The good news is. . . they weren’t swept in either series (and TWO of the losses were by ONE run) The bad news is . . . they were only able to salvage one win in each series (and BOTH were by ONE run)
To focus on the positive vs Tampa Bay . . .
Jarred blasted his first pinch hit homer
Sewald hadn’t allowed a base runner in SIX innings (till this series)
Julio bagged his first big league triple
Adam and Jesse each recorded their homers as Mariners
Most promising of all – with friends and family in attendance at T-Mobile Park, George Kirby’s ML debut on Mother’s Day was a thing of beauty: 6IP-4H-0ER-0BB-7K
And, THIS will be an interesting start to the Seahawks season . . .
Banger of a start: Russell Wilson will open his first non-Seahawks NFL season playing…at the Seahawks. Monday night, Sept. 12, in Seattle in week 1, per multiple reports.
I was trying to focus on the positive but, have to mention some really disappointing news re: Mitch 😦
Mitch Haniger is almost to be completely free of his walking boot. But the grade 2 high ankle sprain he suffered is going to keep him out a significant amount of time. https://t.co/zHjJKwtvI5
After going 7-2 on the home first home stand of the season (W vs Astros, W vs Rangers and a sweep of the Royals) – the M’s had the exact opposite results on the road (L vs Rays, L vs Marlins and swept by the Astros).
TAMPA Great start to the series with an 8-4 win which saw the bats hammer out SEVEN runs in ONE inning and another strong outing from Logan. Then came the bad news: a 2-3 loss where Marco got hit square on the wrist by a come-backer and a 1-2 loss where Scott was ejected when blowing off some well-deserved steam with regard to the ri-dic-u-lous strikes called on Julio.
MIAMI I occasionally like to listen to the opponents radio broadcast and was pleasantly surprised with the Marlins – they have a woman on their crew and both were well versed in their research of the M’s. But, the only good news from this series was Julio’s first major league homer which was of the THREE-run variety and came after they INTENTIONALLY Abraham – bit of a backfire there 😉 (he got the ball!) and another stellar start from Logan in the salvage game on Sunday – a 7-3 win. Brash had a rough go in the first game, giving up SIX runs in TWO innings – M’s bats tried to compensate and scored SIX runs of their own but ended up with a 6-8 loss. Robbie was OK in the second game but, the bats couldn’t get anything going and they ended up with a 1-3 loss.
HOUSTON yeah, we definitely have a problem – swept for the first time this season 😦 Marco had a decent bounce back start in the first game (after being hit by that come-backer in TB) and, in the same game JP extended his hit streak to ELEVEN but, they would get shutout in that game 0-3 AND in the next, where Chris pitched well, 0-4. The last game was a 2-7 loss where Matt got knocked around a bit and the bats couldn’t muster much in their second go at Verlander.
Now, THAT is how to serve up a Happy Home Stand! Winning ALL three series, 7-2 overall record, including a “royal” sweep!
ON the MOUND
Marco: a tale of two pitchers . . . a great bounce back start vs the Astros where he went SEVEN and only gave up ONE run getting the win in an 11-1 M’s victory. Then a sad start vs the Rangers where he didn’t even make it through FIVE innings, giving up SIX runs in the M’s 6-8 loss.
Chris: off to a slow start but, steady progress . . . He posted his second loss in as many starts in the M’s loss via shutout vs the Astros. Then, got his first win of the season, going SEVEN strong vs the Royals.
Matt: walking to victory and not . . . kind of a crazy start vs the Astros, where he picked up the “W” despite walking SIX. Then, in a no decision vs the Royals, he walked another FOUR and gave up THREE earned runs but, the M’s offense exploded, giving them the 13-7 victory.
Robbie: so far, just call him Steady Eddy . . . two nearly identical lines for Robbie in both his home starts: 6 innings 3 earned runs and one walk that gave him one victory and one no decision. The best news is the M’s won both.
Logan: super solid stud – .54 ERA after three starts he earned his second victory via a 6H – ZERO ER – ZERO BB performance vs the Rangers
OUT of the PEN
Still a strength, the pen combined for: 30IP-23H-8R-5ER-10BB-32K-1S
always good to have LESS hits than innings pitched
always good to have MORE strikeouts than innings pitched
only ONE save in SEVEN victories but then, there was only one save opp (thanks to the stellar offense)
AT the PLATE
Exceptfor a shutout vs Verlander, the offense was nothing short of spectacular! When was the last time you heard (read) those four words in reference to the Mariners?
Ty was the obvious standout hitter of this home stand – safe to say, he is ON FIRE . . . – 18/38 posting 19 RBI – 4 HR – 3 2B – 7 BB – He is TOP THREE in the AL in AVG (.371), HR (5), RBI (19) OBP (.459) SLG (.656) and OPS (1.115)
Eugenio and Adam are proving to be solid contributors
JP’s been steady from the start and just getting better
Jesse, continues to be “Mr. Patience” w/SEVEN more walks and leads the Majors w/FIFTEEN total
Julio and Jarred starting to come around, slowly but surely
Mitch missed all but the first game at home on the COVID DL (Skip was out for most of the home stand as well)
As a team so far in this young season, M’s offense is TOP THREE in the following categories . . .
RBI (2nd)
Runs (2nd)
OBP (1st)
OPS (2nd)
HR (3rd)
SB (3rd)
IN the FIELD
The defense has been fairly steady – a few spectacular plays, a few uncharacteristic flubs
They can definitely TURN TWO – second in the league in DP’s w/16 (turned FOUR in the first FOUR innings of Matt’s start vs. Houston)
Fielding Percentage of .983 (10th in the AL) could definitely be improved
some tweets of the home stand . . .
The @Mariners enter today's action with the best offense in @MLB according to @fangraphs wRC+ metric:
April sunshine in Seattle is a bit of a rarity – here’s hoping Mariners series’ wins like today (especially vs divisional opponents) become downright commonplace.
ON the MOUND
Matt’s first big league victory came at home vs the ‘stros today when he clearly didn’t have everything working for him. But, to get through it despite that … says a lot.
5.1IP-2H-2ER-6BB-5K
Fun to imagine what he’ll be able to do on a good day!
the ‘pen combined for 3.2IP-2H-0ER-1BB-5K . . . ya know, just what we’ve come to expect from the likes of Seawald, Steckenrider, Munoz and Castillo
AT the PLATE
their first SIX runs all came w/TWO outs
SEVEN batters had at least ONE hit
THREE batters had TWO hits (Adam, Ty, Jarred)
FIVE batters w/at least ONE RBI – Ty w/THREE (including a TWO-run homer)
Julio w/his first big league RBI (line drive single in the 4th)
IN the FIELD
DP, DP, DP, DP one in each of the first FOUR innings (a strike em out, throw em out and THREE Crawford-Frazier-France)
Great to be at the ballpark on a sunny, Sunday with my Dad 🙂
LOVE these fun murals on the way to the ballpark . . .
M’s won the first two games in Minny by one run; lost the next two via one blowout and one shutout. Offense is definitely off to a slow start so, let’s focus on the good, like the new kid on-the-mound today – making his big league debut for the M’s in the Chicago home opener . . .
Matt Brash on his approach: "I'm gonna be honest with you. I didn't do a lot of scouting report stuff. I kind of have my first game plan and stick with that for whatever hitter it is. I throw my best pitch most often and just attack hitters."
For a team where the expectations were few and far between, it was a happy and exciting circumstance for these Mariners to be playing in front of a packed stadium on the very last day of the season in a game that still mattered. It was so much fun for the players and win-starved fans alike. The experience gained from near-playoff baseball should prove to be invaluable to the young players going forward – in other words, despite not getting over that last hump, the future is looking bright.
Scott Servais: "Baseball's back in Seattle. We didn't get across the finish line, but I think everybody sees where we're headed, and I'm really excited to see that many people jump on the bandwagon with us because it's gonna be a fun ride."
And then, there was the special goodbye to Kyle Seager . . . emotional for him, his teammates and the fans. They were behind the entire game but, we’d seen them come back time after time (42 to be exact) so, all hope was not lost. Until the top of the 9th, when the out of town scoreboard turned in favor of the Red Sox and dashed any post season hope for the M’s (even if they had won the game, they help they needed hadn’t materialized). It was at that point that the crowd started chanting “Kyle – Seager!” and he was given the opportunity to have a moment with the fans (he was even presented with the 3B bag!). Kyle gave his all for eleven years – and it’s such a shame that, like Felix, he was never able to take part in post season baseball. Even with that, he seemed to harbor no regret and in fact spoke glowingly about his years with the M’s and, especially THIS specific team which, according to him, had a particularly special bond.
With tears in his eyes, Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager was given third base after everything stopped in the ninth inning against the Angels. His wife Julie wore a jean jacket with his image. All this and more as M's season ends. @RyanDivish reports https://t.co/OCSFUeGrqWpic.twitter.com/3ysv4ed35G
The Halos were relentless – base runners galore – not only TEN hits but SEVEN walks . . .
Tyler just didn’t have it today (not quite as bad as his previous start vs the Halos but, given the magnitude of the game, it sort of felt like it: 1.2IP-5H-4R-3ER-2BB-0SO
Ramirez got the last out of the 2nd and pitched a scoreless 3rd
Misiewicz and Swanson gave up THREE runs in their combined TWO innings
Munoz, Doolittle, Sadler and Steckenrider combined for FOUR scoreless innings (Munoz made his debut – throwing 101MPH)
AT the PLATE
NINE total hits, including TWO doubles but . . .
the runs came via Jarred and JP RBI singles in the 3rd and a JP force out in the 6th
they were only 3 for 11 w/RISP and left NINE on base
the middle of the order was 0-16
IN the FIELD
SB (Toro)
TWO errors (both pitchers not helping their cause: Anderson and Swanson)
Compass Rosy 