g150 | Three words for Blake's outing ... My Oh My

Mariners 4 | Rangers 0

And now, for something different, only SIX hits but, FOUR runs....
not a bad ratio (2-4 w/RISP).  The first three runs all scored with two outs (error, wild pitch and a bad hop on the 2B bag) as the M's batted around for three runs in the 3rd. Casper added a solo homer in the 7th, and there you go!

It was nice to see the M's defense outshine the Rangers....
(though Hamilton made a couple of outstanding catches in LF).  Seager made a super backhanded snare on a low liner and threw to Carp for the out at 1B.  Really nice DP turned in the 6th ~ Ryan-to-Ackley-to-Carp.  And, the last out in the 3rd was a little tapper up the 1B line that Miggy was able to field and throw to Carp just barely beating the runner.

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The real star of the night - was Mr. Blake Beavan...
holding the Rangers to only FOUR hits and ZERO walks and ZERO runs in EIGHT innings was pretty impressive.  Blake retired Rangers in order in FOUR different innings (1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 8th).  It would be great to see him finish strong with a good possibility to compete for the rotation next season.

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Though it wasn't a save situation...
Brandon came in for the 9th and struck out the side to seal the victory.

There was a Kangaroo Court moment in the 3rd inning, Miggy headed to the dugout after only two outs...

AP PHOTO

g137 | Sea in Oak on the diamond, Oak in Sea on the grid-iron...

Mariners 2 | Athletics 9

So, I was sitting at Century Link Field watching the Seahawks and Raiders while listening to the Mariners and Athletics play in Oakland (frankly wondering if the Seahawks would be able to score more than the M's). Neither game really mattered much to any of the teams.  On the NFL side, it was the final pre-season game, so many of the starters only played the first quarter. On the MLB side, the M's and A's appear to be battling it out for third place on the division (with the A's clearly ahead).

While the M's scored first (one in the first and one in the second), the lead wouldn't hold, as Jason Vargas played his all-too-familiar Dr. Jekyll role (where oh where have you gone Mr. Hyde?).  Cesar Jimenez and Jeff Gray were no help at all.  The lone pitching bright spot was the return of Shawn Kelley from the DL - he faced four batters - fly ou, pop up, walk and ground out.  Nice to have him back in the 'pen.

Even though there were only six Mariner hits, they were all encouraging...
-Justin Smoak was back in the line up after his rehab stint (broken nose, cheek bone) and got two hits
-Casper Wells broke an 0-28 with a double
-Ichiro got one hit closer to 200 (now needs 43)
-Brendan Ryan broke an o-15 with an RBI single
-Dustin Ackley checked in with his typical (at LEAST) one hit


By the way, the Seahawks (much to my surprise) won 20-3

g126 | finally, a win vs. the Tribe!

Mariners 3 | Indians 2

Too bad Jason (viva la) Vargas, didn't get the win...
He certainly pitched well enough to - 7 innings and 2 UNearned runs usually gets you the W
But, at least the bullpen was able to hold the Tribe where Jason left them.

And, the O was able to score the requisite "one more"...
~Ichiro with a lead-off homer in the first.
~Casper scored on a throwing error (hit-by-a-pitch and got to 3B on Adam's single) in the second
~Guti hit a sac-fly to score Miggy in the ninth to break the tie and ultimately win the game

Brendan was back...
and made all three put-outs in the first, before committing TWO errors in the second :-(

Three DP's turned by the M's in this one...
including the ever intriguing 1-2-3


Mike's streak came to an end :-(

g109 | series win!!!!!

Mariners 4 | Athletics 2

Back-to-back wins for the first time since before the break - July 4th and 5th in Oakland.

Some weird plays to start this one.

In the bottom of the 1st...
Brendan hits an infield single and takes 2nd AND 3rd on a fielder's choice (since there were no fielders by the bags).  Dustin followed that up with a walk and Mike with a 2-RBI double.

AP

In the bottom of the 3rd...
Dustin hit a line shot up the 1B line that was fielded by a fan (the "Ichi" double) and was awarded 3rd (much to Melvin's dismay) when the ump said that Dustin was well past the bag at second when the fan interfered. Dustin's FIFTH triple in 39 games.

Then not much action until the bottom of the 6th...
when the "new guy" Casper Wells hit a 2-run shot over the hand-operated scoreboard in left field.  Welcome to Safeco Field Casper!

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In the top of the 7th...
Sizemore homered with one out and one on and Felix's night was done.  He took 113 pitches to get through 6.1, walked 3 and struck out 9 along the way to his 10th victory.  Jeff finished the inning quickly, getting two outs with five pitches.

AP

AP

In the 8th...
Jeff struggled - just a tad - he loaded the bases with only one out - and proceeded to recored 2 strikeouts. In the bottom of the frame, Kyle Seager pinch-hit for Justin with 2-outs.  Justin had hurt his thumb trying to field a ball earlier in the game.  Kyle had just been called up from the Rainiers this afternoon, having played in a game earlier today.  Unfortunately, he struck out, but in the end it wouldn't matter.

In the bottom of the 9th...
Brandon retired the side in order for his 25th save.

AP

(p.s.  good to see Guti get an other couple of hits ... slow and steady improvement)

g104 | it's OVah!

Mariners 9 | Yankees 2

Where do I begin?  How 'bout

FINE.A.LEE!!

There was all kinds of awesome

ready for it?

OFFENSE in this game...

• Dustin & Mike combined for SEVEN hits (including a triple each), SEVEN RBI & THREE runs
• Doubles by Ichiro (4 hits total!), Adam and Guti
• Jack C, Josh & Brendan each checked in with singles (Brendan's extended his hitting streak to 10)

NICK LAHAM / GETTY IMAGES

KATHY KMONICEK / AP

ONE DP, TWO stolen bases (both by Ichiro) and an INCREDIBLE diving, twisting play - where the runner was questionably called safe - by Brendan.  That man can play shortstop.

And then of course there was Felix who is ALWAYS on his game vs. the Yanks...
He threw a lot of pitches (112) for SEVEN innings but allowed only ONE run on FIVE hits and struck out FIVE.

KATHY KMONICEK / AP

Chris gave up a "garbage run" in the 8th and Brandon retired the side in order in the 9th

Bet the plane ride home was a lot more relaxed and enjoyable than if ... 

Now, the guys get to enjoy a day off, at HOME and then take on the Rays for the weekend (which is looking pretty good weather-wise).

g103 | seventeen and .... I don't want to count anymore

Mariners 1 | Yankees 4

For a change, I guess I am glad the opposing team's home field didn't have a roof.
Had there been no rain delay, there likely would have been a perfecto.  Or, at the very least, a no-no thrown by one CC Sabathia.  I didn't see any of the game on TV, heard bits and pieces on the radio.  The game started on time but, I think there were at least two rain delays during the course of the nine innings.  Both starters, CC and Fister, kept coming out and coming out.  CC kept throwing strikes and throwing strikes (14 total - and DRob and Mo would add 4 more).

Brendan Ryan, of course, was the one to break up the perfect game, when he singled in the 7th to extend his hitting streak to ten.  He moved over to 2B on a passed ball, but was left stranded when Miggy K'd.

M's had another shot when CC walked the bases loaded and DRob relieved CC.  Adam struck out (after what was apparently ball four was called a strike) and Figgy grounded in to a FC, scoring Justin.  But, the threat would end when Ichiro struck out.

Doug was Doug tonight, getting into a little trouble here, a little trouble there, but keeping them right in it. It's really unfair what he has had to endure this season.  But, he keeps on keepin' on...

g102 | not so sweet sixteen

Mariners 3 | Yankees 10

rosiness...
-Dustin's double
-Justin's double and an RBI single
-Brendan's RBI double (that extends his hitting streak to 9 games)
-Ichiro's sac-fly
-Nice 1-6-3 DP

maybe not rosy, how 'bout an honorable daisy...
-Chris and David out of the pen, each gave up a run (hey, it's the Yanks) but combined for four innings

rottenness...

-Jason super rough night (for the 3rd start in-a-row)

-couple of errors that resulted in runs
-couple of bad calls at first - safe M's that were called out, out Yank called safe (he actually stepped on Jason's foot)

According to Shannon, there was much curiosity in the clubhouse prior to the game from the NY media re: "the streak"...

To that end the players and the manager answered questions patiently. Eric Wedge in his media session said that the reality of the situation is that ultimately this team probably was not as good as it was a month ago, but also not as bad as it has been recently. He was asked that if while it was good he entertained thoughts that they would contend.
"You have to," he answered. "I always have thoughts in the back of my head. I am a realist but I am also an optimist. You want to make sure that when you are doing things like that you want to make sure you are going to give it every opportunity to have legs and that's what we did."
"The reality is we were finding a way to win those ball games," Wedge continued, "and we have that in our back pocket. These guys know how to find a way to win ball games when you are in there late. The flip side is we have been playing better ball clubs and we have been in them for the most part, but we have been on the south side of that. They have been finding ways to clip us. That's what we have got to work to get back to."

g101 | 4 and 15 make 8 and 13 moot...

Mariners 8 | Red Sox 12

M's punched out THIRTEEN hits (4 doubles and 2 homers)  for EIGHT runs!
But, they lost - AGAIN.

M's have now been swept FOUR straight series and lost a franchise record FIFTEEN games in-a-row.

It doesn't get any worse than this ... or does it?

At least the bats have been coming alive somewhat, I mean, EIGHT runs?  When was the last time that happened?  I'll tell you ... back in early June, they had a great 4-game series vs. Tampa Bay, scoring 7, 8, 9 runs in their three wins.  So far, through 6 games on this 9 game trip, the M's have averaged nearly 5 runs per game - definitely an improvement.  Problem is, their pitching has allowed 7.6 runs - obviously a severe regression.

What we have here is, failure to click on all cylinders....
The M's are 37-16 when they have given up 3 or fewer runs
The M's are 27-11 when they have scored 4 or more runs

Compare that to the Red Sox, for instance...
39-8 when they have given up 3 or fewer runs
53-15 when they have scored 4 or more runs

Seems that actually contending (or even competing) has gone by the way-side this season.  Not that most expected them to win in this rebuilding season but, May and June were fun while they lasted.  Anyway, the fact that they have started hitting a bit is a good thing - you have to start somewhere.  Now, hopefully the pitching struggles are just a blip, normal ebbs and flows, and not a product of too many stress innings early on when giving up even one or two runs was a death knell.

Kudos to...
-Brendan on his second homer of the season and the second grand slam of his career
-Miggy who now leads the team in homers and RBI

Boy, I've said it before and will no doubt say it again...
Brendan Ryan can play shortstop.  Even the Red Sox fans on SoSH were in awe.

Off to the Bronx they go ...

g96 | wasted opportunity

Mariners 5 | Blue Jays 6 (14)

Due to the combination of the early start and company for dinner, I only caught an inning here and there on the radio.

If I told you the M's scored 5 runs in the first two innings (including homers by Brendan and Greg) and that before it was over, the M's would tally 4 walks and 14 hits (including 3-hits each for Brendan and Mike Carp and 2-hits for Dustin) and that Michael Pineda gave up two runs in the 1st but go on to pitch 5 scoreless innings after that, you would likely assume that the Mariners won.  And, your assumption would be incorrect.

Not only did they lose, they lost after 14 innings.  But first, Michael fell apart in the 7th, giving up a single a walk and a double.  His immediate relief was no help, Aaron and Chris gave up a run apiece before the third out was recorded.  Where the bats shone for once, the defense and base running left a LOT to be desired - Figgy and Olivo both committed errors and Figgy was picked off 1B and Mike Carp was caught stealing 3B.  In the bottom of the 14th, Mariner killer, Rajai Davis (inserted in the 9th as a pinch-runner) got a base knock, stole 2B, stole 3B and scored the winning run on a fly ball.

At least some of the bullpen guys got some work (nice to see David go 3-scoreless) and the bats just may be finally coming around a bit, but this one was hard - because they had it in had and beat themselves.

g92 | shutout on the wrong side of the ledger

Mariners 0 | Rangers 5

Hey, at least the shutout differential is still positive (9-7)

Since today and tomorrow are vacation days for me (prior to starting a new job on Monday!) and by Saturday night (Sounders game in the afternoon, Mariners game in the evening) I'll be all "sports-out" I decided to trade my Sunday ticket for tonight's game.  Lucky me ;-(

Derek Hollad was absolutely on his game.  Turns out this was his second straight shutout (he shutout the A's 6-0 prior to the break).  He had a perfect game through five innings before giving up a walk to Guti and the first hit to, of all people, Figgy.  Seems like he got to 3-2 on a ton of batters but, only walked one and struck out eight.

As for Jason, just a wee bit off.  When he gave up the two-out solo shot to Hamilton in the 1st and then got Beltre to ground out, it seemed OK - solo shot, no biggie.  But then, he gave up a one-out solo shot to Cruz in the 2nd and then a couple of hits, including an RBI single in the 3rd.  Though he didn't give up any runs in either of the 4th or 5th, he had multiple runners in scoring position as the hits and his pitch count were beginning to mount to seemingly insurmountable levels.  The third solo shot, this of the lead-off variety by Napoli, came in the sixth, followed by a couple of singles and a steal.  The and the Rangers were up 5-0 and Jason was hitting the showers.

It seemed like any ball that was well struck by the M's was basically right at someone in the outfield and I had the odd thought that they should just hit it a little softer.  I don't know why, usually you would want them to hit it harder.  Maybe it's because it seemed that the Ranger hits (that weren't home runs) were bloops just past an infielder, just in front of an outfielder and it just looked to darned easy.  Anyhoo, funny that Figgy was the one to break up the no-no, good to see Miggy with two hits and Justin break an 0 fer 'too many'.

The game was not without it bright spots...

• Defensively, an awesome play by Brendan where he back-handed a hard hit grounder at the cut of the grass and made a twisting-turning throw to Adam who handled it for the out.  And, a nice 4-6-3 in the top of the 9th.  
• Nice to see "Gray and Ray" get some work in - and more than decent work it was, as Jeff and Chris combined for three hitless, scoreless innings with three strikeouts. 

Still got three games, with Doug and Felix and Blake taking the hill - let's take 'em all to head out east on a high note.

g91 | swept away before the break

Mariners 2 | Angels 4

The M's got off to a great start vs. Haren, scoring two in the 1st (believe it or not, for the first time since August 20, 2011 when they scored 3 in the 1st in the Bronx).  Brendan singled, Dustin walked, they both advanced on a long fly ball by Justin and both came home on Adam's base hit.

Felix wasn't to sharp early but, after giving up the homer to Trumbo in the 4th, he retired 12-in-a-row which got him through the 7th with 110 pitches.  Some would wonder, with the heart of the Halo order coming up and Felix cruising - why go to the pen?

David came in for the 8th and promptly gave up a single to Hunter and then got two outs before an intentional walk to Kendrick ended up back-firing when Cayaspo doubled to score two and put the Halos up for good 4-2

GOOD, great (but BAD for the M's) and UGLY

• Congrats to Kyle on his first MLB hit - a solid single up the middle and he gets to 3B on an error by fellow rookie, Trout.  
• Amazing diving play by Hunter in the top of the 3rd to rob Dustin of at least a double
• And, once again, the opposing team receives the benefit of a three ball walk #IneptUmps

g87 | Jason good. O and D, not so much...

Mariners 0 | Athletics 2

Well, I took one look at the box score and saw THREE ERRORS and wanted to look no further (and, was secretly glad I hadn't been able to watch or listen).  Ugh.

At least none led to runs...
Jason only gave up 5 hits and 2 earned runs (solo shot and an RBI single) in 8 innings pitched (yes, ANOTHER complete game)

The offense mustered all of TWO hits, both singles...
Dustin in the 2nd and Adam in the 7th

And then there was that DEE (or lack thereof)...
Brendan, Figgy and Justin

So, the best and most exciting news of the day came after the game...
Kyle Seager is on his way to Anaheim and will be activated for the 4-game series with the Halos!

Welcome to the Show, Kyle!

g82 | Just call him Mr. Shutout

Mariners 6 | Padres 0

Tonight was Jason's third complete game shutout in six starts (the others vs. the Rays and the Phillies). He was the master of efficiency (which I guess follows along in general for CG's).  He had only thrown 71 pitches through seven innings, ended up with 20+ in the 8th but got through nine with 106 total.  Not too shabby.

If Doug Fister is Houdini (seeming to thrive on getting out of jams) then Jason Vargas is definitely Jekyll and Hyde (ON or OFF, not much in-between).  Here's a little stat comparison of Jason's season so far...

in his FIVE losses (24.1 innigs)
28 ER
11 BB
15 K

in his SIX wins and SIX no decisions (83.2 innings)
17 ER
19 BB
60 K


It was REALLY great to see the offense score early and play add-on for a change. They scored in four different innings and four of their nine hits were doubles.  Some of the usual suspects came through (Carlos and Adam combined for 3H - 1BB - 4 RBI - 1R) and some of the recent strugglers contributed greatly (Justin, Jack C, Brendan combined for 4H - 4BB - 2RBI - 4R).

Heck, even Figgy had a decent game (and, as the evening progressed, there was a noticeable decrease in the 'boo decibal').  He made one great snare of a hot shot liner and started a nifty double play as well.  And, he even got a hit - a solid single up the middle.

Speaking of defense, it was pretty awesome all around tonight.  Brendan made a super leaping catch and Guti, though neither he or Adam could get to the fly ball, was able to catch the runner trying to stretch it to two for the second out of the 5th.  And, don't know what it is with all these NL outfielders, but it sure seems like at least once per game one of them robs one of our guys of an XBH.

Oh yeah, it was fun seeing the old uni's...

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And, here's hoping Padre Orlando Hudson is OK after a wicked foul ball he took on the shin.

g76 | So it's root, root, root for the AWAY team...

Mariners 5 | Marlins 1

I can take or leave Interleague play in general (hey, baseball is baseball) but, I've always thought that if the two leagues are going to continue to play each other under their own rules - why not give the home fans a chance to experience "the other rules"?  Well, thanks to a scheduling conflict with U2, in which the Florida Marlins were forced to move their home series with the Mariners to Seattle, some 15,000+ Mariners fans got just that chance.  For the first time ever, National League rules were played in an American League ball park.

And boy-oh-boy, was it fun!

The game, much like the weather, started out rather ominously...
Felix had a bit of a rough start to put it mildly.  He threw a TON of pitches in the first few innings - at one point, logging more balls than strikes.  But, I was just as confident in Felix's ability to settle down as I was in knowing the 'steel umbrella' would roll slowly but surely over the field to protect us as the trickle of raindrops turned to a torrent.

No question that Felix was a bit wild early on...
he walked one in the 1st and another in the 2nd and also hit back-to-back batters.  But, he didn't allow a hit or a run until the 4th after the lead-off batter singled and ended up scoring when the 3rd out was recorded as a strikeout, but a wild pitch sent the batter to 1B and the runner at 3B home.  But that would be that for The Fish.  Felix would allow another hit and another HBP but cruise the rest of the through eight innings.

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Speaking of cruising, Nolasco retired the first EIGHT M's...
and then, leave it to Felix to break up the "no-hitter".  Needless to say, the sparse crowd was LOVING it. Later in the game, the top of the 9th to be exact, Felix got a standing ovation when he appeared in the on-deck circle as the crowd anticipated not only seeing him hit again, but realized that it meant he'd be going out to pitch in the bottom of the 9th, but after Guti's single he was called back and the boos rained down.

AP PHOTO

As for the rest of he offense, let's just say they made the most of a couple of innings...
Other than Felix's single in the 4th, there were only two other innings that the M's even had runners on base. In the 7th, after Brendan walked and Adam singled, Justin grounded into a FC but Brendan was able to stay in a rundown between 3B and home long enough to allow both Adam and Justin to move up a base.

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Dustin recorded another first when he was intentionally walked and then Miggy hit into a FC and Adam scored. Carlos, believe it or not, had an infield single.  So, with the bases loaded and Guti at the plate, Jay Buhner (who was a guest announcer on the radio with Rick) played his best Mike Blowers prognosticator and called the next play BEFORE it happened - he said something to the effect of, "...good time for Guti to get right with a base hit up the middle to score two..." and that's EXACTLY what happened.  M's up 3-1.

AP PHOTO

Then, Miggy comes through with a little insurance in the top of the 9th...
After Justin flied out and Dustin walked, Miggy had an EIGHT pitch at bat, sending that eighth pitch over the hand-operated scoreboard to put the M's up, where they would stay, 5-1.  While home runs are always fun, this had a little extra special feeling, as the crowd, led by the King's Court, was chanting O-LEE-VO during Miggy's entire at bat.

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Speaking of the King's Court...
As I tweeted after the game, it is the best thing since sliced bread.  They totally sparked a rather sparse crowd of 15k+ (which actually, considering it was all walk-up, wasn't bad).  Sporting their yellow t-shirts and holding up their "K" cards every time Felix got two strikes on a batter.  Then, when Felix was up to bat, they turned the cards around showing the "Hit it There -->" (pointing to left field fair territory).

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Great to see Brandon get back out there...
even though it wast's a save situation, he needed some work and a confidence boost - and got just that with a flyout, a strikeout and a ground out.

And, some of the best for last, sparkling DEE all around...
-Justin made a couple of nice plays on his own, as well as combining with Felix covering 1B (I have long thought that particular play is MUCH harder than it looks and Felix makes it look absolutely effortless).
-Adam made an awesome, charging play and a strong throw to 1B for the third out of the 5th.
-And Dustin just continues to instill confidence with his play in the field, making a couple routine plays as well as a great one to end the game.
-Carlos recorded ALL THREE outs in the 7th including a nice running catch to the warning track and another where he had to reach into the King's Court crowd to snag a foul ball.

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

g70 | Dustin's Day

Mariners 4 | Phillies 2

W.O.W.....what a night!

No question there was an extra buzz in the ballpark prior to, during and after the game...  
I was about to say that all the excitement was about the anticipation of transition but, on second thought, it seems that transition is no longer impending and tonight, was the crescendo of the beautiful melody that is "let the kids play".  The fans in attendance, and those watching and listening from near and far, will forever cherish the indescribable feeling of real and true hope for the future of this franchise. 

There were long and loud cheers when Dustin Ackley was announced...
in the line-up, when he stepped to the plate and especially when he connected on his first hit - in that first at bat.  After watching the first two fast balls from Roy Oswalt go by (which he would later admit to "being memorized" by) and fouling the third pitch off, he ripped a solid single up-the-middle right between Oswalt's legs.

AP PHOTO

It was really cool that timing worked out for Dustin's call up to occur on a day off so that his family had time to fly to Seattle to be in attendance for his debut.  And, no soft-landings for Dustin, as he faced one of the best pitchers in the NL in front of a crowd of more than 34k.


Dustin didn't disappoint in the field either...  
He made a total of five put-outs: three grounders, a pop-up and was the middle piece of a very nice double-play in which he showed he can pivot, throw and avoid the on-coming runner just fine.

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And, oh yeah, Michael was pretty swell too...
He faced the minimum through three innings, the highlight being his THREE-pitch strikeout to Ryan Howard. The Phils only base-runners through FIVE innings were aboard via a walk and a HBP.  After two quick outs in the 6th, Michael gave up a walk, two singles and another walk before striking out Polanco (for the SECOND time) to end the inning (supposedly one of the hardest batters in all of MLB to K).
Michael finished with 92P - 6IP - 2H - 1ER - 3BB - 5K and the WIN, of course!

AP PHOTO

The bullpen did just enough...
Aaron retired the Phils 1-2-3 in the 7th, but ran into a little bump when Victorino ran into a pitch that landed in the bullpen.  Luckily, on the previous play, the double-play was turned, so while it made the margin narrower, the M's still had a 4-2 lead.  And, as has been the case in the past FOURTEEN straight games, Brandon did not allow a run and secured that lead by notching his TWENTIETH save.

AP PHOTO

By the way, there was an effective and varied offense as well....
Ichiro and Brendan combined to go 5 for 7
~ Ichiro w/2 singles, a double and 2 runs scored (13 of 25 w/6 straight multi-hit games since his day off)
~Brendan w/an RBI triple, an RBI single, a walk and a stolen base
~Justin, in his bran-new clean-up spot, collected a hit an, sac-fly RBI and 2 walks
~Miggy came through with a HUGE homer that put the M's up 2-0 at the time

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Guti looks as good as ever in the field....
Gliding effortlessly under balls that seem sure to drop but, is struggling mightily at the plate.  Hopefully, with Greg to spell him, he'll get back into the swing of things (literally) sometime soon.

And then there's the unfortunate Figgy factor...
Really hope he sits for a couple of days, as much as I understand the emotion and frustration behind the boos and cat-calls he's receiving - I don't want to hear it.  It seems counter-productive to all the good things that are happening with this team right now (and seems like bad ju-ju for the young ones).  Figgy's confidence is obviously shot and the boos are not helping matters - it's not like he doesn't know he's sucking right now.

It was great to finally meet up with some of the Mariner Central peeps!
Dr Naka, Huindekmi, Vidya (and his son) and xarmyguy78 - I'm thinking this will be a game we remember forever :-)

g66 | the BATTERY that takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'!

Mariners 7 | Tigers 3

A seemingly ominous start for today's Mariner battery...
Felix was touched up from the mound in the early innings and Miggy was roughed up (literally) behind the plate but, they gutted it through together.  Felix was rewarded with the win and Miggy was there for him behind the plate and AT the plate (with TWO home runs).

Should you need a reminder of the definitions of ACE...
Look no further than the reigning American League Cy Young, aka: King Felix.  The name of the game early on was "damage control", after that it was SHUT.THEM.DOWN.  Felix's recovery from the shaky start only served to emphasize how how special he is ~ his stuff and his guts and his smarts are truly second to none.

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Despite walking the second batter in the 1st inning, Felix got off the mound quickly via a double-play. The 2nd inning was quite a different story - even though he only allowed ONE run, it took Felix THIRTY-FIVE pitches to get through it. The the lead-off hitter was aboard in the 3rd via a double and took 3B on an error by Carlos and he eventually scored on a single after Felix got two quick outs.

Over the next FIVE innings, Felix allowed three singles, one double, two walks and only ONE run (in the 8th).  
Felix started the 6th having thrown 91 pitches and got a quick pop-up for the first out.  Then, on a 3-2 pitch, Brendan lost his footing trying to field the ball right on the cut of the infield grass and was charged with the M's second error of the game.  Thankfully, a fly-ball to Carlos doubled the runner off 1B saved the inning for Felix and allowed him to start the 7th in which the lead-off hitter was safe by a WHISKER on a bunt base hit. Said runner was beautifully erased at 2B when Felix fielded the bunt by the next hitter and then a fabulously turned Wilson-to-Ryan-to-Smoak DP enabled Felix to exit the inning with the S L I M one-run lead.

Wedge stuck with his horse and out came Felix for the bottom of the 8th after the M's had added to their lead in the top of the inning.  Miggy got his bell rung during the first batter's AB but stayed in the game.  The first batter walked and the second singled with Felix at 115 pitches.  Felix struck out then next batter (his 6th K) and then induced a flyout.  With two outs and runners at the corners, a run scored on a single up the middle. Wedge ran out for a quick chat with Felix and was satisfied with what he heard, as he stayed with his ace (126 pitches at that point) who got a ground ball out on the first pitch.

Brandon had the 9th (despite the non-save situation) and, as easy as pie, retired the side in order: strikeout, groundout, strikeout.

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For the first four innings, it was the same-old, same-old for the O...
Then Miggy's lead-off homer in the 5th ignited a little spark that led to THREE runs and the lead.  Figgy walked, stole 2B and scored the tying run on Ichiro's single and Ichiro scored the go-ahead run on Justin's single.

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The the M's were retired fairly meekly over the next couple of innings, Brendan's single in the 7th the only hit. Then came the 8th - with one out, Carlos walked and Greg pinch ran and scored on Miggy's SECOND HOME RUN OF THE GAME!  Guti walked but was caught stealing and Figgy struck out.

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Justin added a LOT of insurance with his home run in the 9th that scored Ichiro (who had gotten aboard via his second hit of the game).

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Little stat courtesy of the Tigers broadcasters...
In 61 combined at bats for Justin and Miggy vs. the Tigers they have hit NINE home runs.

Occasionally, I listen to the opposing broadcasters to get their perspective on my team.  I really enjoyed listening to the Tigers announcers.  Of course, like most, they root for their team, but I was impressed by the copious amounts of information they shared with their audience regarding the Mariners players and their season thus far.  They gave just the right amount of reverence to their accomplishments while not totally disparaging them with the less attractive parts of the stat sheet.

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Long Division

The M's are doing a good job vs. the East (11-8) and keeping pace in the West (8-7) but the Central is GIVING. THEM. FITS.  Even with the victory today vs. the Tigers, the M's are a paltry 12 - 17 vs. the teams in the middle of the map.  Thankfully, there are not many games left with them: one 3-game series with the Tribe and a couple of make up games with them (due to the usual Cleveland rain-outs) and one 3-game series with the Twins.

Wedge Words

"I wanted to look into his eyes and look into Miggy's eyes and see where they were."

"I'm really please with the way these guys played and how they have been battling."

g57 | Jason and the bats!

Mariners 7 | Rays 0

Way to GO, Jason!
Very nice recovery from his rocky starts vs. the Twins and Yanks.  It was Jason's first complete game since 2003 and his first EVER complete game shutout!  And, he did it in a very efficient manner 115P - 9IP - 4H - 0ER - 1BB - 4K

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Only EIGHT hits in the entire game...
Each team with FOUR hits, but the M's scored SEVEN - not your typical ratio.  It was another homer barrage for the M's tonight - Justin (his fourth in six games), Miggy and Adam (a two-run shot).  But, the THREE runs on ONE infield hit in the 3rd inning was an example of their typical offensive MO: sac bunt after a HBP and a walk, bases-loaded walk, bases-loaded ground out and an infield single.

AP PHOTO

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The M's got a little help from the Rays defense...
They were only actually charged with ONE error but, they looked shaky all night - dropping balls left and right that muffed double-plays and were just generally sloppy.  The M's were happy to take advantage.  The M's defense, on the other hand, continued their solid play in the field.  Miggy made a great catch on a mile-high pop up that the wind spun around a couple times, Mr. Death to Flying Things was superb (as usual), the Brendan-Kennedy-to-Smoak double-play was pretty nifty and Carlos even made nice running catch in LF.

AP PHOTO

AP PHOTO

Here's to winning the series tomorrow ~ day game due to the U2 concert next door at Qwest Field tomorrow night ~ on the warmest day of the year so far in Seattle!

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.

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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)

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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