Tag Archives: Cruz

hs1 | short but sweet homestand = series win!

Posted on by

Yes, we will take TWO out of THREE every time! (and all ONE-RUN games, at that!)

2 out of 3

 

Mariners 2 | Indians 1

Mariners 5 | Indians 6

Mariners 5 | Indians 4

 

 

 

(covered Opening Day in  previous post )

Each of the second and third game saw the M’s earn FIVE runs (one short of a win in one game and just enough to win the other). So, in the two games combined, they had EIGHTEEN hits, FIVE doubles, THREE homers and FIVE walks . . . very decent production.

Mitch is on F I R E !!!

I know, it’s only three games but, still . . . fun to see him leading the majors in BA/OBP/OPS/SLG  🙂 especially since I picked him to be the best “new-comer” last season and he was off to a great start but, then got hurt (a couple times 😦 )

Speaking of injuries . . .

oh, Nellie! a homer in each of the first TWO games and then some freak accident, turning his ankle stepping into the dugout 😦

I-chi-ro!

spectacular wall-climbing catch on Saturday: Ichiro’s robbery

On the MOUND

  • James had a bit of a blip on Saturday (OK – giving up a grand slam in the first inning is not how anyone draws it out) but, he’s allowed a mulligan or two if he can just stay HEALTHY this season (please! please! please!).
  • Mike Leake had a nice > quality start in Sunday’s game: SEVEN innings – FIVE hits – TWO earned runs – THREE walks – FOUR strikeouts
  • Overall, the BULLY was pretty great. As mentioned, Eddie’s save on Thursday was a bit of an adventure but, Sunday’s was a gem: 1-2-3 SIT!!! The pen followed up James’ short and not so sweet outing with FOUR.ONE innings of HITLESS, SCORELESS ball!

So, really seems that it all comes down to health . . .

  • Seems like the new guys (Gordon, Healy, Marjama) really have a chance to contribute.
  • Kyle off to a slow start (but, then, you can pretty much draw up his season in PEN – slow start but great defense and in the end .260 w/25 homers.
  • As mention, Mitch is hot and Robbie’s not far behind, Segura should be steady.
  • Get well soon, Nellie and Zu!
  • And, of course the arms . . . please protect the arms!

Next up – short 2-game series w/the Giants in SanFran and then the Twins home-opener (another Thursday/Saturday/Sunday series) then off to Kansas City for three).

Go M’s!

 

g1 | Home again . . .

Posted on by

Surprise, surprise!

Compass Rosy is still around 😉

I’ve definitely been a bad fan by letting too many distractions get in the way of focusing on the Mariners this late Winter/early Spring – but, no more! I”m going to do my best to keep up with our “boys of summer” this season. My commute now requires a ferry ride and does not allow for my to watch complete games on TV (let alone attend in person without special arrangements – like I made in order to attend this one) since I have to arise at 4am every weekday to catch the first boat off the island. But, will do my best to stay engaged and provide thoughts and observations as we go along in 2018 . . .

WELCOME BACK BASEBALL 🙂

Great to be back at Safeco Field for actual Opening Day . . .

I’ve never missed a home opener at Safeco Field – and not about to start now, no matter where I live! Interesting that this is only the second time in the past ten seasons that the M’s actually opened the season at home!

fullsizeoutput_4350

Firsts for the First Game . . .

  • Win – FELIX
  • Save – EDWIN
  • Strike Out – FELIX
  • Hit – ROBBIE
  • Walk – DEE
  • Double – MITCH
  • Homer – NELLIE
  • RBI – NELLIE

 

 

 

And then there were the  firsts in the first inning . . . 

Robbie had the first M’s hit on the first pitch he saw, followed by Nellie who hit it out with no doubt on the first pitch to him.

With the M’s leading 2-1, a bit of frustrating drama in the top of the ninth . . .

Eddie’s first save was anything but boring: he struck out the first batter; then hit the second batter, who later advanced on a balk AND stole 3B; then he hit the third batter; then he struck out the next two.

In between . . .

Felix: 5.1 innings, TWO hits, TWO walks, FOUR K’s

Bullpen: despite Edwin’s drama, that ended well, they are looking good – combined for 3.2 innings, THREE hits (all off Nick) ONE run (Nick) and FOUR K’s

Skipper praised Mike (Marjama – not Mike Zu, who was scratched shortly before the game with an oblique strain 😦 ). Given the unusual circumstances – only his sixth MLB start and the first opening day start of his career, plus getting hit on the hand early in the game. He was able to navigate well through Felix’s innings and the barrage of bullpen guys.

Other notable items . . .

  • Mitch is batting 1.000 🙂
  • Felix looks ready
  • Eddie’s drama and Nick’s rough outing, the bullpen looks solid
  • Ichiro is more than a bit rusty . . .
  • Dee might need a few games to adjust to Safeco’s huge outfield 😉

Safeco Field record for attendance for a regular season game: 41,497

tweets of the game . . . 

https://twitter.com/SteveSandmeyer/status/979561135706959872

 

my photos of the game  . . .

fullsizeoutput_4354IMG_2550IMG_2557IMG_2553IMG_2552IMG_2571

 

 

g110 | sweet sweeep!

Posted on by

Mariners 3 | Angels 1

3 brooms

ON the MOUND
James was awesome – pitching into the 9th and, but for getting hit on the elbow by a come-backer, would likely have recorded only the second complete game by a Mariners pitcher this season. Fingers crossed that it’s just a bruise . . .
EIGHT.ONE innings ~ FIVE hits ~ ONE run ~ ZERO earned runs ~ ONE walk ~ SIX strikeouts

Bartender walked one but, got the last two outs.

AT the PLATE
Only SEVEN total hits . . .

  • none for extra bases
  • all scoring in the 4th (2 singles and a sac-fly)
  • TWO of the hits were milestones (Mike Freeman’s first and second major league hits and the second resulted in his first major league RBI)

IN the FIELD
Shawn had a fielding error and the M’s didn’t turn a DP (had one turned against them)

tweets of the game . . . 

g108 | Felix scuffles in the 1st but, the King takes over till the 8th

Posted on by

Mariners 6 | Angels 4

rebound

Very strange start to this game (both for me and for the team) . . .

I arrived at the ballpark realizing I’d forgotten my portable phone charger so, I spent the first TWO innings near The Pen, at the ‘charging station’ watching a nearby TV and listening to the Halos broadcast via At Bat. Trout hit the THREE-run homer just as I plugged in (and, of course the Halos announcers were giddy – little did they know what would happen in the bottom of the inning 😉 )

ON the MOUND
Yes, that 1st inning was exasperating (Trout just seems to have Felix’s number) . . .
But, was SO good to see Felix dial it in and go a full EIGHT (something he had yet to do this season) and, ultimately, get the win . . .
EIGHT innings ~ THREE hits ~ FOUR earned runs ~ THREE walks ~ SIX strikeouts

Eddy gets his THIRD save in style ~ THREE up/THREE down ~ all K’s

AT the PLATE
FOURTEEN hits ~ only ONE for extra-bases ~ Zu’s THREE-run bomb in the 1st

  • Kyle the only starter w/o a hit
  • Nori and Adam both had THREE hits
  • Seth and Leonys both had TWO hits
  • only a total of THREE strikeouts

IN the FIELD
* error by Adam but, an OF assist by Seth to get the lead-runner in the 5th
* around-the-horn double-play (Kyle-Robbie-Adam) to end the 7th

tweets of the game . . .

g106 | Kuma and the solo shots!!!

Posted on by

Mariners 3 | Red Sox 1

solo shots

~ bad news: only FOUR hits
~ good news: THREE of them were homers

ON the MOUND
that’s Kuma “the Bear” we know and love!
SEVEN.ONE innings ~ FIVE hits ~ ZERO earned runs ~ ZERO walks ~ SEVEN strikeouts

then Drew gave us all heart attacks when he relieved Kuma in the 7th . . .
first batter he faces singles, second pops up and the third L  O  N  G  fly out to Nori at the wall – whew!!!

Then Edwin made it interesting in the 9th . . .
he actually, shock, allowed a run – but, got it done in the end for his SECOND save in as many chances, preserving the well-deserved W for Kuma!

AT the PLATE
As mentioned at the top, only FOUR hits but THREE of them were homers . . .
All solo shots: Nellie, Zu and Adam
Anyone noticed Zu’s OPS??  1.190 (yeah, I know it’s a small sample size but, jiminey!!)

IN the FIELD
A couple of nice/timely catches in the OF . . . 
Seth with a basket catch at the wall in the 4th and Nori with a catch of a scary fly ball (w/two runners on) in the 8th

No DP’s turned by the M’s (one turned against them)

Robbie’s sick play to end the game

tweets of the game . . .

THIS. is AWESOME . . .

https://twitter.com/SteveSandmeyer/status/761056282367266816

https://twitter.com/SteveSandmeyer/status/761058169581744129

g97 | ‘t was a hit parade north of the border ~ whoa Nellie!

Posted on by

Mariners 14 | Blue Jays 5

hit parade

NINETEEN hits!!!

ON the MOUND

Kuma not super sharp but, with some nice adjustments and ending with a quality start . . . 
SIX innings ~ FOUR hits ~ TWO earned runs ~ THREE walks ~ THREE strikeouts

Wade L w/his first career save and in the process gives the pen a rest . . .
THREE innings ~ FOUR hits ~ THREE earned runs ~ ZERO walks ~ TWO strikeouts

AT the PLATE

  • Every starter had at least ONE hit
  • SEVEN starters had multiple hits (including Nori, Robbie and Shawn w/THREE each)
  • Whoa, Nellie ~ TWO hits + BOTH homers + ONE a grand salami = SEVEN RBI
  • Kyle also with a homer (of the TWO run variety)

IN the FIELD

  • No DP’s turned (FOUR turned against them but, TWO of those scored runs)
  • A couple nice catches in the OF (including a nice throw by Nori that almost nailed a runner)

tweets of the game . . . 

g90-92 | Who’s your daddy?

Posted on by

Awesome outing from Kuma in the middle-game they won (and Steve earned his 22nd save) but, little else to write home about in this series 😦

Mariners 3 | Astros 7

Mariners 1 | Astros 0

Mariners 1 | Astros 8

tweets of the series . . . 

g83-85 | home sweepers to road sweepees

Posted on by

Mariners 1 | Astros 2
yet another ONE-run loss, Wade M threw a nice quality+ start but, McCullers all but shut down the M’s bat and oh, the wasted chances (lead-off triple in the first that doesn’t score and bases-loaded with no outs = no runs)

Mariners 2 | Astros 5
Tai had to come out of the game due to his previous foot injury, Monty filled in great but, bats were fairly non-existance

Mariners 8 | Astros 9
heart-breaker, down early, tied middle then a roller coaster till the bitter end

tweets of the series . . . 

 

 

 

 

g82 | sweet sweep complete!

Posted on by

Mariners 9 | Orioles 4

four brooms

Pretty fun to be in attendance for the completion of a FOUR-game SWEEP!
Especially, when it was shared ❤

ON the MOUND
Not Kuma’s best effort but, thanks to the “bully and the O”, it was plenty good enough . . .
SIX innings ~ TEN hits ~ FOUR earned runs ~ ZERO walks ~ ONE strikeout

that bully of Edwin, Joaquin and Vidal combined for . . .
THREE innings ~ TWO hits ~ ZERO runs ~ ZERO walks ~ FIVE strikeouts

AT the PLATE
Another double-digit hit game including . . .
FIVE doubles (Ketel, Kyle, Robbie and Nellie) and THREE of them went back-to-back-to-back in the 7th (Nellie, Kyle and Adam)

Only ONE homer but, boy, was if memorable . . .
Seth’s FOURTH game in-a-row with a homer and this ONE counted for FOUR!
And, oh, by the way, it was his first career grand slam 🙂

IN the FIELD

  • Martin had a bit of an unusually rough day in center – an error and a couple of mis-cues but, not too concerned – he’ll learn from it.
  • No DP’s turned by either side

tweets of the game . . .