Tag Archives: Blanco

g132 | swept outta Safeco . . .

Posted on by

Witnessing, live and in-person, Felix’s worst start of the season (if not his career) was NOT exactly the best way to start off my little “mini-vaca” (several days off to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary) ;-(

Mariners 4 | Rangers 12

ON THE MOUND
Felix has been less than “Felix-like” of late but, THIS was ridiculous . . .
no reports of injury, sure hoping he can come out of this funk.
THREE innings ~ NINE hits ~ EIGHT earned runs ~ NINE runs ~ ONE walk ~ TWO strikeouts

} Brandon got some work in (FOUR innings, to be exact) unfortunately, he gave up THREE earned runs in the process.
} Lucas had a nice outing though, TWO full hitless/scoreless innings with THREE strikeouts

AT THE PLATE 
NINE hits (including homers from Kyle and Dustin) not TOO bad but, the 1 fer 7 w/RISP not good.

IN THE FIELD
Kendrys continues to run himself off the bases . . .
he tried to take 2B with ONE out on a hit off the CF wall – Kyle (who had been on 1B made it to 3B but, was left stranded.

Henry committed a throwing error and Felix allowed TWO stolen bases in his THREE innings

tweets of the game . . .
At least something rather exciting is to come . . .
Taijuan Walker’s major league debut, Friday night in Houston!

 

OK – off to the beach we go to celebrate our 30th anniversary!

 

g125 | comin’ from behind – rare but, fun!

Posted on by

Mariners 7 | Athletics 4

ON THE MOUND
To say Joe had a rough start is a bit of an understatement . . .
giving up FOUR runs (on 40 pitches!) in the 1st inning is never a good sign but, he defied pessimism and hung in there, scattering FIVE hits over the next FIVE innings, thereby giving ’em a chance . . .
SIX innings ~ TEN hits ~ FOUR earned runs ~ THREE walks ~ TWO strikeouts

} Brandon got a little work, posting a scoreless 7th that included a strikeout
} Yoervis had a rather shaky inning, getting himself in and out of trouble (as has been is MO of late) with a hit and a couple of walks but, was able to escape damage
} Danny struck out TWO (including Cespedes to end the game) to earn his EIGHTH save in NINE tries

AT THE PLATE
~ Nick with his first home run since July 28th cut the A’s lead in half (4-2) in the 3rd

Not much happened after that, on either side, until the top of the 8th . . .
the M’s recorded FOUR consecutive hits with no outs (Michael S single, Henry double, Brad RBI single, Nick RBI single) to tie the game at FOUR. Then, Kyle walked and, with Kendrys batting, a WP scored Brad (pinch-running for Henry) from 3B and then Kendrys hit a high chopper and a close play at the plate but Nick was called safe and the score was 6-4. Nick apparently got his knee scraped up by the catcher’s cleats blocking the plate. Raul had a long AB and ended up walking then, another WP, scored Kyle to make it 7-4, where it would stay.

thank heaven for the 8th cuz the 9th look a lot like last night . . .
Humberto was up to bunt, after Brad had singled, and hit a chopper that the catcher fielded bare handed and threw to 2B but, there was no baseman so, Brad got to 3B and Humberto ended up at 1B. Then, a couple of strikeouts and then Raul walked to load the bases  . . . and Justin flied out.

IN THE FIELD

Nifty 1-3 ended the 5th and was ONE of THREE double-plays that helped Joe survive after that  L  O  N  G  1st inning (he also recorded a pick-off)

INJURY NOTE
Nick’s knee required FIVE stitches and he’ll likely be out about a week

 

tweets of the game . . .

g111 | Happy totals make for a happy flight home

Posted on by

And THIS is what can happen when the starting pitching isn’t perfect but gives you a chance, the offense does JUST enough and the bullpen is SHUTDOWN = win! win! win!

Mariners 3 | Orioles 2

ON THE MOUND
Houdini Joe showed up vs. his old team at Camden Yards . . .
allowing the lead-off batter to reach in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th innings
~AND~
working with a runner in scoring position in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th innings
But, able to escape damage until the 6th, when that lead-off runner finally came around to score on Valencia’s home run and the O’s took the lead 2-1. But, in the end, Joe’s ability to work out of trouble kept the M’s in it (with a little help from his BP)
SIX innings ~ EIGHT hits ~ TWO earned runs ~ TWO walks ~ TWO strikeouts

} Yoervis ‘s 7th was impressive, to say the least, as he retired the heart of the O’s order IN order:  Machado (K),  Jones (K) and Davis (1-pitch groundout) and then he followed up with a 1-2-3 8th (and economical as well – only 21 pitches)
} Danny (aka: Lord Farquhar) earned his second major league save, in as many chances, and preserved the game victory for Joe and the series victory for the M’s

Quite the development of Danny going on before our very eyes . . .
the volume of K’s has been eye-popping from the beginning but, he started out giving up a LOT of runs as well. In the pre-game, both Mike Blowers and Danny himself mentioned that he had “re-introduced” his curve ball to keep the hitters off balance (had previously relied a little to heavily on the cutter) and, pitching inside ~ the results are astounding . . .

  • first 10.2 innings of his season = 18 K’s, 10ER
  • next 9 innings = 10K’s, 3 ER
  • last 16 innings = 24 K’s, 7 ER

 

AT THE PLATE
~ the Ancient Mariners with ALL the M’s RBI today: Raul’s RBI double and Hank’s TWO-run homer
~ AB of the game (though it didn’t result in a run) was Justin’s 16-pitch base hit in the 4th
~ hit of the game was no doubt Hank’s 2-run homer in the 7th (apparently he can hit homers other than grand slams and in non-Felix games 😉 ) that was the first Chen had given up at Camden Yards all year – it recaptured the lead for the M’s that they would not relinquish

IN THE FIELD
* one DP turned (Brendan-Brad-Justin)
* no DP’s turned against the M’s but, wow can Chen can field his position! (see top 5th)
* defensive play of the game ~ Brad’s WebGem for the first out in the 9th, smash liner that he had to dive for

 

tweets of the game . . . 

https://twitter.com/HeyImSwash/status/364096705307754497

 

g106 | bad start in BeanTown . . .

Posted on by

quick and dirty recap as I wasn’t able to watch or listen and just heard a snippet of the post game…

Mariners 2 | Red Sox 8

ON THE MOUND
Supposedly (according to Blowers on the bit of post game I actually heard), Joe was getting squeezed. Basically, not getting “edge” call which, due to his low velocity, he’s gotta have. Apparently, Blanco was none too happy with the HP ump either. We’ll leave it at that . . .
FIVE innings ~ NINE hits ~ SIX runs ~ FIVE earned runs ~ ONE walk ~ FIVE strikeouts

} Brandon was sharp for his first TWO innings (retired SIX straight) but then, Fenway reality hit and he gave up a single and a homer (but, not the worst of “re-debuts”, considering the team and the locale).

With Kuma and the King next ups, shouldn’t need the bullpen much but, it will be rested and ready if/when called upon 🙂

AT THE PLATE
The bats remain a bit on the frosty side . . .
~ Kyle and Kendrys the only ones with more than ONE hit and Nick the only one with an extra-base hit (double)
~ Michael M went hitless (with THREE strikeouts) in his return from the DL

IN THE FIELD
Not exactly the solid DEE we are accustomed to . . .
in subsequent plays, Brad made a fielding error and Henry allowed a passed ball in which a runner scored

tweets of the game . . . 

g98 | Houston, the M’s have no problem . . . SWEEP ! ! !

Posted on by

broom 1

 

OK . . .

the 9th inning was a bit of an adventure but, what counts is the W ~ and, nice that they got to count THREE of them on this trip!!!

Mariners 12 | Astros 5

ON THE MOUND
Felix was Felix, ‘cept for the innings quantity, since there was a rather large lead . . .
SIX innings ~ FOUR hits ~ ZERO runs ~ ONE walks ~ SEVEN strikeouts

} Noesi loses the shutout, after getting TWO quick outs in the 7th, he gave up a double and a single but then the next batter smoked a line drive right into Smoak’s glove for the third out
} Lucas retired the side in order (including TWO strikeouts) in the 8th

} Bobby wasn’t feeling it today (a bit of an understatement) the first FOUR batters reached (via THREE straight singles and then a walk) before he recorded the ONE and only out he would get in the 9th (a strikeout)
} Danny got the first batter to fly out (a run scored) and the next one to strikeout but, because of a passed ball on the K and then an error on the throw to 1B, TWO runs scored and he had to throw more pitches. Luckily despite walking the next guy, he got a pop-up after that.

AT THE PLATE
~ Nick started a new “homer streak” via his first Major League GRAND SLAM, to put the M’s up 7-0 in the 2nd

Nick - SLAM | Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

Nick – SLAM | Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

~ Michael and Kyle were the only Mariners starters to not record at least ONE hit – but, they combined to score FOUR runs (aboard via HBP, error and walk)
~ Justin was the only starter not to score at least ONE run
~ the RBI were spread nicely throughout the line up as well – SIX from the top (Brad and Nick), one from the middle (Kendrys) and FIVE from the bottom (Michael, Dustin and Henry)

IN THE FIELD
* Nice 4-3 by Nick to get Felix out of the only jam (his only one of the day) in the 5th
* Endy made an awesome throw from RF to Henry at the plate after fielding a fly ball with the bases loaded and one out in the 9th – a  l  m  o  s  t   got him
* Mess of things in the 9th when Danny had the batter struck out but, a passed ball by Henry allowed ONE run to score and then an error by Henry on the throw to 1B allowed ANOTHER to score (obviously not Henry’s best day 😦 )

 

tweets of the game . . .

 

Now, home to face The Tribe . . .
(and, hopefully, get some retribution from that nightmare that was the May series in Cleveland)

g91 | done in by RS bats and “the other” Venezuelan Felix

Posted on by

Mariners 4 | Red Sox 11

Early on, it was fairly apparent that seeing the M’s homer streak extended to EIGHTEEN games was likely be the best we could hope for (because, clearly, the M’s pitching was not up to the task of the mighty Red Sox these last TWO games) it was just a surprise that Brendan Ryan would be the one to do it. We are seeing a pattern in this series: 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 – first to ELEVEN tomorrow wins!  😉

ON THE MOUND
Aaron looked to follow up his great start in Cinci with another but, ‘t was not to be . . .
1st inning went well, with the aid of a DP. The 2nd inning could have been MUCH worse, as the loaded the bases with NO outs (including a double by Ortiz that gave him the all time DH hits record – 1689) but they only managed a couple of sac-flys. And, it just escalated from there . . .
FIVE innings ~ EIGHT hits ~ SEVEN earned runs ~ THREE walks ~ ZERO strikeouts

} Lucas, the only pitcher with a decent outing last night, did not help matters in relief of Aaron on this night, giving up a couple of inherited runners and then another of his own.
} Carter was far from dominant, walking a couple and loading the bases once but, he did manage to get through 1.1 w/o damage
} Ollie posted a pretty typical 1-2-3 (the reason he’s drawing some attention as the trade deadline nears)
} Tom walked the first two batters and allowed ONE run on a WP and another on a one-out single (to Mike Carp). He ended up striking out TWO on (sheer anger).

AT THE PLATE
~ Kyle extended his hit streak to TEN games
~ Jason , Kendrys, Dustin, Justin and Michael S all with doubles
~ Brendan hit a homer on the 8th pitch of his AB in the 8th (having replaced Nick) off a pitcher making his major league debut
~ Kendrys, Justin and Henry with the other RBI

IN THE FIELD
* DP (Brad-Nick-Justin) to erase the first hit of the game
* Kyle continued to show off his solid skills at the hot corner with a couple of nice plays
* Brad had a bad throw to Nick that allowed a run in the 6th

tweets of the game . . .

g69 | Henry’s good day.

Posted on by

Mariners 4 | Athletics 0

If Henry was trying to make a good impression on the club . . .
I’d say he succeeded every which way but loose!

  • Catching a shutout for Felix
you got this | Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

you got this | Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

  • Tagging a runner out at home (that would have broken a 0-0 tie in favor of the A’s)

O U T ! | Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

  • Hitting a GRAND SLAM (his FIRST hit as a Mariner is only the SECOND career  grand slam ~his last one was in 2000~ heck, he hadn’t hit a homer of ANY kind since July 2012 – the only one he hit last year) to drive in ALL the runs of the game!
S L A M ! ! ! ! | Ben Margot, AP

S L A M ! ! ! ! | Ben Margot, AP

Welcome to Seattle, Henry!!!

ON THE MOUND
Despite throwing 108 pitches and, getting into trouble a few times, it ended as a VERY Happy Felix Day!

SEVEN innings ~ FIVE hits ~ ZERO runs ~ ONE walk ~ EIGHT strikeouts

AT THE PLATE
~ They were only 1-6 w/RISP (but that one was pretty impressive 😉 )
~ All but Brendan and Kyle had as least one hit
~ Michael M had THREE hits, including a double (nice to see him getting back on track!)

IN THE FIELD
THREE double plays (including the outfield assist of Endy to Henry)

tweets of the game . . . 

 

stat of the game . . .

Mariners starters have given up 2ER in the last 45 innings

So, I guess it’s more than just a cuppa joe for Mr. Zunino . . .

Posted on by

Seems he’s been given the keys to the coffee shop!

The tweets started coming through early afternoon (while I was enjoying late breakfast with my daughter ~in town from Tahoe~ and my in-laws) . . .

The M’s had signed Henry Blanco and DFA’d Kelly Shoppach . . . wha????

At first blush, it made no sense. Why dump a decent back-up, no bat catcher for an even older one?

But, as the day went on and more info was disseminated, it became clear that the move was centered around the fact that the M’s had essentially declared that Mike Zunino as their everyday catcher. Apparently, Blanco is known for his mentorship (and Kelly, I guess, not-so-much).

So, let the Zunino era begin!

Here’s a link that includes audio from the last, great Mariner catcher and some of his thoughts on the catcher of the future (prior to the somewhat surprising news today)

“He’s a guy that does need to play,” Wilson said. “Learning how to play every day, learning how to play through injuries, learning how to play through nicks and bruises, and learning the position and everything it encompasses just takes some time.”

One of the concerns reporters and scouts have with Zunino is his ability to hit the breaking ball. Yesterday, he drilled a line drive up the middle on a 0-2 slider. It’s only been one game and it is a diminutive sample size. But, if Zunino continues to adjust with the bat, and proves Wilson’s acclaim, there is no reason he should not be here to stay. Perhaps he will be the best catcher the Mariners have had since Wilson. Perhaps even better.

“He’s 22 years old, but he’s playing a lot older than that,” Wilson said. “I can’t wait to see how he continues to develop.”