g54 | Bedard, Ray and the SMOAK BOMB!

Mariners 3 | Orioles 2

Erik was awesome tonight...
Despite seeing his 20 scoreless innings streak come to an end in the 6th when he walked the lead-off batter (his first walk of the game), gave up a single and then a run scored when the next batter hit into a double play.  Erik also gave up a solo shot in the 7th but ya gotta be happy with:
100P - 6.1IP - 6H - 2ER - 2BB - 7K

AP PHOTO

Enter Chris Ray with one out, one on in the 7th...
He walked the first batter he faced, gave up an infield single to load the bases, got the next guy to fly out to Ichiro (runners held) and then struck out Adam Jones to end the inning.  Chris then retired the side in order in the 8th.

AP PHOTO

At this point, we are wondering will the Mariners EVER SCORE ANOTHER RUN???

Then comes the bottom of the 8th...
Ichiro gets on board via an error with two outs in the 8th (an error charged to Guthrie covering first when he doesn't make the catch from Scott throwing from his knees.  Then Mr. .500 (Brendan Ryan - who had already extended his hitting streak to ELEVEN in his previous AB) gets aboard via a single.  Runners on 1B and 2B for Justin SmOOOOOOak!  THREE RUN SMOAK BOMB!!

AP PHOTO

Does every save have to be one-run?
After a couple of pitches put Reynolds on his keister, he can't quite check his swing on strike three.  then Scott strikes out looking and Pie grounds out.

MARINERS WIN!!!
~ONE-half game back of first at TWO games over .500 (thanks Rays, Royals and Yanks!)
~FIFTH straight series win
~FOURTEENTH come from behind win
~EIGHT and SIX vs. the east
~a closer who, after a really rough patch, has regained his dominance such that he leads the league with FIFTEEN saves

g53 | the Fabulous Mr. Fister

Mariners 4 | Orioles 3

Pitching, Pitching and more Pitching

He just keeps on throwing strikes...
Today was no different - Doug threw 110 pitches - 78 for strikes (and 23 of 30 first pitch strikes)
Basically, other than the solo shot in the 3rd, Doug was cruising until the 8th in which he allowed 3 singles (one of which could have easily been scored an error on Figgy - more on that later) and one run.  Thankfully, the offense did just enough and the bullpen was it's usual effective self so that Doug could claim the much earned W.  This guy does it all - even dives for foul balls...

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP

Bullish on the 'Pen...
Jamey came in with one out in the 8th and allowed an inherited runner to score - via an error by Figgy.  But, then recorded the second out, via a groundout.  Aaron came in to get the third out, which he did via a groundout (are you sensing a pattern here?)

Brandon appears to have fully recovered from his 4-game lapse...
Such that, he racked up his save total to a "league-leading" 14.  As our old friend Hyphen would say, "Good on ya, Brandon."

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP

Just enough offense

The excitement 'round the blog-o-shere prior to the game...
Was the lineup and the fact that Figgy was no longer ensconced in the #2 spot - he'd been dropped to #8.  Brendan Ryan had been "promoted" to #2.  There also were reports that Wedge "had words" with Ichiro - oh, the intrigue!

Well, the chat must have some impact...
Ichi went 2-4 with 2 runs scored AND a stolen base (off a catcher who nails 45% of would-be base-stealers, not exactly his MO).

Ryan extended his hitting streak to 10...
With one hit, one RBI and a run scored - appears not to matter where he bats.

And then there was the convergence of unlikeliness...
Jack Cust hit a triple ~only the second triple of his career~ and Justin scored from 1B!

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP

Bases-loaded walk kings...
This time it was Adam and Miggy with back-to-back free passes that accounted for 2 runs.  Adam's AB was particularly impressive - 12 pitches!

As for Figgy's new spot...
So far, so bad.  He was 0-3 with 2 strikeouts (one with the bases-loaded).  And now his woes seems to have made their way to his defense.  He was charged with one error today but, it could have easily been three.  It's amazing, despite the team's win today (and 3 of 4 over the weekend, including 2 to the Yanks), callers on the post game show just wanted to vent about Figgy.

But me, I'll focus on the positive (shocking, I know)
While the defense wasn't exactly sparkling today, they did manage one double-play, at the best possible time - to end the game :-)

The M's have won 11 of their last 14 and have not lost back-to-back games since May 12th and 13th.

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP

Here's to ensuring the 5th series win in-a-row tomorrow!

g52 | game loss, series win, back to .500

Mariners 1 | Yankees 7

Before it started, I told myself I'd be really happy if the M's took the series...
Two of three from the most potent offense in the league would be a good goal - it would also mean a .500 record - something the M's haven't seen this 'late' in the season for a very long time (2007, if I'm not mistaken).  So, that's what they got and I'm happy with that.

Doesn't mean I didn't get a little greedy and stuff a small broom in my bag before I headed out to the ballpark today but, the sweep was not to be.

Jason was had an off day, to put it kindly...  82P - 3IP - 5H - 6ER - 1K - 4BB
You could almost sense it early on, even though was able to get through the first two innings giving up only the solo homer (we've seen that movie before in this series) but he was throwing SO many pitches and working SO deliberately, instead of his usually fairly brisk pace.  Almost makes you wonder if he and Chris weren't on the same page (Miggy wasn't playing due to the double-whammy of day-game-after-a-night-game and resting his poor face from the beating it took at 1B yesterday)

AP PHOTO

Unfortunately, CC was on so that didn't much make for a winning combination.

There were a few positives

Gray and Ray...
the bullpen guys who don't get much work (due to the uber-effectiveness of Laffey-Wright-Pauley) got to showcase their wares a bit today and, did pretty well.  Gray and Ray combined for six innings and gave up SIX hits, ONE walk and ONE run.

Brendan HOT Ryan...
ran his hitting streak to NINE games with a single a double and a walk today.

Justin SMOAK...
finally smoked one - first since May 13th in Cleveland.  Hopefully, this will get him going again.

Wilson and Wilson...
Mike and Jack were both in the starting lineup today and each recorded a hit

Strong D ...
two double plays - and not your garden variety ones either - one was a strike 'em out throw 'em out.  The other was an flyout and then an outfield assist to Ichiro who doubled Jeter off 1B

The not so positive news

Continued struggles for Ichiro and Chone...
Seems most believe Ichi will turn things around but, most are highly doubtful about Figgy - they are clamoring for him to be moved down in the order.  Frankly, I'd like to see both - sit for a couple of days and then return to the lineup in #8 or #9

Wedge has shown reluctance to do this, maybe due to the trickle-down effect it could have.  But, it's got to be hard to be running Figgy out there night after night when all that changes is his average - for the worse.

Next up: O's for 3

g51 | beating Mariano

Mariners 5 | Yankees 4

It is always a little extra-special to beat the best.  Supposedly, the M's have only done it three times, and I remember them all...

• May 7, 2007 in New York - Adrian Beltre homered in the 9th and I was listening on the radio on my way home from work on the bus

• September 18, 2009 in Seattle - Ichiro homered in the 9th and I was cheering in near disbelief from my seat in the third deck of Safeco Field

• Last night though, it wasn't until the 12th inning and there were no homers involved.  It seemed only fitting, given the M's manufacturing penchant, that it took a village.  Justin singled, Jack doubled, Luis ran for Justin at 3B, Guti was intentionally walked and then Adam hit a bloop up the middle for the game-winning RBI and I was again cheering in near disbelief from my seat in the third deck.

That was just the ending of a game choc full of unexpected-ness

Felix past dominance of the Yanks is well-chronicled...
Last season, for instance, he was 3-0 vs. New York and only gave up ONE run in 26 innings.  On this night however, with his Court assembled in the left field corner of The Safe he was far from "kingly".  A Cano solo shot in the 2nd quickly doused any inklings of a complete game shutout and a Teixeira two-run homer in the 3rd definitely gave the Yanks momentum.  Felix was just not sharp (what have I told you about Felix and the month of May).  He was throwing WAY too many pitches, getting to WAY too many 3-2 counts and walking WAY too many batters.  It seemed he might not even make it through the 5th - but, he managed to get through the 7th and leave with the game tied, having thrown a season high 128 pitches.

AP PHOTO

Then, the King's Court would have to bow down to the steller-ness that is the Seattle 'pen...
FIVE, count 'em FIVE scoreless innings of relief - Aaron, Jamey, Brandon and David (in that order) combined for:  5IP - 3H - 0ER - 0BB - 2K

And look, there is offense!
The M's got back that first run in the 2nd inning by continuing their manufacturing ways - infield single, ground out and fielder's choice.  But then in the 4th inning, they decided to change things up a bit.  Yes, there was an infield single but there were also two doubles and a solid base hit to center.  All told, three runs would score and the M's would take the lead that would last until the Yanks tied it up in the 7th on Granderson's triple high off the right field wall (a play Ichiro makes 9 times out of 10).  Then, the battle of the bullpens would begin and not be decided until that fabulous bottom of the 12th

AP PHOTO

Miggy's head-first slide to first in the 11th earned him a base hit and a seat in the dugout....
looking like he just been though a few rounds with Ali - gotta love the attitude but, feet first Miggy, feet first.

And then there were the "intruders"...
Was there a full moon last night?  FOUR idiot fans decided it would be a good idea to run on to the field (one of them sans clothing).  And, this wasn't a group effort - it was four separate instances.  Apparently, the first one being slam tackled by security and led off the field in hand cuffs wasn't enough of a deterent to the other three.  I guess they just needed shelter for the long weekend.

AP PHOTO

g50 | on > over > IN

Mariners 4 | Yankees 3

Picking up Pineda - 't was a beautiful thing.

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

We all wondered how he would handle a little adversity ~ what adjustments he would be able to make ~ pitch to pitch, batter to batter, inning to inning.  I can say with confidence, Michael handled it splendidly.

Going into this game, he had a 4.36 K to BB ratio. Tonight, for this game, it was even - 5K, 5BB (hence a quickly elevated pitch count).  Yet, despite his command/control issues and the solo shot by Teixiera, - Michael hung in there through five and still gave his team a chance to win allowing only 3 hits and 3 runs to the most potent offense in the AL.

Like they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  He was far from "killed" and something tells me he's going to make like a sponge and absorb every drop of learning that can come from an outing like this.

Who gives a rip about hits w/RISP?
What really matters, as the M's showed the pin-stripers tonight, is RBI w/RISP.  The M's were 0-8 w/RISP, but ALL of their FOUR runs came via ground out or fielder's choice as they scraped and scrapped to get their phenom off the hook and reach the .500 mark and half game out of first place.

It all started in the bottom of the 5th ...
Brendan singled, Ichi doubled, Luis and Justin each grounded out and each picked up an RBI.  The M's were within one.

Then, in the 6th, a similar story...
Adam and Miggy singled and Carlos's walk loaded the bases.  Brendan grounded into a FC, Ichiro grounded out and each picked up an RBI.  The M's had the lead for the first time and it would not be relinquished.

Let's give it up for the BP!
They were stellar, as has been the case more often than not...
David (WIN), Jamey (HOLD) and Brandon (SAVE) combined for 4IP - 2H - 0ER -1BB

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Oh, and then there was the little matter of the D
Guti was back in his rightful place in Safeco Field's center field and doing his level best to murder all things flying including his 4th inning third out thievery of Swisher's home run.

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

As for the infield, no double plays were turned (on either side) but the M's showed some solid, capable play.  Adam got the most put outs (5), Luis filled in fine at 3B making a couple PO of his own and Justin snared an at 'em ball.

And then there's Brendan (I knew there was a reason he was quickly becoming one of my fav's - besides his attitude - he's actually got aptitude!).  He showed some rangy plays for outs, but, probably the best was when he and Jamey teamed up to pick Nunez off 2B - it's all about the "eye contact".  They are always great, but was really nice about that third out, was that it meant Brandon would face Swisher (who was at bat during the pick off), Gardner and Jeter in the 9th instead of Gardner, Jeter and Granderson.

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Just a great win from a team that found a way to win when their biggest strength faltered for a night.

Next up ~ Happy Felix Day!

Michael's time to shine

I meant to do a post focusing just on Michael but the day got away...

Hopefully, after tonight's start, there will be even more glowing things to write about him.

Michael has had a start to his career that has exceeded everyone's expectations.  Not only is he an imposing physical presence on the mound, his demeanor is nothing one would expect from a rookie.  He is confident, composed and capable.

Tonight will be his biggest test yet ... here's hoping he's up to it.

Off to The Safe - rocking the teal!

g49 | another series win, another 5-1 road trip...

Mariners 3 | Twins 0

Due to the early start, I wasn't able to follow the game, so am reduced to reiterating the box score.

on the mound...

More steller-ness.  

Erik had runners on base in every inning except his last, the 6th, but I'd classify SIX hits, ONE walk and NO runs, as a resounding success.  Enter the 'Pen who contributed by retiring the last NINE batters they faced.  David's TWO scoreless innings inched his ERA to BELOW one (.95 to be exact).  Brandon's  scoreless frame SHUT the door for his 12th save.

at the plate...
The first thing that stands out in the box score is the empty hit column from 1-4.  In fact, the M's only had five hits spread among only three batters.  Guti had two hits, walked once, scored two runs and tallied one RBI via a solo shot (his first of the season!).  Adam had a hit, a run and an RBI.  Brendan continued his torrid streak with two more hits, including a two-out triple and an RBI.  Justin and Jack W each walked once with two outs, but were left stranded.

of base paths and leather works...
Guti certainly isn't being timid in his return - he was caught stealing AND picked off 1B
Brendan-to-Jack-to-Adam was the only double play (turned in the first)

g48 | tough luck for Mr. Fister

Mariners 2 | Twins 4

't all fell apart in the 7th for Doug ...
He allowed a run in the 1st inning, struck out the side in order in the 2nd, allowed another run in the 3rd, retired the side in order in the 4th, allowed just a single in each of the 5th and 6th.  Then came the 7th - after striking out the first batter, Doug gave up two singles, balked in a run and then another scored on an error by Miggy.  Doug just can't seem to catch a break - in his nine starts going into this game, he had only given up more than two runs twice and had exactly two wins to show for it.  Unfortunately, his win total did not increase tonight but the figure in that L column did increment by one.

Miggy ~ the hero AND the goat...
He tied the game with a two-run homer (Justin was aboard) and he also had a double.  But, he had that critical error in the 7th that allowed the Twins fourth run to score in the 7th and grounded out for the second out in the 9th

tip o' the cap to Mr. Blackburn (and to Minny's D)...
Last night every Mariner hitter contributed in some way, shape or form (most in more ways that one).  Tonight, there were FIVE Mariner hitters who did not even reach base in any way, shape or form (robbed a couple of times by awesome outfield catches).

And so, the streak stops at six.  Just means the next one will be seven (since the previous one was five).  Let's start it tomorrow - get the win and take the series.  Then, they get a day off at home on Thursday before the pin-stripers come to town for the weekend to get a taste of Seattle's Kingdom of Pitching.

g47 | so many turning points, it went 360

Mariners 8 | Twins 7

Seems there were two precursors in the first inning...
~ a good one in the top of the inning - Jack's first JACK!!! (with Ichiro aboard)
~ a bad one in the bottom of the inning - Jason gives up a lead-off homer

That would be just the beginning of a see-saw evening at Target Field....
The M's own the first three innings by scoring four total runs, the Twins own the middle innings when Jason finally stumbled and gave up four of his own and then the M's would rally long and hard to get the win in ten innings.

Lots of heros tonight..
Among which I include Jason, as he hung around in the dugout, pulling for his teammates - and with good reason.  This was a TRUE TEAM WIN.  Literally EVERYONE contributed - each player, including pinch-runners and pinch hitters, did something to help get to ultimate victory - hit, RBI, walk, score, stolen base.  There was everything from Jack's homer, to RBI doubles by Guit and Gimenez, to singles, great base-running and productive outs in the 8th, to a "money bag" by Michael pinch-running for Justin, to a clutch RBI single by Piggy in the 9th to tie the game,  to more singles and an Ichiro sac bunt, to Luis's sac fly RBI that would prove to be the winning run.

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

And, let's not forget the bullpen...
Aaron got five ground outs in-a-row, after taking over for Jason with two outs in the 5th, before giving up an infield single and then a homer to Thome.  Ray and Wright each pitched a scoreless inning and then Brandon came in and threw a perfect 10th for the save.

Every win is great...
But an extra-inning victory, on the road, with everyone contributing is truly something special.  I wouldn't be surprised if this one goes a long way in defining the character of this team.

g46 | sweep. complete.

Mariners 6 | Padres 1

The scoreless innings streak by the M's starters came to an end at 26 when the Padres scored a run off Felix in the 7th inning but, with the win today the M's complete the sweep - and outscore the Padres in the series 14-2.

from Geoff Baker's blog

Just another Happy Felix Day..
He recorded THIRTEEN strikeouts in his EIGHT innings of work and extended another M's starters' streak of consecutive starts of 7+ innings to NINE.

How 'bout a little love for Mr. Pauley?
David threw another scoreless inning in the 9th and, with his next start may possibly see his ERA dip BELOW one - yowsa!

More than a little O...
FIFTEEN HITS!  (we won't focus on the 4/15 w/RISP)
Miggy has been behind the plate for most of this terrific run that the pitchers have been on but today, he was able to contribute at the plate and on the bases, going 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored and a stolen base.  Piggy and Brendan each had 2-run doubles and Justin and Adam were both 2 for 5 with 1 run scored.  Ichi only went 1 for 5 but recorded an RBI.  Guti took to centerfield in the 7th and showed that he's not lost any arm strength, throwing out a base-runner at 3B and showing his bat coming around in his only AB in the 9th - a solid RBI single for the M's 6th run of the game.

Off they go to Target Field to take on the Twins.  Pray the tornadoes stay away.

g45 | Michael, you are spoiling us...

Mariners 4 | Padres 0

"Today is a big day for me." -Michael Pineda

Yes, it was, Michael.  Yes it was...  
One of these days, you may struggle but, until then, we'll continue to feel pretty confident on
Diabolical Day = 99P - 7IP - 2H - 0ER - 1BB - 9K

The Padres were Pineda'd...
Michael retired the side in order four times and struck out the side in his last inning.

AP PHOTO

Bully, bully...

David also struck out the side in his one inning of work - the 8th

Jamey made things a bit interesting in the 9th, after striking out his first batter, he allowed two singles, but then got a fly out and a ground out and that would be the ballgame.

The offense, while not flashy, got things done...  
There were three doubles (including Mike Wilson's first major league extra base hit) but there was also a sac-fly (Jack W), a first to third that would later score (Brendan) and opportunity taken when Jack W scored on a bad pick off attempt at 3B by the catcher.  Those good, old fundamentals (like I was talking about in the previous post) execute like that behind pitching like this and more often than not it will result in a W

AP PHOTO

Wilson and Wilson...
Jack and Mike (FINALLY, a start!) combined to go 4-7 with three RBI and one run scored.

Guti comin' 'round...
he had his first hit since coming off the DL and he scored a run.

Ichi off the schnide...
snapped and 0-10 with a solid single

One other little note...
I've liked Brendon Ryan since day one.  Yeah, he's not exactly lighting it up with the bat (though he had a great night tonight) and he can be frustrating on D at times (making awesome plays and then booting routine ones) but he is very accountable and always positive.  Shannon passed along a little nugget on the post game show that, as a fan, I really appreciated.  Apparently, well after our game ended, Brendan was sitting in the clubhouse, still in full uniform, watching the Angels / Braves game.  And, as I type this is just went final.  I can just envision him cheering :-)

at or near the top, at or near the bottom...

There's been a lot of chatter lately about just how spectacular the M's starting staff has been over the past week or so ... that prompted me to take a look as some of the numbers.  Granted, stats aren't exactly my strong suit (I find myself having to consult glossaries in order to even understand what I'm looking at) but, there were a couple of things that stuck out and, not just for the past week.

Currently, the M's starters...
-have the most strikeouts in the AL
-have allowed the fewest walks in the AL
-have allowed the second fewest homers in the AL
-are 2nd in the MAJORS in ERA

The offense, for good reason (many good reasons, in fact) has been much maligned.  It is obvious, even to me, that this team needs a big-bopper (or three).  But, as you might expect, I thought I'd look for some positives.  Surprisingly, there are a few, granted, they aren't the sexy ones, but they do indicate that fundamentals are being stressed which, especially for a rebuilding team, is a necessary component.

Currently, the M's batters...
-have hit into the fewest double plays in the AL
-are 2nd in sacrifice hits in the AL
-are 5th in the AL in other "small ball" categories: stolen bases, walks and sac-flys

Some of the contrasting stats are interesting...
-batters who have hit into the fewest double plays and fielders who have turned the third most
-starting staff that has walked the fewest batters and batters who have walked fifth most
-starting staff that has given up the fewest homers and batters who have hit the fewest homers

What does in it all mean?

Heck if I know.
Like the title of the post, there are some things the M's do well and some things they are somewhat less than stellar at ~ ok, in general, they suck at hitting.  They are bad bats - last in AVG and SLB and, if it weren't for the Twins, they would also be last in OBP and OPS.

So, while it's unlikely the M's will contend this season, it is still early and the West is tight.  There is plenty of time for improvement, whether it be from struggling vets or new kids that click or both.  It's up to Wedge and his coaches to get the most from the players by continuing to emphasize fundamentals and find ways to improve weaknesses (and for Jack Z to supplement, if possible).  It's up to the players to embrace stated philosophies and to execute on contribute, in attitude and in action, to the very best of their ability.

g44 | quadruple E = Extremely Effective Efficient Erik

Mariners 4 | Padres 1

No rust here, even on eleven days rest...
(well, if you don't count the 17 pitches he threw in the rain postponed game in Cleveland)
Not only did Erik pitch EIGHT innings for only the third time as a Mariner, he did so extremely effectively and efficiently using only 92 pitches to strike out NINE.

AP PHOTO

And, to top it all off, he got a base hit!  In the shot of him standing on 1B with the batting helmet on his head and a huge grin on his face, I almost didn't recognize him ;-)

We knew Piggy had a bat, but we now know this...
~ he has a glove that robbed Cantu of a home run
~ he has an arm that threw a seed relay to Brendan who threw to Justin to complete the DP
~ he has legs that carried him to 3B for an RBI triple!

AP PHOTO

Miggy had a nice evening as well....
with a double and a home run

A very confusing bottom of the 9th...
Carlos ALMOST had a great catch. He ran and stretched and had the ball just in the tip of the webbing of his glove but couldn't quite hang on. Guti backed him up and got the ball back to the infield where a run had already scored but then there was confusion and contact on the base paths between two Padres, so one of them was out.  Chris Ray would finally end it (despite giving up a hit and a walk and having a runner reach on an error).

When asked in the post game about the weird play in the 9th, Brendan said it was pretty crazy, but that it didn't matter, that the game should have been over at that point because he should have turned the double play on the previous batter. He's right, he should have but, he gets a pass tonight since he had two hits, two RBI and was a part of three (count 'em 3!) double plays.


All-in-all, a fun night in San Diego (wish I was there! ;-)

g43 | Meet the newest Mariner - Sun Shine

Mariners 2 | Angels 1

Before this game even started, I knew it would be next to impossible for me to be too disappointed with any outcome.  Why was I so sure?  Because it was a beautiful, deliciously warm, sunny day in Seattle.  We hadn't seen the mercury climb to 70 degrees in nearly 200 days but, TODAY was going to be perfect - I had the day off for day baseball!

Little did I know, as much as I was thoroughly relishing each and every ray of sunshine while watching the game, that my appreciation of that glowing orb would double (maybe treble) by the last play of the game.

Turns out, much to my delight, the game was an extreme pitchers' duel.  Both Dan Haren and Doug Fister were super stellar.  Each went EIGHT innings and gave up only ONE run - Howie Kendrick hit a solo shot off Doug in the 4th and the M's tied it up in the 5th when Gimenez hit a sac-fly that scored Luis who had led off the inning with a double.  That was it for offense though - Halos were 0-3 w/RISP and M's were 1-8 - until the bottom of the 9th.

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP

The following sequence of improbable events did actually occur and no names have been changed to protect egos or reputations.  First, Jack Cust led off the inning with an infield single (okay, it was more like a check swing that  s l o w l y  dribbled toward 3B and JC was able to make it to 1B safely).  Adam bunted him over to 2B (there was rumbling in the crowd as to why he wasn't pinch run for, I'll admit to wondering the same thing myself).  Next, Luis grounded out, moving Jack to 3B with 2 outs.  Carlos came up to plate as the last chance to avoid extries (which, considering the weather, most of the fans probably wouldn't have minded too much).  He took the first pitch for a ball.  He swung at the next pitch and, by all accounts, it was a can o' corn ... but wait ...

GG Torii lost the ball in the sun!

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP

Cust scores!!
Mariners WIN!!!

KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES

So, not only was the sun a most welcome visitor to The Safe today, it played a large part in the M's victory.  To be fair, it was a really tough sky - for everyone.  Earlier in the game, Howie Kendrick dropped a foul ball because of the sun and in the top of the 9th Michael Saunders looked like he was trying to avoid the rays by doing the two-step before successfully, luckily, finding the ball in his glove.  For half-a-second I felt bad for Torii, but I quickly recovered when I remembered Ichiro in Fenway.

't was fitting that Piggy be the won to record the "sun-single" and game-winning RBI as his previous time up, Torii ROBBED him of a possible homer, but a fer sure XBH.

Anyhoo, quite an unbelievable win - but we'll take it!

As a bonus, I have Kendrick and Haren on my fantasy team...
Best of both worlds - lots of points for fantasy, but the all important victory for real.

Off they go to San Diego for the start of interleague play.
Cannot WAIT to see Michael Pineda hit :-)

g42 | JV ~ can you say "locked in"?

Mariners 3 | Angels 0

It was the battle of the "dirt bags" ~Jered Weaver and Jason Vargas played together at Long Beach State~ Happy to see the "right" dirt bag come away with the W at The Safe tonight!

AP PHOTO

Jason has now gone SIXTEEN consecutive scoreless innings, THREE consecutive starts of 7+ innings of shutout ball.  In his last FOUR starts, Jason has 20 strikeouts, only 7 walks and a 1.47ERA - including wins in Boston and against Texas and then that heart-breaking loss in Baltimore where he went 9 innings shutout innings and the M's lost in the 12th inning.  Kinda makes up for his sucky home opener, doesn't it?

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Not exactly lighting up the scoreboard, but just enough O...

• JC doubles in Figgy
• Justin doubles in Ichiro
• JC singles in Justin

Got a little scary in the top of the 8th...
When the, so far, extremely reliable Jamey Wright had uber-difficulty throwing strikes but, after loading the bases with two outs, he got the strikeout he needed.

Found: splitter...
Wouldn't you know, a save situation presented itself after the 'day of watching' and a non-save appearance - it was time for the "old" Brandon and he earned his 10th save.

AP PHOTO

The M's only turned ONE double play tonight but, it came at the absolute BEST time - with one out in the 9th!

AP PHOTO

Welcome back, Guti!

AP PHOTO
Guti looks so small compared to Carlos!

No hits yet, but they will come.  The important thing is that he is back and managing his condition and it's great to know that "death to flying things" has taken his rightful place back in centerfield.

Next up ...

day off for me, day baseball for the M's (and possibly pushing 70 degrees!!!)

Guti coming back!

Just announced on the post game show....

Franklin is coming back!

Tom "the bartender" Wilhelmsen optioned to AA Jackson (to join the starting rotation)

It will be great to see Franklin patrolling centerfield once again.  Though Saunders has been doing an admirable job defensively in his stead - Michael needs a break at the plate.  Hopefully, this will be good for both our center fielders.


Welcome back, Guti!

Good Luck, Tom!

g41 | losing to the worst is the worst

Mariners 1 | Twins 2

Each team had THREE hits (all singles)
Each team had a HBP
Twins had ONE error, NINE strikeouts, were 1-7 w/RISP and turned ONE double play
M's had no errors, TWELVE strikeouts, were 1-3 w/RISP and turned TWO double plays

Felix had a rough first inning but then settled down and was Felix the rest of the way.

Gotta credit Liriano, totally stifled M's bats (though he wouldn't be the first)

Brandon got in for the 9th and did well - hopefully elevated his confidence to where it should be.



R.I.P. Harmon Killebrew

g40 | diabolical pitching, 2 doubles, 2 jacks and a sac

Mariners 5 | Twins 2

Chalk up another stellar outing for Mr. Diabolical...   
99 pitches - 7 innings - 3 hits - ZERO earned runs - 7 kays and ZERO beebees
Michael had a bit of a rough patch in the 6th inning when he faced bases-loaded situation from a two out throwing error by Luis, a hit and a hit batter - but, he was able to get out of it via a ground ball and that was the only time the Twins had a runner in scoring position vs. Michael.

Aaron came and threw a 1-2-3 8th but the Twins would get a couple runs in garbage time...
thanks to a little sloppy play from the M's - with Aaron still on the mound, a runner reached on an error by Adam (who had taken over 1B after Justin was replaced by pinch runner Brendan (just as a precaution we're assured) after rolling his ankle in his AB in the 8th.  Jamey came in after a fly out and was promptly greeted with an error - this one seemingly a fairly routine DP that Figgy flubbed allowing a run to score and a runner went to 3B.  The next batter knocked in another run via a FC.  But, Jamey would finally retire the last batter via a ground out.

So yes, I'm less than impressed by the three errors BUT, lookie here - offense!

AP PHOTO

• 1st ~ Figgy single, Jack C rbi double
• 3rd ~ Ichiro single, Justin rbi double
• 6th ~ Adam and Piggy, back-to-back homers
• 8th ~ Miggy singled, Adam sac fly

Good news from the rehab front...

• Shawn Kelley pitched one inning in Tennessee - he gave up one hit, recordedbone strikeout and no walks - 13 pitches, 7 strikes
• Guti may be back as early as Wednesday!

Get a roof!

Well, it seems the M's won't lose another game this road trip...
Losses have been capped at FOUR due to the seemingly ever-inclement weather in Cleveland (apparently the 12th postponement overall betwixt the M's and the Tribe).  This also has the added bonus of ensuring that Brandon won't blow another save (although Jamey was apparently in line for closing, should such services be necessary).  Hopefully, the break will do Brandon good.

But, in general, rain-outs suck...
I say that from the comfort of my den love seat as a fan of a team who has never had to experience a rain-out at home do to our stupendous retractable roof.  Initially, I was against the idea because I worried that the extra expense would make it less likely a stadium would get built at all.  But, now that we have it, it is ABSOLUTELY the best of both worlds.  Most of the time the games are played without cover, but when needed, it's the roof to the rescue!

As much as another Cleveland rain-out wrecked my plans for the day, I can only imagine how awful it must have been to be a fan with tickets to this game.  Oh yeah, guess it pretty much sucked for the players, coaches and broadcasters as well.

Here's a shot I snapped in mid-April last season, the sentiment behind it being "So glad we have a roof!"

Speaking of rain...

The Sounders and the Timbers played to a 1-1 draw in the pouring rain last night.  Yes, we have season tix and yes, we opted at the last minute to watch from the comfort of our warm, dry couch as opposed to the cold, wet seats.  Lame I know, but at least it was our own decision :-)

from sounders website, couldn't find credit

UPDATE:

And, in other sports news...

• The OC Thunder seem well on their way to winning game 7 of the NBA semi-finals.  Truly torn about their success.  HATE that they left and the way they left.  But, kinda happy for some of the players (who didn't really have a choice in the matter) who are doing so well. Hopefully, they'll always remember their Seattle Sonic roots.
• Holy cow!  Mike Carp has hit THREE homers (so far!) in the Rainiers game today in New Orleans today.  The R's currently lead 15-6 going to the top of the 9th.  Guti DH'd today and recorded ONE hit and TWO RBI.  Dustin recorded FOUR hits, TWO RBI and ONE run scored.

UPDATE:
Carp didn't homer in his last AB, but he did hit a double.  R's win 18-6

g39 | oh em gee!!!!!

Mariners 4 | Indians 5

just. wow.

Another SUPER stellar performance from the starter - this time Mr. Fister - wasted.

And this time, they even had more than a little offense.

But alas, it appears even a 2-run lead going into the 9th (homers from Piggy and Justin and an RBI single from Brendan) is far from safe with Brandon toeing the rubber lately.  If it were just a couple of outings, OK.  As mentioned previously, it even happens to Mariano occasionally.  I'm all for "gettin' 'em back up on the horse" but I think it's HIGH time that Brandon have a bit of a break to try and determine why he's not just slipping a bit in the saddle but being violently bucked off.

How is it that a guy can from going NINE for NINE in save opportunities, giving up only THREE runs in his first THIRTEEN innings to start the season to giving up TEN runs in FOUR games (three innings) accounting for FOUR losses and THREE blown saves in-a-row. Inexplicable.

From what I heard on the post game show (didn't see or hear the actual game) even though the TWO doubles to lead off the 9th were hard hit, it was the opinion of many that they could have been caught.  That it was definitely a learning opportunity for the rookie left fielder who hit his first major league home run earlier in the game.  Of course, even Gold Glove Guti wouldn't have gotten to the ball that Travis Hafner tagged to drive in both the tying AND the winning runs.

I've wondered why Peguero has been getting all the starts since he and Wilson were called up.  I was under the impression that Wilson was the one with the hot bat as well as being fairly well touted for his fielding ability.  And, he certainly did nothing to take away from that perception in his first big league game where he made a great couple of catches and an awesome throw to the plate as well as collecting his first big league hit.  I'm thinking if Piggy's field faux paux were as bad as described, Mike may be getting the start tomorrow.

Anyhoo, this one really hurt.  Poor Doug.

g38 | spittin' bristles in Baltimore

looks like posts have been restored and blogger is back in business.  Just in time for continuing bad news for the M's...

Mariners 1 | Orioles 2

Jason VARGAS was SPECTACULAR ~ 101P - 9IP - 7H - ZERO ER -1BB - 4K

So was Zach Britton ~ 108P - 9IP - 3H - ZERO ER - 0BB - 5K

The game went TWELVE innings 

There were a total of FIFTEEN hits - all SINGLES

The M’s turned FOUR double plays

It was a SCORELESS tie UNTIL Miggy’s RBI single in the TOP of the 12th

WRIGHT was great in his TWO scoreless innings of relief

Both WILSONS, Michael and Luis all made AWESOME catches

Yep - it’s all fun and games until somebody gets hit with the baseball, and then another somebody gets hit with the baseball and then another somebody hits the baseball and two runs score (the tying one, and the winning one) and that’s how Brandon blew his second consecutive save.  But hey, even Mo has blown two saves in a row this season.

g37 | Woes vs. O's

Mariners 2 | Orioles 4

't was NOT a Happy Felix Day.  't is rare, but it happens...
And, for Felix, moreso in May than any other month.  Going into this game, Felix was 7-15 with a 4.90 ERA for his career in May.  I look at it this way - four more starts to go and then he really kicks it into gear -  he's 15-3 with a 2.50 ERA for his career in June :-)

a few bright sights...

• 3 solid innings of relief from David Pauley
• a Michael Saunders homer
• a Chone Figgins stolen base
• 3 Adam-to-Ryan-to-Smoak double plays

unfortunately, the bleak peeks won out...

• 2 MOTO hitters go 0fer
• 1-6 w/RISP
• Ace high pai gow

Here's to ending on a good note in Baltimore tomorrow, as things ain't gettin' any easier when then head to Cleveland.

g36 | great game, tough loss

Mariners 6 | Orioles 7

This is the kind of game that would have been exhilarating to win and it was pretty crushing to lose.  I was only able to watch the last (13th) inning but heard other bits and pieces on the radio.  There were SIX lead changes and THREE plays at the plate (tow O's - one in the 9th and one in the 13th and one M, in the 12th)

First of all, congratulations to Mike Wilson!  
He entered his first big league game as a pinch hitter in the 7th.  He popped up and then struck out in his first two AB's but then made an awesome throw to get a runner at the plate in the 9th that kept the game tied at FIVE.  In the top of the 13th his first major league hit would also be his first major league RBI - a broken bat single (and yes - he got both the ball AND the broken bat to send home to mom to put in the trophy case).

AP PHOTO

The "other" Michael had a nice outing ~ 6IP - 7H - 3ER - 1BB - 6K  
The M's were trailing 2-3 when he exited after the 6th having thrown 100 pitches - 72 for strikes and 21 of 26 first pitch strikes.

The bullpen had their ups and downs...

• The ups:  Pauley, Laffey and Ray combined for five innings, six hits, four walks, four strikeouts and NO runs (including a bases-loaded strikeout from, Chris Ray!).
• The downs:  Wright and League each, uncharacteristically, giving up two runs and Brandon recorded his first blown save of the season.

Granted SIX runs in THIRTEEN innings isn't a ton, but...

• Michael finally broke through w/ TWO hits (breaking an 0'fer 26) and he scored TWO runs.
• Jack Cust also had TWO hits and his customary walk.
• Justin (from his bran-new #3 hole) had an RBI single with two outs to tie the game in the 9th
• In fact, the FOURTEEN hits were distributed evenly up and down the line up with every batter, with the exception of Peguero, recording at least ONE hit, including FOUR doubles and a homer (Adam)

Defensively...

• The play of the game already described above :-)
• There were also TWO double plays
• But there were TWO infield plays (Jack and Brendan) that probably SHOULD have been made that weren't in the 13th

Apparently, there was a bit of a 'dust up'...

After Justin fielded a soft grounder, Pie bumped into him (presumably to try to jar the ball loose).  Justin didn't take kindly to this and the benches briefly cleared.  A couple of tweets on the topic...

StoneLarry Larry Stone  Benches clear after Felix Pie rams into Smoak, who was holding the ball after fielding a slow grounder up line. Order was quickly restored.

TheDA53 David aardsma #felixpie you don't want a piece of #smoke = you lose