquist at the plate after a Raul Ibanez single.  Closer Huston Street picked up a shaky 17th save for the Athletics.

Adrian Beltre was 4-for-5 on the night for the Mariners.  Starter Jarrod Washburn continued his much improved pitching of late.  He helped out a tired and banged up staff by going all the way after the 15 inning game on Sunday.  He allowed 4 runs on 7 hits.

Tuesday nights pitching matchup will be Carlos Silva (4-10) vs. Justin Duchsrherer (9-5).  The game will be a 7:10 PT start.

Mangager Jim Riggleman also announced they will not pitch Felix Hernandez on friday like originally planned.  They have decided to move him back to the next series and pitch him against Kansas City, the teams last series before the All-Star break.  The move would allow him a few extra days to rest after his first start back.  As well, the team is expecting to get J.J. Putz some rehab work in for Triple-A Tacoma before his return to the bullpen.  Putz is expected back after the All-Star break.

Mariners Blog

Mariners 4, Jays 2

With a two run lead to start the top of the 9th, the song bombtrack by Rage Against The Machine blares over the speakers at Safeco as it does every time Brandon Morrow takes the mound.  But tonight was the first time as a Mariners fan when i truly felt..this game was over. Done.  I think its safe to stay tonight a new star has been born officially.  Its has now been too long for this to be a fluke.  Morrow was lights out again as he continued one of the most dominating months of relief pitching I have seen from a Mariners pitcher in recent memory.  Hitting 97, and 98 on the gun and mixing in some occasional off-speed pitches, it just appears the batters have no chance.  Tonight, he didn’t strike out the side, but kept the batters guessing, and forced three fly ball outs to pick up his 5th save in as many chances.  Really…how can you put the ball in anyone elses hands right now.  J.J. Putz is supposedly closer to a return, but one must wonder if he fears he has lost his job and is rushing back.  In fact many Mariners fans (myself included) were hoping to see Morrow start in the near future.  I am now starting to re-think that a little bit, how could i not. 

In a game without much offensive spark, Jarrod Washburn had another quality outing going six innings, striking out four.  His only blemish was a two run shot by rookie slugger Adam Lind in the top of the 5th.

Miguel Cairo filled in nicely at second for Jose Lopez hitting two doubles, along with three RBI’s.  Ichiro Suzuki reached base four times, with three singles and walk while scoring twice. 

The M’s bullpen continued its stellar play as Cesar Jimenez had his second straight quality bullpen appearence since his call up, retiring the Jays in order in the seventh.  Sean Green took over in the 8th and overcame an error by Adrian Beltre to retire the next two Jays batters.  Arthur Rhodes came in to face the switch hitting Greg Zaun and forced him to fly out to Jeremy Reed in Center field to leave Marco Scutaro at second to end the threat in the 8th to set the table for Morrow who closed out the 9th.

The win marked the third straight series won for the Mariners under new manager Jim Riggleman.  It is becoming fun to watch the team play again.  Riggleman has been shaking up batting and fielding practices in an attempt to get a spark.  It seems so far that all his moves are paying off.  But, a true test for the M’s will be this 4 game set with the red hot Tigers.  If the team can hang with them, i think we will have a better guage of their recent success and whether or not it has been a fluke or not.

Dustin McGowan picked up the loss as his record fell to 6-7.  Washburn won his second straight start to improve to 4-7.  Tomorrow’s probables are Carlos Silva (4-9) for the Mariners and Justin Verlander for the Tigers starting the 4 game series at 7:10 PT.

Mariners Blog

Mariners 7, Jays 6

In a roller coaster of a game, Willie Bloomquist hit a first pitch gapper to score Raul Ibanez for the winning run in the bottom of the 9th as the Mariners beat the Jays 7-6 at Safeco.

With the starting staff banged up, Seattle had to use 6 pitchers to get the job done.  Ryan Rowland-Smith, pitched three fabulous innings until Toronto got to him in the 4th with three runs.  The M’s got two back in the bottom of the inning on a throwing error by starter Jesse Litsch scoring Adrian Beltre.  Yuniesky Betancourt singled home Richie Sexson to score the second run to make it 3-2.

Roy Corcoran, and Litsch both pitched a scoreless 5th until the Jays got on Corcaran for three runs in the 6th.  Greg Zaun singled in the inning scoring Vernon Wells, and Adam Lind had a 2 RBI double to make it 6-2.  Luckily recent call up Cesar Jimenez came in and shut the door to end the inning.

It was at this point in the ballgame, the team showed what they are made of.  The M’s chipped away at the lead with timely hitting and got some stellar bullpen work.  Betancourt hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th to make it 6-3.  Jimenez then worked through the 7th unscathed.  In the bottom of the inning Beltre hit a two run homerun his 16th, scoring Jose Vidro to cut the lead to 6-5.

In the 8th, Arthur Rhodes got two outs, but gave up two hits.  Sean Green replaced him and almost got burned moving runners to second and third with a wild pitch.  But Green got Marco Scutaroto to strikeout looking to get out of the jam.  With Mariners needing a run, Sexson hit his 10th homerun of the season, a solo shot to tie the game 6-6.

In a smart move, manager Jim Riggleman went right to Brandon Morrow in the top of the 9th.  Morrow might be the most dominant reliever in the majors over the past month.  Bombtrack continued his mastery striking out Alex Rios, and Wells.  He then walked Lyle Overbay before he struck out Scott Rolen to end the inning.  His stuff was just plain nasty.

Ibanez led off the bottom half with a big walk.  Then Vidro moved him to second on a sacrifice.  The Jays thought they were making a smart move by intentionally walking Beltre, to not only set up the double play possibility, but also to make a below average hitting Bloomquist beat them.  The Jays went with Shawn Camp out of the pen for the right handed matchup.  But, Willie Ballgame jumped right on the first pitch and nailed it to deep right center to clinch the win.  Willie wanted to keep running because he still doesn’t have an extra base hit on the season, but i think he is happy with the single as he was mobbed by his teammates.  Morrow (1-1) picked up his first win of the season.

What a huge “team” win in what has been a really tough season.  From the bullpen being called on to step up, from the team coming from behind,  Riggleman really has them playing some good team ball as of late.  Tomorrow night will see Jarrod Washburn (3-7) against Dustin McGowan (6-6) at 7:10 PT 

Mariners Blog