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...

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g144 | "M's offense"and "offensive explosion" in the same sentence!!!

Mariners 7 | Royals 3

These are NOT your father's Mariners...
~ What a night for Miggy! 3 hits and 2 RBI left him just a single away from the cycle!
~ Ichiro with four more hits (including another homer) leaving him now 33 hits shy of 200
~ Justin with three more hits and two RBI
~ Alex Liddi had his first major league hit ... a ringing double to left field

Blake seeming to take Doug Fister's place as the "Houdini" of the M's...
Thankfully, NOT as the recipient of lower than low run support though.  Blake has shown a propensity to get in all kinds of hot water in the first inning ~ whether it be an extremely high pitch count or actually runs allowed ~ and then to make the needed adjustments to right the ship.  Tonight was no different.  He had allowed two runs via a homer, a triple, two singles by the time I had made my way to my seat in the first inning.  But, after allowing a lead off single in the second, he retired 13-in-a-row and made it into the 7th allowing a triple and a single for another run - but, left with the lead and would get the eventual win.

Nice to see Shawn Kelley back!  
He and Jamey combined for 2.2 scoreless with three strikeouts

This game had plenty of great DEE...

• Trayvon with a great diving catch
• Justin with a super snag of a foul pop-up right at the tarp on the 1B line
• Casper with a home-run robbing leap in left field

And, on the other side - Dustin hit the ball HARD three times but was robbed each time, including twice by Francoeur - once of a homer and once of at least a double

g139 | swept away ... again

Mariners 5 | Athletics 8

Early in the season, the offense would have KILLED for 10 hits and five runs - 't wasn't enough today.

Blake Beavan was far from on, throwing a ton of pitches (101) and allowing way too many walks (3) for only five innings.  Josh Lueke, after a 1-2-3 sixth, was given a chance to get himself out of trouble in the seventh, and failed - miserably (giving up 4 runs).  Brandon League came in for some much needed work, allowed a single but, no walks or runs and his ERA dropped below 3.

The offense was a bit jekyll and hyde today....

The Good
~5 runs on 10 hits, including 4 for extra bases (doubles by Mike, Trayvon) and a homer for Dustin
~two-hit games from Ichiro, Guti, Dustin, Justin and Kyle
~stolen base by Ichiro

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The Bad
~TWO for ELEVEN with RISP (including twice with the bases loaded, once with only one out)

The Ugly
~Wells was hit by a pitch on the elbow and had to leave the game (x-rays negative, day-to-day)
~Guti pulled an oblique on a pitch in the 8th (and this one looks/sounds serious)


Not to say that without the injuries that the M's would have pulled it off but, you always wonder.
In any case, good job by the young bats who were a combined 8/20 with four of the five runs, two RBI and two walks.

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

g133 | halting the halos

Mariners 5 | Angels 3

Blake cruised through the first three and then hit a rough patch in the fourth...
The encouraging part was his bounce back after the bad inning - he only gave up two hits over the next three innings but, thanks to some SUPERB defense, he only faced the minimum.  I also like, like, like the ZERO walks.

8th inning, enter The Bartender...
who merely retired the side in order, including two strikeouts.

9th inning, leave it to BLT - Brandon League Time...
(credit to Dave Simms)
despite allowing a double, Brandon notched his 32nd save.

Oh, we have O???

• the "old guys" (Ichiro, Miggy and Adam) each doubled and combined for three runs
• the "young guys" (Dustin and Mike) tripled and homered - Mike's homer went "into somebody's soup!" (as Rick called it) actually landed INSIDE the Hit it Here Cafe!
• Casper apparently admitted to being a big timid at the plate after getting hit in the nose and, as a consequence, he had no hits.  But, he posted all three walks the M's took (and, his defense likely saved at least a couple of runs)

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Saving the best for last .... fabulous DEE!

• Casper's got a gun (TWO outfield assists!)
• Who says Kyle can't play 3B - he even did that Adrian thing (charged the bunt and bare-handed it)
• How 'bout that Carp s t r e t c h ? ! ?
• And, we know Brendan can look pretty spiffy at SS at times..

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The Skipper had on a message for the guys prior to the game tonight re: "plenty to play for...
Casper Wells, for one, really took it to heart, "definitely pumped me up!"

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 :-(

g122 | bad Blake, good Chance, super Mike

Mariners 1 | Blue Jays 5

Blake's second rough start in-a-row...
he seems to have a bit of long-ball-itis of late - all the Blue Jays runs coming via the long ball.
I guess when half of your hits are homers, it usually bodes well for a win - Jays had only six hits but three of them left the yard. Also helps when the opposition (that would be the M's) doesn't get their first hit until the 4th inning, only three hits total and only one for extra bases.

As for the bright spots....

• the bullpen of Cortes, Ruffin and Wright combined for four hit-less innings with one walk and one strikeout.  Great to see Chance in there right away (the PTBNL in the Fister/Pauley deal), he only joined the team on Wednesday and Dan to go more than one IP.
• Mike Carp extended his hitting streak to 17 with his single in the 4th that broke up Morrow's no-no.
• Guti doubled in the 6th to drive in the only M's run (Ichiro)
• Ackley-Wilson-Carp DP

And then for the scary, scary stuff...
Casper was hit ON THE NOSE by a pitch from Brandon Morrow.
Apparently, amazingly, it's not broken and he'll be ok - whew!
And just when he was going for his 5th homer in as many games...

g121 | who says Safeco Field plays big?

Mariners 7 | Blue Jays 13

Things were looking pretty bleak by the end of the first inning, Jason having given up SIX runs.  But, the boys in navy and teal would put up a bit of a fight and tie it up by the end of the third...
~Mike extended his hitting streak to SEVENTEEN
~Trayvon and Kyle both checked in with 2 hits and 2 RBI
~Casper with ANOTHER homer (his FOURTH in as many games) coming before Miggy's in the 2nd

But, after Jason's early departure, his initial contingent of relief (Wilhelmsen and Laffey) didn't fair much better, combining to give up FIVE runs on FIVE hits.  The real killer for the entire pitching staff was the walks ... SIX of the SEVEN walks scored ~ precisely the difference in the score.

Lost a bit amid the home run barrage was Lueke's appearance...

he only gave up THREE hits in THREE scoreless innings

g120 | flying away vs. the Jays

Mariners 6 | Blue Jays 5

Needless to say, not Michael's best effort...
Blue Jays were 0-4 w/RISP, but pretty good in the "walk & homer" department, so Michael only made it through 5 innings.

The bullpen was STELLAR...
throwing FOUR innings of FOUR hit, NO walks, shutout ball.  Cortes for TWO, Wilhelmsen for ONE (and his first major league win) and Brandon for ONE (and his 30th save)

And the hits just kept on coming!
from the youth...
~Mike extended his hitting streak to SIXTEEN
~Casper hit ANOTHER home run - his THIRD one in as many games
~Trayvon had THREE hits and an RBI
as well as the "old" guys...
~JW with another TWO hits (really picking it up off the bench since BR's been out)
~Guti collecting another hit (8-game hitting streak)

Something about Toronto this season...
getting down early, but coming back strong.

g119 | second series win vs. the sox!

Mariners 5 | Red Sox 3

A little light on the recap, since I was exploring Orcas Island with my daughter and her boyfriend (who are visiting from Austin, TX)

Way to go, Charlie!
His best start, so far, as a Mariner comes against one of the most powerful lineups in baseball!
95 pitches ~ 7 innings ~ 4 hits ~ 1 earned run ~ 2 walks ~ 6 strikeouts

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Jeff had a bit of an issue in the 8th, giving up a couple of runs on a Youkilis homer but, Brandon came in again in the 9th and retired the side in order for his 29th save.

Miggy was the only Mariner to not record at least one hit, so all the "streaks" remained in tact (Mike at 14, Ichiro at 10 and Guti at 7).  Willie gets his first hit (a double) as a Mariner and Casper hits his second homer in as many games.

A sweep would have been nice, but great to see "the kids" getting the job done :-)

g118 | super-duper DEE rips the sox

Mariners 5 | Red Sox 4

Clearly, I picked the wrong M's/RS game to attend ... what a crazy one!

The M's scored all their runs in the 1st inning...
FIVE (count 'em FIVE!) runs off of Josh Becket, including a first pitch homer by Ichiro and a 2-run shot by Casper!  Mike, Dustin, Guti, and even JW, continued their hot-hitting.

The Red Sox scored all their runs in the 6th inning...
when Felix had a more than momentary lapse, allowing a lead-off triple, and two homers and a couple of singles.  Luckily, he limited the damage to one less run than the M's had scored and recovered by retiring the side in order in the 7th.  Then Jamey and Brandon came in and shut them down in the 8th and 9th respectively - Brandon notching his 28th save.

The REAL story of the game was the AWESOME defense by the M's...
FOUR double plays, including a play at the plate that will be talked about for a long time to come!
In the 4th inning, Ellsbury led off with a walk, got to 2B on an error by Carp and to 3B on a single by Crawford.  After Gonzales grounded out, Pedroia flied out to Ichiro who threw a one-hop STRIKE to Bard who fielded, blocked ~got NAILED in the face by Ellsbury's knee~ but hung onto the ball with his pinkie finger!  It was a fantastic play all around - great throw, great catch and tag and great clean, hard slide.  The memorable thing is that Ellsbury he was originally called SAFE, but after conferring, the umps got it right and changed the call to OUT!

g116 | a WIN in TEXAS!

Mariners 4 | Rangers 3

Second nice start in-a-row for Jason...
't would be great for him to finish strong and solidify himself in the rotation for a coule more years.

Lovin' the DEE!
TWO double-plays and some great unassisted plays all 'round the infield.

ELEVEN hits...
including THREE for extra bases (granted, that should have netted more than FOUR runs)

Brandon shuts the door for his 27th save.

And the gravy, at least for THIS season, is the W

g111 | pitching and catching...

Mariners 0 | Angels 1 (10)

Missed most of the game, as I was at "the race track" with "the girls"...  
As impotent as both the M's and the Halos offenses were tonight - my betting was even moreso ;-)

Weaver was on.  What else is new?
Certainly not a great match up to an M's offense that has struggled so mightily all season - and then the get to face the best pitcher in the AL - and just when they were starting to put something together (26 hits and 19 runs in the series sweep of the A's).

At least it was good to see Jason bounce back a bit after some extremely rough starts of late...
He was solid through six, scattering seven hits and walking only one - he was also able to escape when necessary.  Aaron, Jamey and Josh combined for three scoreless innings, surrendering only one hit and one walk.  Dan had no fun in the 10th - giving up a single to Hunter, who then advanced on a wild pitch (Wedge non too happey about the "crossed up" situation) and scored the winning, and only, run of the game on Well's single (outside, practically in the dirt).

Sounds like base-running was more than bit of an issue for the M's tonight...
Ichiro picked off 1B, Mike thrown out trying to steal 2B, Casper caught off 3B - argh!!

But hey, there's (ANOTHER) new kid in town...
Welcome to the bigs, Trayvon Robinson!  He struck out in his first AB and collected his first major league hit in his second AB - a solid single to left - off Jered Weaver, no less.  But, what he will be remembered for is his thievery of Torii Hunter - what a  catch!

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