ON the MOUND
Felix has had his bad days but, NEVER anything like this . . .
ONE THIRD of an inning ~ FIVE hits ~ EIGHT earned runs ~ TWO walks ~ ONE strikeout
AT the PLATE
move along, NOTHING to see here . . .
total of FOUR hits ~ all SINGLES 😦
IN the FIELD
and, this wasn’t much better . . .
TWO double-plays but, an uncharacteristic error by Felix and just generally meh – yuck in the field
tweets of the game . . .
the GOOD news . . .
This is how we expected things to go . . .
solid starting pitching, stellar relief and just enough offense to keep it CLOSE, along with CLEAN defense to make a difference
ON the MOUND
James was a little shaky early but, great the rest of the way . . .
he gave up a lead-off double, a wild pitch, a single, a walk and a run on a sac fly – all in the 1st (breaking his 20-inning scoreless streak) but, was able to limit the damage and, after a visit from Lloyd in that 1st inning, he settled down nicely . . .
SIX innings ~ FOUR hits ~ TWO earned runs ~ THREE walks ~ FOUR strikeouts
and as for the ‘pen – EXACTLy as you’d write it up when you need THREE innings. . .
} The Bartender with a scoreless 7th
} Carson with a scoreless 8th
} Nando not only a scoreless 9th (for his TWELFTH save – “Dirty Dozen” 😉 ) but, he got them 1-2-3, no drama!
AT the PLATE
Only SIX total hits but, then made ’em count!
~ Kyle’s solo shot in the top of the 2nd tied the game at ONE
~ Willie’s TWO-run double in the 3rd, scoring Chris and Rickie, gave the M’s the lead they would not relinquish
IN the FIELD
No question the DEE played a part, and a pretty one, indeed!
* awesome “step and a dive” by Kyle in the 3rd
* Willie earns an OF assist getting a runner at 2B from RF in the 4th
* Robbie with a “very Robbie” play – catch of a smash liner and an nonchalant flip to 2B for the DP in the 6th
* nice sliding catch by Ack for the last out of the 7th
tweets of the game . . .
OK, getting swept FOUR games is never a good thing.
the silver lining is that the M’s were in EVERY game except Saturday’s blowout . . . .
each of the other three were ONE-run games – a better pitch here, one less error there, a timely hit somewhere – and they could have gone 3-1 instead of 0-4 😦
ON the MOUND
Well, JA was bound to have a rough outing and, no surprise that it came against the hottest team in baseball (obviously, these are your daddy’s ‘stros!). They are for real and take EVERY advantage (and they also hit a LOT of freakin’ homers – THREE more today gave them ELEVEN for the series!). Anyhoo, despite JA’s rough few innings, he did what veteran pitchers do and hung in, giving his team a chance to win (not to mention the bullpen as much rest as possible – since they’ve still got THREE games before a day off)
SIX innings ~ SEVEN hits ~ SIX earned runs ~ THREE walks ~ SIX strikeouts
} After a perfect 7th, Carson finally gave up his FIRST earned run of the season (lead-off homer to Gatis in the 8th) and was also tagged with his first loss
AT the PLATE
Seemed all was lost (and, eventually it would be) but, it was good to see them battle back . . .
~ early on, the only scoring came in via a double (Ack) and a triple (Brad) in the 3rd (alas, Brad was stranded at 3B and, to add injury to insult -literally- AJ sprained his ankle trying to leg it out to 1B)
~ Seth, after a ONE-out triple in the 6th, found the way to score from 3B: take home on an error!
~ the grit came in the 7th when “single, single, double, double, error” netted FOUR more runs and tied the game at SIX
~ down ONE going to the 9th (after the Gatis homer) the M’s went down with a whimper: Zu strikeout, Rickie walk, Brad GDIP
IN the FIELD
* No errors today (although the ‘stros committed TWO and still managed to win)
* No DP’s turned (but, they hit into THREE 😦 )
* Nice pickoff from Charlie
* Nice OF assist from Seth (Altuve at 3B)
tweets of the game . . .
First M’s sweep of the Rangers in Texas since 2002!
ON the MOUND
Felix wasn’t totally Felix but, he hung in and was able to record his first victory in Texas since 2010
SIX.TWO innings ~ FIVE hits ~ TWO earned runs ~ ONE walk ~ FOUR strikeouts
Bullpen totally awesome tonight!
} Danny posted ONE.ONE hitless, scoreless innings
} Nando with yet ANOTHER 1-2-3 inning for his SEVENTH save (THIRD in-a-row!)
AT the PLATE
Every starter (except AJ) was on base at least once . . .
~ Nellie’s homer was EPIC (483 feet!) and he had another hit, another run scored and a walk
~ LoMo finally catching some breaks – FOUR for FIVE tonight w/ a DOUBLE and TWO RBI
~ Justin with a DOUBLE and a run scored
~ Rickie with THREE walks and a run scored
~ Zu, no hits but, TWO walks = good sign
IN the FIELD
* hey mom, look! no errors! AND a DP turned (Robbie-Brad-LoMo)
* Rangers, on the other hand, had FOUR (well, sometimes you get the breaks, sometimes they get you)
tweets of the game . . .
Nice to have the series in the bag with Felix up next and a decent shot at the first sweep! 🙂
ON the MOUND
Chalk up another QS for JA!
(unfortunately, I didn’t get to see/hear it but, seems like one of his best yet!)
The run he allowed didn’t come until TWO outs in the 7th!
SIX.TWO innings ~ SIX hits ~ ONE earned run ~ ONE walk ~ NINE strikeouts
Bully really rounding into form (now that they’ve had more normal “rest” of late) . . .
} Tyler retired the only batter he faced (to end the 7th)
} Dom was the only reliever not to record an out (allowed a single to the only batter he faced – leading off the 8th)
} Charlie and Yoervis combined to get the THREE outs to end the 8th
} Nando, only needed TEN pitches to set them down 1-2-3 in the 9th for his SIXTH save and JA’s SECOND victory!
AT the PLATE
Only SEVEN total hits . . .
~ THREE for extra bases (Nellie with a double AND a triple and Rickie with a HOMER!)
~ Justin checking in on base TWICE again (TWO singles)
IN the FIELD
Not the best . . .
* another error by Brad
* no DP’s turned but TWO turned against them 😦
tweets of the game . . .
OUCH!
More homers (including Nelson’s FIFTH in FOUR games) can’t overcome strikeouts and pitching woes . . .
ON the MOUND
Kuma was far from sharp – he threw a TON of pitches (95) and walked WAY too many (not his MO) . . .
FIVE innings ~ SIX hits ~ FOUR runs ~ THREE walks ~ FIVE strikeouts
} Carson posted another “clean-sheet” in his ONE inning of work
} Charlie ran into a bit of trouble, allowing TWO hits without recording an out in the 7th
} Yoervis had a spectacular appearance in the 7th: came in with TWO on, NO out and recorded a strikeout AND a double-play! Then in the 8th: a couple of ground outs, a single and Zu nails a would-be 2B stealer (see IN the FIELD below)
} Nando blew his first save of the season when he allowed back-to-back singles to start the 9th. Then, it appeared they he may pull out a miracle when a fielder’s choice ended with tagging the runner at 3B out. But, what followed was the ultimate BAD FRE: a walk to load the bases and a single (by Howie Kendrick, who else?) that scored TWO. Dodgers win by ONE.
AT the PLATE
and the power surge continues!
~ back-to-back homers in the 1st for Robbie and Nellie made it 3-0 early
wait, there’s more! they can also play small ball . . .
~in the 4th, Willie was HBP, Kuma sacrificed him to 2B and he scored on Rickie’s RBI single
~in the 5th, the M’s loaded the bases via walks and Willie grounded out to score Nellie from 3B
but, the bad news is the TWELVE strikeouts . . .
~ including FOUR for Zu 😦
IN the FIELD
* nice play in the 5th blooper: over Willie at 1B but, Robbie backing up and tossed easily to Kuma covering at the 1B
* Carson had to pitch to one more batter in the 6th after an errant throw (luckily, it only cost him a few pitches, no runs)
* great throw and catch/tag by Zu and Robbie respectively in the 8th to nail a would-be, base-stealer (but, he was initially called SAFE – Robbie immediately pointed to the dugout because he KNEW he’d tagged the runner on the shoulder before his foot hit the 2B bag: played challenged, play over-turned)
tweets of the game . . .
Mariners 8 | Athletics 7 (in 10)
ON the MOUND
Felix’s first road game of the season as well as his first as a 29 year-old was not very “Felix-like” . . .
FIVE innings ~ EIGHT hits ~ THREE earned runs ~ TWO walks ~ ONE strikeout
He left with tightness in his right quad (please, please, please, don’t be serious) and, in a VERY rare occurrence, the offense picked him up and he was actually still in line for the WIN going into the 9th . . . that is, until Nando, pitching with a FOUR run lead (so, not a save situation) gave up FOUR runs to send the game to extras and dash Felix’s rare chance to notch a come-from-behind victory 😦
} Danny and Charlie combined for THREE innings of scoreless relief w/TWO hits, NO walks and THREEE strikeouts
} Nando, Nando, Nando (reportedly in without a save opportunity due to BP workload) promptly gave up a a couple of walks and FOUR hits that when all is said and done equate to FOUR earned runs and a tie ball game.
} Thankfully, the ONE reliever they had left ~Yoervis~ came in and retired THREE straight A’s to earn the SAVE and Nando gets the WIN (in what world does that make sense?!?!)
AT the PLATE
Considering the M’s first base-runner didn’t come until Kyle reached on a fielding error in the 5th and their first and second hits didn’t come until the 6th (when they were already down THREE-zip) when Ack and Zu got back-to-back singles, they certainly made up for lost time nicely . . .
~ in the 6th, after being no-hit thru FIVE, they scored FOUR runs in the 6th (via sac fly, A’s fielding error and Kyle single)
~ in the 7th, with TWO on, Rickie delivered BIG TIME, with a THREE-run, pinch-hit homer (his first as a Mariner)
~ in the 10th, Nelson comes up HUGE with a TWO-out, solo shot that regained the lead for the M’s
IN the FIELD
some pretty spiffy DEE this afternoon . . .
* LoMo fielded a slow roller to Zu at home who was able to nail the runner at the plate
* Zu made a great catch of a foul ball and then was able to fire at Felix covering 1B who stretched to get the out to complete the 2-1 double-play!
* except in the 4th when the A’s scored TWO – a ball got by Austin in shallow center, a run scored and the batter got to 2B and then the A’s got a triple as Nelson fielded but wasn’t able to relay to 3B in time
tweets of the game . . .
Yep. That would be C.J. Wilson . . .
now 16-8 career vs. the M’s ~ tip o’ the cap (or so they say)
ON the MOUND
Despite the loss, a very encouraging outing for Paxton . . .
SIX innings ~ FOUR hits ~ TWO runs ~ ONE walk ~ FIVE strikeouts
Thru TWO games, the bullpen still hanging on to 0.00ERA 🙂
} The Bartender served up a 1-2-3 in the 7th
} Yoervis allowed a 2-out double to Trout in the 8th (his first hit in eight tries since the homer last night) but escaped damage in his 1.1 IP
} and the Rook, Tyler Olson, is like, “Well, THIS is easy!” as he comes in with ONE on ONE out in the 9th, throws ONE pitch and gets the DP!
AT the PLATE
oooh boy, not a lot to see here tonight – only TWO hits . . .
~ Rickie and Nellie checked in with their first Mariner hits but, both were singles in the 2nd and 3rd innings respectively
~ Looking for a positive? Only FOUR K’s tonight (THREE last night) and NO GDIP
IN the FIELD
* nice catch by Austin on a Trout fly ball in the 4th
* ugly play in the 9th – Morrison bobbled a grounder and Medina dropped the ball covering 1B
tweets of the game . . .
Being SO close to feeling, for a second time, the euphoria still simmering from the first championship only to have it abruptly snatched away in the final seconds was pretty brutal (to put it mildly). It’s going to take some time.
Luckily, there’s a cure . . .
the delicious distraction that is BASEBALL 🙂 – some catchin’ up to do . . .
The CY Award that wasn’t
Felix Facts | From the Corner of Edgar and Dave
Why Felix Hernandez (unexpectedly) lost the Cy Young Award | Ryan Divish, The Seattle Times
“Yeah, I did,” he said. “It was a great year. I think I pitched way better than 2010.”
Goodbye to some old friends, hello to the new
A message from Michael Saunders to Mariners fams | Ryan Divish, Mariners Blog
Mariners sign Nelson Cruz to 4-year deal | ESPN.com
Gar continues to garner high profile support
Randy Johnson endorses Edgar for HoF | ESPN.com
tweets of the off-season
PLAY BALL!!!!
Compass Rosy 