M's 4 | O's 1
't was definitely the Felix and Jose show today!
Felix struggled a bit early, but managed to get out of a jam or two and then settled in on cruise control
7IP - 7H - 1ER - 2BB - 5K
AP Photo/Nick Wass
Jose credited his extra prep (a subtle hint to his pal Yuni?) to his great game
2/4 - 2HR - 3RBI
He's certainly proving he's the one you want up there close and late.
AP Photo/Nick Wass
and the bullpen was even better than usual!
Sean was great, with a one-two-three eighth
The D.A. - didn't look it up, but I would bet that this was one of, if not THE most efficient inning he's pitched as a Mariner. While David gets the job done more often than not, he tends to make things a bit interesting, so it was nice to see the one-two-three from him as well.
Progress w/Yuni's preparation...
Shannon spoke on the post game show about the fact that Yuni (after being benched for 4 straight days, reportedly due to lack of willingness to prepare) went to Wak on his own to talk things out - likely they each had plenty to say. This led to them working together in the batting cages and eventually to Yuni's name in the line up. Shannon has more here...
One thing I did see was Yuni taking ground balls during batting practice with more focus than I have ever seen. No hot dogging or half assing it. He really attacked the balls that were hit to him. Seen the same thing on the field tonight. Didn't like the first pitch out after a 7 pitch hit by Lopez in the fourth, but he has shown a little something extra in the field tonight. Moving like he is 15 pounds lighter.
Tid-bits...
20-8 when they score 4 runs or more
9-22 when they score less than 4 runs
Next up: Garrett Olson vs. Koji Uehara...
A win would not only be the M's 4th straight series win, it would put them at .500 for the first time since May 11th
Oh yeah ~ the "Brandon Saga" ... guess that deserves it's own post...
M's pitching continues to go over-looked.
ReplyDeleteBy most, anyways!
Jose Lopez should have had a lot more games like that by now.
Hear! Hear! about the pitching being over-looked, I was listening to some local sports talk (not the M's network) and the host was railing on the "putrid offense" (which, unfortunately, cannot be denied) but also said that the pitching has been "OK"
ReplyDelete**sigh**
As for Jose...
He's definitely off to a bit of a slower start than usual (he's usually hot in the first half and then fades a bit - although he was more consistent last season). Maybe the WBC zapped his energy - he was one of Venezuala's best hitters afterall...
http://compassrosy.blogspot.com/2009/03/wbc-congrats-to-team-japan.html
I'd like to think that he's just gearing up for the second half. If he AND Adrian can come alive (and Brandon stay hot) there MIGHT be a sliver of hope...
Nah, I dont think the wbc did much. If he didn't play in the wbc, he'd play in spring training.
ReplyDeleteBeltre, Lopez and Griffey better wake up or I think the M's will be right around 75-78 wins.
That's just my view!
You should see these whiners on athleticsnation.com. Anytime the A's lose it just has to be Gerens fault.
I forgot the ;-) re: Jose and the WBC.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the rare ones that actually likes it.
Asking Grif to wake up might be a tall order but, you must have missed the memo. Seems Jose and Adrian are WIDE awake now :-)
For June...
Jose
.333 with 3 homers, 4 doubles, 3 runs and 9RBI
Adrian
.364 with 1 homer, 3 doubles, 7 runs and 4RBI