g159 | swept outta OakTown

Mariners 2 | Athletics 5

Homer streak broken...
at just one shy of the club record of eighteen straight games with at least one

Most importantly, Erasmo Ramirez's performance... 
6.1IP - 3H - 2R - 4BB - 6K
He gave up TWO runs in the 1st and the walk total wasn't great (he had only given up 4 in his last 40 starting innings) but, he showed a lot of composure and maturity by holding the A's scoreless for 5+ after that - allowing only TWO more hits: one in the 3rd and one in the 7th.
The future rotation is sparkling bright!

Ben Margot | AP

Some great DEE on both sides...
including a "Super Seager Spear" in the 3rd to prevent an XBH and after that, I lost track of the at 'em balls - on both sides.

But, a foreshadowing of things to come, came in the 7th...
Cook allowed a double to Brendan Ryan and a single to Trayvon Robinson and then proceeded to strike out the side :-(

Ben Margot | AP

And then, the A's did what they have been doing since the All Star Break...
homered. A solo shot off Shawn Kelley and a TWO-run shot off Lucas Luetge
The lead the majors in homers in the second half (now with 110 - O's are 2nd with 105)
On the flip side, Mariners pitchers have yielded the third fewest home runs in the AL

Ben Margot | AP

Guti left the game in the 3rd due to a groin strain :-(

Back home vs. the Halos (who were less than happy with the M's today ;-)
Felix Day tomorrow and I'll be there!

g158 | out in extries once again

Mariners 4 | Athletics 7

EIGHTEEN games in-a-row with at least ONE home run...
Seager and Saunders each hit their NINETEENTH home run in the 4th inning

Really a shame for Vargas...
He pitched SO well in this, his final start for 2012, going 7IP - 5H - 1ER - 0BB - 7K
~ Jason racked up 217 innings for the season, giving the M's their first TWO 215+ starters since Garcia and Moyer in 2002 ~
The first ground ball Vargas surrendered didn't come until the 4th inning (everything to that point had been a fly ball out or a strikeout) and it got through for a hit and an RBI with Cespedes scoring from 1B. Vargas left the game with a 4-1 lead and a good chance at his 15th victory.

The A's, however, had other (post season) plans...
In the 8th, Wilhelmsen relieved Capps with TWO on, ONE out and got the first batter to pop out on the first pitch. Then, CoCo Crisp stole 3B and Tom gave up a double to Moss, scoring Crisp but Wells and Ackley made an awesome relay home to Olivo who nailed Stephen Drew at the plate.

Unfortunately, the adrenaline of that great end to 8th didn't carry over to the 9th...
The Bartender blew a rare save - allowing a walk to Reddick and then a homer to Donaldson to send the game into extras (and hand poor Jason an ND)

Things didn't get any better from there...
the M's failed to score in the top of the 10th
Perez gave up a single and got an out
Pryor walked a batter and, despite Lucas being ready, was left in to face Moss who deposited the first pitch he saw from Stephen into the seats - and that was all she wrote.

this gave me a bit of a chuckle...

Guys I think Bob Melvin might be a witch
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) September 29, 2012

g157 | pitching and dee let down...

Mariners 2 | Athletics 8

SEVENTEEN straight games with at least one home run

Today it was Smoak and Saunders.
Unfortunately they were both solo shots and accounted for the only M's runs

't is a fairly rare day when pitching AND defense contributes so significantly to a loss...

as we are more used to things like this...

Ben Margot | AP

instead of things like this...

Ben Margot | AP

Ben Margot | AP

g156 | finally, a win over the hated halos

Mariners 9 | Angels 4

Didn't get to see/hear this one due to the early first pitch but, it appears most things were clicking on all cylinders!

Kuma with another solid start...
a quality start, in fact: 6IP - 7H - 2ER - 0BB - 3K

Capps was a little rocky (here's hoping he is gaining valuable experience) giving up TWO runs

Ackley with an error and Montero with a passed ball but, overall good DEE but...
they combined for 2H, 2R, 2RBI and 1BB

Other nice offensive contributors...
Jaso with double and a homer and THREE RBI
the outfield combined for: 4H, 6R and 2RBI

Scary moment (again!) for Guti when he makes an awesome grab and crashes into the wall...
he had to come out of the game but, postgame reports were positive - doesn't appear serious

AP photo

SIXTEEN consecutive games with at least one home run...

g155 | Felix's nemesis wears red...

Mariners 3 | Angels 4

Now at FIFTEEN games in -a-row with at least ONE home run

Felix, as per usual, had his struggles vs the Halos...
in the 2nd inning he threw THIRTY-TWO pitches. Kinda of a miracle that he only gave up TWO runs. And, speaks to his heart and strength that he was able to hang in for a full SIX (and, retire 13 of the last 15 batters he faced).

the bullpen was a little more porous than we've come to expect....
the game was tied going into the 9th Kinney gave up the 7th and Pryor gave up the winning run in the 9th (to good old Mariner-killer, Torii Hunter).

the bats only had FIVE total hits...
including a solo shot by Smoak (who continues his hot September) and a double by Ryan

g154 | KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Mariners 4 | Angels 5

FOUR runs on ELEVEN hits - SIX for extra bases...
FOUR doubles and TWO homers (both by Smoak - one from each side of the plate!)
and, the FOURTEENTH consecutive game with at least one home run

but TWENTY strikeouts?!?

Erasmo not real sharp...
but, he still put up a quality start 6IP-7H-5R-3ER-0BB-3K

an error by Seager but...
also a nifty strike 'em out, throw 'em out DP and a couple nice catches.

the bullpen held it but...
't was not to be as so often is the case in Anaheim

Halos still alive...

g153 | Sunday, not so Funday

Mariners 2 | Rangers 3

THIRTEEN straight games with at least one homer but...
a solo shot each by Thames and Ryan wasn't enough as Texas also hit two but one of theirs came with one man on - and there's your difference in the game.

Good series though, as until the first homer in the 4th (by Napoli) the M's had held the R's scoreless for FIFTEEN innings!

Today was the M's 51st ONE-run game overall

apparently, hitting w/RISP is not the end all be all...
the M's were 0-5 but the R's were 0-10 and still won ;-)

No harm, no foul, so to speak...
~ rare error by Brendan in the 1st ends up not hurting
~ silly fan getting in Thames' way ends up not hurting
~ awesome play by Seager - a step and a dive and strong throw to nail the runner at 1B and hold at 3B
~ nice catch and throw by Thames on a medium fly ball that kept the lead off triple at 3B in the 9th

the 8th inning was the big opportunity squandered....
two-on for Jaso who grounded out but, advanced the runners, then an intentional walk to Smoak (been awhile since that happened!) but then Thames (strikeout) and Jimenez (flyout) weren't able to come through with the bases juiced.

1000 words...

Otto Greule Jr | Getty Images

Off to the land of Disney they go....

g152 | Series Win!!! (and SEASON series TIE)

Mariners 1 | Rangers 0

Yes, the RISP woes continued...
M's were 0-6 in such opportunities.
Good news was, the Rangers were 0-8 :-)

Beavan has been great vs. his old team all season and tonight was no exception...
8hits - 0runs - 1walk - 2strikeouts
the M's and R's had another 1-0 contest earlier in the season in Arlington which the Rangers won - Blake was the pitcher in that one as well.
He can field his position too - a batted ball hit his foot and he was able to spin around, get the ball and fire a rocket to Smoak at 1B for the out

Ted S. Warren | AP

Kinney was IMPRESSIVE...
after Beavan gave up a double and a walk to start the 8th, Josh came in and got a two strikeouts and a ground ball

Closing time passed without the need for tums...
THREE ground ball outs (including a bit of a tricky hop that he handled) and The Bartender notched his 29th save (not too shabby considering he didn't start closing until early June)

Jesus had a nice night...
two hits but even better behind the plate catching the impressive trio of Beavan-Kinney-Wilhelmsen
also - throwing out a would-be base-stealer AND getting an out at home plate on a relay.

Ted S. Warren | AP

Smoak also continued to perform well vs. his ex-teammates...
coming into this game he had a .400 BA and a 1.262 OPS

Ackley was still out with a sore neck, so Seager played 2B and Liddi was in at 3B...
not a good day for Alex ... 0-3 w/3K's


Another 2 DP's from the DEE!

oh by the way...
12 consecutive games with at least one home run

g151 | finally - witness to victory

Mariners 6 | Rangers 3

Seems like forever since I attended a win (I believe it was back on Supreme Court night) so, it was good leave the field with a little spring in my step for a change.

'Kuma was solid... 

He continues to make a pretty strong case for the starting Ro next season.

He gave up 8 hits but only 3 runs and struck out 4 in his full 7 innings of work to earn his 7th win. 

bullpen back to form...

Pryor and Wilhelmsen each gave up a hit that went for not and The Bartender earned his 28th save.

Otto Greule Jr | Getty Images

't was a first for the SS...

Carlos Triunfel made his first major league start - he got a hit, scored a run and collected his first MBL RBI (solid RBI double). He also made some nice plays in the field (including being a part of THREE double-plays).

Nice to see some POWER tonight...

THREE doubles (Smoak, Wells, Triunfel)

ONE triple (Guit)

ONE homer (Miggy with a 2-run insurance shot in the 8th)

Ted S. Warren | AP Photo

Ackley left the game with a stiff neck ...
Seager moved to 2B and Liddi came in at 3B

M's have played the Rangers tough this season...

current season series record is 8-9 AND the M's have out-scored the R's 84-69

Let's tie the season series tomorrow and win it Sunday :-)

g150 | more extras

Mariners 1 | Orioles 3 (11)

Second consecutive solid EIGHT innings for a Mariners starter
Second consecutive extra innings heart-breaker

POSITIVES
Nice Felix bounce-back
Guti's fine after the 'wrist scare' last night (and his homer accounted for the M's loan run)
Good to see Jesus with a couple of hits at home

NEGATIVES
0 fer 4 w/RISP
With two outs in the 11th inning, Seager at 3B and Jaso at the plate representing the winning run, Saunders thrown out trying to steal second

What can you say?
The birds from Baltimore have the M's number this year and some sort of magic pixie dust apparently as this is their SIXTEENTH consecutive extra inning victory.

g149 | 0h fer seventeen in eighteen

Mariners 2 | Orioles 4 (18)

A boxscore that shows 12 hits and only 2 runs is bad enough over 9 innings.... 
When it's spread out over EIGHTEEN, it's abysmal!!!

Such a shame for Erasmo, who was in line for the CGS...
He only gave up TWO hits and ZERO runs in his first EIGHT innings. With only 92 pitches, he deserved a shot at the shutout - which he was given - unfortunately it didn't work out. He gave up back-to-back singles in the 9th

Enter The Bartender and you're thinking - OK, we got this...
think again, as both runners come into score to tie the game and the rest is history as NO other runners crossed home plate for another NINE - and the ones that did were wearing orange :(

The bullpen was super...
they combined for EIGHT innings of scoreless ball giving up only FOUR hits and TWO walks
the trouble came in the 18th when Luetge's gave up 2 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs.

courtesy Spokesman Review

So, hindsight has perfect vision...
maybe Erasmo shouldn't have gone out for the 9th...
maybe if Tom comes in for a fresh inning...
coulda, woulda, shoulda

The bottom line is: 0 for friggin' 17!!!

SO many chances to win that game.

At least, along with the pitching, the defense was back to it's AWESOME self...
Seager made at least TWO great plays at 3rd, Wells make a great catch in RF and Miggy made a great throw to first on a bunt. There was a scary moment in centerfield when Guti dove and caught a ball but rolled over his wrist and lost it (he stayed in the game). And that was just the first EIGHT innings. The great plays continued on into the wee hours of the morning, saving runs here and there, including both Triunfel and Ackley making great snares in the top of the 17th.

If only RISP came as easily to them as great DEE.

A curios note: there were NO double-plays for EITHER side for the ENTIRE game.

Oh well - Felix tonight.

eighteeth

I had a post nearly ready to go in the 9th...

Needless to say, things changed, revisions needed but first, sleeeeeeep

g148 | rumblin', bumblin', stumblin' vs da birds

Mariners 4 | Orioles 10

The good news?
THREE doubles (Seager, Jaso, Montero)
THREE home runs! (Saunders, Thames and Jaso)

The bad news?
EVERYTHING else.

Starting with the starter...
Hector was absolutely pounded. After 54 pitches and SEVEN runs he was lifted with only ONE out in the 2nd inning. He old nemesis, the 0-2 homer, reared it's ugly head again (he's giving up 5 homers on 0-2 counts)

Then the first half of the bullpen...
Capps and Perez combined to give up another THREE runs in their 4.2 innings of work.

The second half BP ~ Kelley and Pryor ~ pitched well, combining for a scoreless THREE innings

Then there was the usually sparkling DEE that was anything but...
only ONE recorded error (Ryan) but it felt like they were missing plays all night long. It's one thing for a young starter to have a horrible game (even Felix does now and then) but really discouraging to see the defense play like that. Hopefully, it was just a very temporary lapse.

It was especially frustrating to be sitting near fans who, by their comments, clearly were not as invested in the team as I. But, I just didn't have the energy to explain to them that poor pitching and defense was an anomaly for this team. Now, their comments about the lack of decent batting average ... I couldn't argue with.

#Mariners will be 1-7 in games after returning home from road trips w/no off day.
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) September 18, 2012

g147 | series loss in Arlington

Mariners 1 | Rangers 2

OK - I admit it - I didn't see/hear one single pitch/play of this game...
Between the rain delay and the fact that the Seahawks were playing the Cowboys in their home opener, I was otherwise distracted :-)

(AWESOME Seahawks victory over the 'boys, by the way! )

Despite taking the loss, looks like Blake Beavan definitely pitched well enough to win...
giving up SEVEN hits (including a solo shot and an RBI double) and only ONE walk in SEVEN innings

Jim Cowsert | AP

The bad news on the offense was that they only had SIX hits and ONE walk
The good news is that the ONE run came via a solo shot by Justin Smoak (his 16th - a carrer high) and his second in as many games ... showing a little lately.

The bullpen got a (much needed) rest...
Capps was the only reliever used (on the road trip, four and five relievers has been more the rule) and he needed only TEN pitches to retire all THREE batters he faced.

g146 | hey look, runs!

Mariners 8 | Rangers 6


The offense had a bit of a break out...
*they scored early - Saunders' single in the first drove in Guti
*they scored often - Ackley lead-off homer in the 3rd and then a walk and four singles = 5 more runs
*they broke a tie - Smoak's solo shot in the 8th
*they added on - Smoak's single drove in Kawasaki (pinch running for Jaso) for an insurance run

Jason had to battle his entire outing...
but, despite walking the bases loaded in the 3rd, he allowed only one run through five. Then came the 6th - and good old Mike Napoli - a 3-run homer got the Rangers to within two and got after Jason got the next out, he would be lifted in favor of Shawn Kelley who would get the third out. Though Kelley and Luetge combined to give up the tying runs.

The rest of the pen was great...
Kinney, Furbush and Wilhelmsen went 2 innings giving up TWO hits and NO walks
Oh, and The Bartender simply recorded his 27th save by getting FOUR outs

Brendan Ryan with another WebGem :-)

Seager and Saunders have been having a great road trip and great to see Smoak coming through vs. his old team.

A win tomorrow = a series win and a "season series" TIE (M's currently 7-8 vs. Texas)

g145 | late break-down

Mariners 3 | Rangers 9

'Kuma wasn't horrible, unfortunately, Darvish was great and the M's bullpen... not so much
SEVEN runs in the 8th ... yikes!

One encouraging stat...
with Michael Saunders homer tonight, he became the first Mariner with at least 15 homers and 15 stolen bases since Guti in 2009

g144 | game loss, series win

Mariners 3 | Blue Jays 8

Not a happy Felix day....

Frank Gunn | Canadian Press

g143 | another by the hair of their chinny-chin-chin

Mariners 3 | Blue Jays 2

Millwood didn't go long (left with shoulder stiffness) and gave up the only TWO Jays hits...
but, it was good enough and long enough for the win

the bullpen was STUPENDOUS...
Kelley + Perez + Kinney + Wilhelmsen = NO hits - ONE walk - SIX strikeouts

g142 | Erasmo earns his first ML victory

Mariners 4 | Blue Jays 3

Great game for Erasmo!
He was efficient early - throwing just 34 pitches through the first 3 innings (only FOUR balls!) and, at one point retiring 9 in-a-row.
SIX hits - TWO runs - SIX K's and his FIRST win!
Not too shabby for a young guy, on the road.

the offense knocked Morrow out early...
they pounded out 14 hits and were 5-12 w/RISP
FOUR doubles (Ackely, Seager, Saunders, Guti)
ONE homer (Seager)

Guti still good...
but, he made his first error in 301 games ~ 846 errorless chances

g141 | swept asunder

Mariners 2 | Athletics 4

So, I took a break from baseball today to watch the Seahawks opener (an exciting, but disappointing game as they had victory in their grasp and just could not hold on)

Looks like the M's saw some opportunities wasted as well...
plenty of hits, including a double, a triple and a homer - but only 1-10 w/RISP

Good to see Jason with his second straight quality outing, after struggling a couple times -finish strong!

Off they now go in an easterly direction...
the first of 3 in Toronto will start Tuesday and then 3 in Texas

dog days...

g140 | ground hog's day

Mariners 1 | Athletics 6

The first 13 games between the M's and the A's not only had the M's with a 7-6 advantage..
and a 7+ run differential (41-34)

What a difference a few weeks can make...
now, in the last two games, the run differential is +10 in favor of the A's (2-12) and M's have lost both

And, now that Kurt Suzuki is gone, George Kottaras has become the new Mariner killer...
3-run bomb last night, 2-run shot tonight

Iwakuma had be STELLAR in his 4 starts...
with a 3-0 record and only allowing ONE earned run in the 26 innings

But, all good things come to an end...
Kuma couldn't even get through the 4th tonight and he allowed FIVE runs (FOUR earned)

Some great work in from the bullpen...
Capps and Kelley combined for 4.1 scoreless with SEVEN strikeouts
Pryor allowed a run but, wasn't hit hard (singles and sac fly)
And that one earned run snapped a SEVENTEEN inning scoreless streak by the bp

O has to do better than SEVEN hits and ONE run...
exact same line as last night - granted, the A's have one of the toughest staffs in the league

g139 | another not so happy Felix day...

Mariners 1 | Athletics 6

Go figure - Felix didn't even make it through FIVE...
happens to the best of them, I guess but why does it have to be the last TWO I've attended?

And, of course, that had to be coupled with the O going totally cold...
as opposed to being just luke-warm

Thames made a serious boo-boo in the field BUT, made up for it...
with an AWESOME OF assist to nail a runner at 3B.
The the rest of the DEE was super - a great diving catch by Guti (who seems not to have lost a step in the field) and a sweet DP to end the 8th

And then there's Luis Jimenez...
a neat story - he got his first major league hit in his first major league start - at the age of 30 AND, hs parents were in attendance to see it in person. That's. Just. Cool.

Otto Greule, Jr. | Getty Images

Impressive "farmers"

How cool is this???
The Mariners NINE affiliates combined to go 496-406 for a .500 winning percentage - leading all Major League farm systems for 2012 AND setting a record for most wins in a single season for a Major League farm system.

Mariners twitter

Not only that but, some of the stellar play down on the farm will continue to play as SIX of the NINE teams made it to their respective post season!

AND, Mariners farm system now ranks number one in the majors!


Some other fun farm facts...

EVERETT
Patrick Kivlehan = Northwest League MVP
Mike Zunino and Taylor Ard = Northwest League All Stars

HIGH DESERT
Mavericks led the California League in: AVG, OBP, SLG, HR, RBI, HITS, RUNS and total bases
Leon Landry = Cal League Batting Champ (.341)

CLINTON
Lumberkings set the all time wins record for a half-season (45)
Brandon Mauer = Southern League Most Outstanding Pitcher

JACKSON
Brandon Mauer, Jesus Sucre and Carter Capps = Southern League Postseason All-Stars
Jesus Sucre = first qualifying Southern League catcher to go an entire season without an error

ARIZONA
EIGHT players selected to play in Arizona Fall League: Logan Bowcom, LaFromboise, James Paxton, Carson Smith, Mike Zunino, Vinnie Catricala, Nick Franklin, Stefen Romero

g138 | 67 wins may not seem like a lot, but...

Mariners 2 | Red Sox 1

Considering it was their win total for ALL of LAST season and they still have 24 games to play THIS season, it's a pretty significant number.

I tweeted after the game last night that 3 of Kevin's 5 wins have come in the last game of a series...
seems he stayed true to form #GoodLongLooks

and, the bullpen, once again, was great - only TWO hits in THREE scoreless

NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE FARM

How cool is THIS?!?
M's set record for farm system winning percentage

and THIS?!?
M's farm now top-ranked in MLB

g137 | great start, bad finish

Mariners 3 | Red Sox 4

't was looking great early...
M's scoring in the first on an RBI single from Jesus Montero and then, back-to-back jacks (both to centerfield) by Guti and Seager and Blake was holding them pretty well.

but then came the SIXTH...
when the Sox woud also homer twice - unfortunately, one of there's came with TWO runners on

the bullpen would keep it close...
going 3.2 scoreless - unfortunately, the Sox bullpen was just as impressive

As disappointing as Smoak has been with the bat - we've got no complaints re: his DEE


NEWS AND NOTES

Welcome, to the show ~ Mariners add SEVEN to the roster

Congrats to The King ~  monthly honors for August


How cute is THIS?!?

from Felix's twitter...

g136 | Fenway NW a thing of the past?

Mariners 4 | Red Sox 1

Congrats to Jason Vargas!
this win brings his victory total to 14 - a total not reached by a Mariner lefty (or, for that matter, any M's pitcher not named Felix Hernandez) since 2003 (Jamie Moyer)

7IP - 6H - 1ER - ZERO BB - 5K

Elaine Thompson | AP

The Sox took the early lead on a Dustin Pedroia double (the ONLY extra base hit of the game) and a Cody Ross single. Buchholz was in command through the first three but, in the 4th, the wheels came off a bit and the M's singled (3x) 'em to death, along with getting HBP, taking advantage of an error and getting a sac-fly. That would be IT and that would be ENOUGH.

g135 | salvaging one from the laa laa's

Mariners 2 | Angels 1

So....
The Halos absolutely have Felix's number but...
Iwakuma positively has theirs :-)

7.1IP + 5H + ZERO R + ZERO BB + 7K = AWESOME!

Elaine Thompson | AP

And speaking of numbers - how 'bout these?!?
Jesus Montero went 2 for 4 today with the two hits ~a homer and a single~ coming off Jeff Weaver bringing his lifetime total vs. Weaver to 5 for 9 with FOUR homers.

Now, Jesus wasn't without his foibles during the game...
in fact, he was thrown out at home AND at 1B and his manager would comment in the post game that had he gone in 'straight' on both of those plays, he would have likely be called safe. Live and learn.

Anyhoo, Jesus and Carlos were the lone, "solo shot" offense today...

Joel Nicholson | US Presswire

While there were no DP's turned, there was plenty of great DEE...
notably: Seager, Robinson and Smoak - that helped the M's pitchers hold the Halos to 1-12 w/RISP

The Bartender has made the 9th a bit more interesting lately that most would like but...
he got it done for save number twenty-two!

g134 | UN happy Felix Day

Mariners 2 | Angels 5

And the nemesis that are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim continue to torture Felix.
* He is 0-2 with a 5.75 ERA in three starts vs. the Halos this season.
* He is 13-4 with a 2.04 ERA against everyone else.

't was a great game to be at ~until the 8th inning~ when the 2-1 lead evaporated to an eventual 5-2 loss.

thoughts from Torii Hunter and Eric Wedge...

"Felix is one of the best pitchers, if not the best pitcher in the game," Angels right fielder Torii Hunter said after his 3-for-4 day. "If the Mariners get ahead while he's on the mound, it's going to be a battle, and we knew we had an uphill battle. We kind of shortened our swings and tried to really battle at the plate and we were able to come through with some big hits."

"You know he's going to go out there and compete," Wedge said. "With his talent, ability and mindset, you always feel good about it. We had multiple opportunities to add on. If we make it 3-1 or 4-1, it's a different ballgame. That's really where we needed to do a better job today."

Nice to see Guti with another double and Trayvon with another homer (on his birthday!) But, Wedge is right - they had more opportunities that went for naught.