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...
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| ELAINE THOMPSON / AP |
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."
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| ELAINE THOMPSON / AP |
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!
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| ELAINE THOMPSON / AP |
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.
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| ELAINE THOMPSON / AP |
Here's to ensuring the 5th series win in-a-row tomorrow!
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