rt2 | Tampa, Miami, Houston

From Home Heaven to Road Hell . . .

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.

hs1 | Astros, Rangers, Royals

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

Except for 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 . . .

g10 | series win under the Seattle sun

Mariners 7 | Astros 2

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 . . .

tweets of the game . . .

unexpected expectations

So glad my dad an I got to be there ❤

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.

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.

Mariners 3 | Athletics 7

boxscore

ON the MOUND

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)

tweets of the game . . .

b.e.l.i.e.v.e (suitcases to the park tomorrow?)

Have a night, Mitch! (FIVE RBI)

First time the M’s have won NINETY games since 2003

Mariners 6 | Angels 4

boxscore

ON the MOUND

  • Flex wasn’t super sharp but, still gave ’em a chance: 5.1IP-6H-1R-1Er-1BB-1SO
  • Sadler: gets the next TWO batters in the 6th (of course!)
  • Misiewicz: three ground ball outs for a scoreless 7th
  • Sewald was (understandably) out of gas: he ending up striking out the side in the 8th but, not before walking the first TWO batters and giving up a homer and the lead (4-3 halos)
  • Steckenrider: fly-out to Mitch; line-out to Jake; double; line-out to Toro – and that’s all she wrote for the 9th!

AT the PLATE

amaze-balls!!!

  • 3rd: Ty w/a double and Mitch singled him in for the first run of the game
  • 5th: Ty w/a double and Mitch homered him in (are you seeing a pattern here?)
  • 8th: hit by a pitch, walk, sac-bunt, intentional walk, Mitch w/a 2-OUT, 2-run single, Kyle added a little insurance w/an RBI single

IN the FIELD

  • an awesome DP (Crawford-Toro-France)
  • great play by Kyle

tweets of the game . . .

e.p.i.c ~ youth on display

This game was the M’s 41st comeback victory and their 12th straight vs the A’s
And, it was SO cool to see the youth, the future, getting it done . . .
No matter what happens over the next three games – the experience for them is INVALUABLE.

Mariners 4 | Athletics 2

boxscore

ON the MOUND

  • SUPER outing for young Logan: 5.2IP-3H-1R-1ER-2BB-4SO
  • Smith got the last out of the 6th
  • Castillo struck out TWO but, allowed a solo shot to re-tie the game at 2-2
  • Sewald + Steckenrider = TWO scoreless innings

AT the PLATE

only SIX total hits but, that’s all they needed (along with capitalizing on some A’s goofs)

  • 6th: Mitch and Ty both reach via error: Jarred 2-run double to take the lead
  • 7th: Dylan walk; JP hit n’ run single; Ty sac-fly to break the 2-2 tie
  • 8th: Abraham with a solo shot

IN the FIELD

  • no DP’s or errors

tweets of the game . . .

e . l . e . v . e . n straight vs the A’s

it just continues . . .

Mariners 4 | Athletics 2

boxscore

ON the MOUND

  • Anderson getting the call on his bullpen day: 4IP-2H-1R-1ER-0BB-2SO
  • Misiewicz+Sadler combine for TWO scoreless (Sadler’s 1.1 marked a 26-game scoreless streak – most in the bigs, Mariners record)
  • Castillo gives up an “own” run (committed an error that allowed the lead off man aboard who would eventually score)
  • Sewald 1.1 super scoreless
  • Steckenrider: allows a lead-off single, then retires the side in order (including 2 K’s) for his 12th S

AT the PLATE

  • Crawford and Torrens each w/multiple hits (JP with TWO doubles)
  • Fraley, Haniger, Murphy all make their ONE hit count (2-run double, solo shot, rbi single respectively)
  • FIVE walks (none scored – total of TEN left on base)

IN the FIELD

  • TWO errors (Toro, Castillo)
  • awesome OA (Haniger to Crawford)

tweets of the game . . .

have a night, Hanny!

M’s now 10 straight wins vs the A’s

Mariners 13 | Athletics 4

boxscore

ON the MOUND

  • Flex flexin’ that K muscle (just too many pitches to go deep): 5IP-7H-4R-4ER-3BB-6SO
  • not to worry . . . Sadler+Doolittle+Ramirez+Andriese = not only combined for FOUR scoreless innings, they were FOUR HITLESS innings

AT the PLATE

just a tad to see here . . .

  • top of the order (Crawford, France, Haniger) combined for: 8H-9R-11RBI
  • bottom of the order (Kelenic, Murphy, Moore) combined for” 2H-3BB-5R
  • Mitch with, not ONE, but TWO THREE-run home runs!!!!!!
  • believe it or not, there was only on other extra-base – France double

IN the FIELD

  • no DP’s turned (one against)
  • solid D as usual

tweets of the game . . .

and they did it!
this is NOT a duplicate tweet 😉

great rebound for the series win!

took the offense time to get rolling but, Marco kept ’em in it so they had a chance

Mariners 5 | Angels 1

boxscore

ON the MOUND

  • Marco’s nice line: 7IP-3H-1R-1ER-3BB-5SO
  • Sewald and Castillo added a scoreless 2IP

AT the PLATE

  • SIX players with at least ONE hit
  • Crawford, Seager, Kelenic w/TWO
  • Kelenic ties the game at ONE in the 7th
  • and then in the 8th – Mitch with an RBI single and Jake F w/a THREE-run double!

IN the FIELD

Fraley with a SB

tweets of the game . . .

u-g-h

this one seemed over in the 3rd and just got worse

Mariners 1 | Angels 14

boxscore

ON the MOUND

  • Anderson’s outing, about as short and ugly as you can get: 2IP-9H-9R-9ER-2BB-0SO
  • Sheffield and Ramirez were unable to stop the bleeding
  • Swanson+Doolittle+Andriese combined for FOUR scoreless innings but, ‘t was too little, too late

AT the PLATE

  • Only SIX total hits
  • Only ONE for extra bases (Cal 2B)
  • the lone run was by JP on a force out

IN the FIELD

  • on errors
  • one DP (Anderson-Toro-France)
  • THREE DPs turned against them 😦

tweets of the game . . .