Well, the Mariners made their way back to Oakland to face their long time rivals, the Athletics. Another bad part about this game was they were facing Scott Kazmir, who has just been amazing this season. Kazmir came into this game a perfect 4-0 with one of those wins coming against these Mariners. The Mariners though have been playing with hot bats and did not want to have Kazmir have a repeat performance. So, they decided to get to Kazmir early, and by early I mean the first inning.
Michael Saunders and Stefen Romero got things started off right away with back-to-back singles. After Robinson Cano was called out on strikes Corey Hart drove in the first run on an RBI single and Kyle Seager got a nice productive ground ball out that allowed Romero to score and make it 2-0. Chris Young missed his first start against the Athletics thanks to the grounds keeper not putting the tarp out on the field, so he decided to make up for lost time. Young only needed 33 pitches to get through 3 innings of work, setting down the Athletic hitters 1-2-3 in each inning. The only mistake Young made was in the bottom of the fourth when he gave up a 2-run home run to Brandon Moss.
In the top of the fifth inning the Mariners would regain the lead and never look back. Romero got into one and drove his first major league home run out of the yard and put the Mariners up 3-2. The Mariners got an extra run in the top of the sixth inning as Brad Miller singled home Cole Gillespie to put the lead to 4-2. After that Miller would steal both second and third base but thanks to going on contact was thrown out at home, Mike Zunino also had a base running boo-boo and that ended the inning.
After the sixth, the Mariners bullpen took care of the rest. After giving up a lead off single to Josh Donaldson and walking Moss manager Lloyd McClendon went to his bullpen. His very tired, exhausted, and used up bullpen. But they got the job done. Charlie Furbush would get his only batter that he faced to ground into a huge double play, Dominic Leone was then brought in but walked pinch hitter Derek Norris to load the bases, and so McClendon went to his bullpen for a third time in the inning and brought in the always reliable Joe Beimel. Beimel was set to face Josh Reddick but A's manager and former M's skipper Bob Melvin decided to pinch hit Yoenis Cespedes. Beimel set Cespedes down by getting him to pop out to end the inning.
Beimel would then pitch to two more batters and got both of them out before McClendon made another pitching change, this time he brought in Funky Cold Medina. Yoervis Medina didn't have any problems as he got Jed Lowrie to fly out to end the A's half of the eighth.
So, the bottom of the ninth came and Mariners fans fastened their seat belts for the Fernando Rodney Experience.......not a very interesting ride though seeing how Rodney pitched a perfect 1-2-3 ninth inning and earned his eighth save of the season and really earned to shoot his arrow into the sky.
Mariners are back at .500........boy that feels good to say, so does saying that the Mariners dealt Scott Kazmir his first loss of the season. Tomorrow the Mariners send out their Cuban sensation Roenis Elias who is coming off a career pitching performance in New York. Elias thankfully will probably have a decent umpire behind the plate tomorrow and will look to pitch better than both his first start of his career and season against the M's and will try to help his team get back to above .500.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Chris Young 6+ IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 2 K W (2-0)
Stefen Romero 2-5 HR 2 R RBI
Fernando Rodney 1 IP 0 H 1 K SV (8)
Showing posts with label Stefen Romero. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stefen Romero. Show all posts
Monday, May 5, 2014
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Astros get Farq'd Mariners take the series
The Mariners were looking to end the drought of losing series after series to the Houston Astros today on Star Wars day. The Mariners did just that today, Danny Farqhuar was responsible this time for bailing the Mariners out of an Astros attempt at a comeback. So Twitter-verse invented a new hashtag......#MayTheFarqBeWithYou. And boy was the Farq with the Mariners and with Farqhuar himself. The Mariners were able to pull out the win and take the series from the Astros and improve their record to 14-15. Another positive about today's win was that the Mariners got some revenge on Collin McHugh, who earned his first MLB win off the Mariners while striking out 12.
The Mariners got off to a quick start in the top of the first inning. Michael Saunders continued his tear as lead off hitter with a lead off single to begin the game, and on a throwing error on a pick off by McHugh Saunders was able to scoot on down to third. Robinson Cano put the M's up 1-0 on a productive ground ball out for his 17th of the season. The Astros got a run back in the bottom of the second as Alex Presley homered off starter Brandon Maurer and so the game was nodded up at 1-1.
The top of the third the Mariners decided to get a couple runs back. Dustin Ackley started off the inning by drawing an eight pitch walk, John Buck followed Ackley's walk with his first double of the season and after Saunders struck out Willie Bloomquist delivered a nice 2-run double to put the Mariners back in front 3-1. Cano decided to get back into the RBI category by tripling home Bloomquist, and so the M's lead went up to 4-1. Corey Hart decided to get into both the hit and RBI category as well with his first hit of the game and put M's up 5-1.
The Mariners added an extra run in the top of the fourth when Saunders singled home Buck to put the Mariners lead to 5 runs, Buck was able to get a one out double before Saunders singled him home. Maurer though had a tough bottom of the fourth. After getting the first two batters out the Astros strung together a couple hits including a 2-run double by Chris Carter but was able to get the next batter out. Ackley would drive in a run in the top of the fifth, the Mariners would load the bases thanks to a single, a walk, and Stefen Romero getting hit by a pitch. Ackley would draw the M's second bases loaded walk in the series and so the Mariners lead got pushed to 7-4. The Astros got an extra run in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Jonathan Villar.
Maurer's day was done after the fifth inning so manager Lloyd McClendon went to the bullpen again and had to put his faith in his bullpen for the third day in a row.
The M's would get their final run in the top of the eighth inning. After a lead off double by Romero and Ackley moving him over with a productive out John Buck got his third hit of the ball game and drove in Romero to put the Mariners lead to 8-4. Charlie Furbush was brought into the bottom of the eighth and was taken out after giving up two straight hits. Farqhuar was then brought in to not only get out of the inning but to also try and earn a rare 6 out save. Marc Krauss singled on the first pitch Farqhuar threw, that allowed Jason Castro and Matt Dominguez to come around to score.
Farqhuar was able to settle down and get the next three batters out. He would give up a run in the bottom of the ninth but was able to shut the Astros down and secure the win, the save, and the series for the Mariners. The Mariners now will head to Oakland for a 4 game series against the first place A's, including a double header on Wednesday. After the game Abraham Almonte was optioned to Tacoma, no one has yet to be called up but we could see the M's getting a reliever to help out their tired bullpen.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: John Buck 3-4 2 2B 2 R RBI
Robinson Cano 2-5 3B R 2 RBI
Danny Farqhuar 2 IP 2 K 1 R 1 ER SV
The Mariners got off to a quick start in the top of the first inning. Michael Saunders continued his tear as lead off hitter with a lead off single to begin the game, and on a throwing error on a pick off by McHugh Saunders was able to scoot on down to third. Robinson Cano put the M's up 1-0 on a productive ground ball out for his 17th of the season. The Astros got a run back in the bottom of the second as Alex Presley homered off starter Brandon Maurer and so the game was nodded up at 1-1.
The top of the third the Mariners decided to get a couple runs back. Dustin Ackley started off the inning by drawing an eight pitch walk, John Buck followed Ackley's walk with his first double of the season and after Saunders struck out Willie Bloomquist delivered a nice 2-run double to put the Mariners back in front 3-1. Cano decided to get back into the RBI category by tripling home Bloomquist, and so the M's lead went up to 4-1. Corey Hart decided to get into both the hit and RBI category as well with his first hit of the game and put M's up 5-1.
The Mariners added an extra run in the top of the fourth when Saunders singled home Buck to put the Mariners lead to 5 runs, Buck was able to get a one out double before Saunders singled him home. Maurer though had a tough bottom of the fourth. After getting the first two batters out the Astros strung together a couple hits including a 2-run double by Chris Carter but was able to get the next batter out. Ackley would drive in a run in the top of the fifth, the Mariners would load the bases thanks to a single, a walk, and Stefen Romero getting hit by a pitch. Ackley would draw the M's second bases loaded walk in the series and so the Mariners lead got pushed to 7-4. The Astros got an extra run in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Jonathan Villar.
Maurer's day was done after the fifth inning so manager Lloyd McClendon went to the bullpen again and had to put his faith in his bullpen for the third day in a row.
The M's would get their final run in the top of the eighth inning. After a lead off double by Romero and Ackley moving him over with a productive out John Buck got his third hit of the ball game and drove in Romero to put the Mariners lead to 8-4. Charlie Furbush was brought into the bottom of the eighth and was taken out after giving up two straight hits. Farqhuar was then brought in to not only get out of the inning but to also try and earn a rare 6 out save. Marc Krauss singled on the first pitch Farqhuar threw, that allowed Jason Castro and Matt Dominguez to come around to score.
Farqhuar was able to settle down and get the next three batters out. He would give up a run in the bottom of the ninth but was able to shut the Astros down and secure the win, the save, and the series for the Mariners. The Mariners now will head to Oakland for a 4 game series against the first place A's, including a double header on Wednesday. After the game Abraham Almonte was optioned to Tacoma, no one has yet to be called up but we could see the M's getting a reliever to help out their tired bullpen.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: John Buck 3-4 2 2B 2 R RBI
Robinson Cano 2-5 3B R 2 RBI
Danny Farqhuar 2 IP 2 K 1 R 1 ER SV
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Mariners win but bullpen comes close to blowing it
The day after Houston suffered both victory and defeat from walking off the Mariners to Damian Lillard sending the Rockets home what could top that? How about a roller coaster ride win? That's exactly what happened to the Mariners today, it was in my opinion one of the ugliest wins of the season. With Hisashi Iwakuma making his 2014 debut the Mariners were aiming to get him his first win of the season, they got him the win but boy did it not come easy. This game I think saw my blood pressure raise to its highest its ever been, thank God I didn't have a stroke.
Kuma looked like he brought his A game today as he got through the first two innings with only throwing 20 pitches and striking out one, but the third saw the Astros get to him. Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Villar strung together back-to-back hits and Jose Altuve hit a sacrifice fly to put the Astros up 2-0 early in the ball game. The Mariners got a run back in the top of the sixth, Stefen Romero lead off the inning with just missing a home run by a matter of inches but was still able to leg out his first triple of his career. Robinson Cano drove in Romero with a line drive single to left to put the M's on the board.
The Mariners in the top of the seventh would see the team show great plate discipline, being patient at the plate, and being aggressive as well and scored 8 runs. Justin Smoak and Cole Gillespie drew back-to-back walks and so Brad Miller now had a job to do, get the bunt down to move the runners over. After chopping at one pitch and fouling off another Miller worked a walk by showing great discipline, and so the bases were full of Mariners. Bo Porter made his way out to the mound to talk with his starter Dallas Keuchel and following the mound visit catcher Jason Castro made his way back out to the mound, and that set manager Lloyd McClendon off.
McClendon had a decent argument as Porter and Castro were stalling for time and quiet frankly that's just messed up. So after McClendon was ejected Porter made his happy butt back out to the mound to make a pitching change, so Jose Cisnero was brought in to try and get out of this jam. Didn't happen. Mike Zunino drew the fourth walk in a row that brought home Smoak to tie the game up at 2-2. Michael Saunders continued to make the most of being the lead off hitter and doubled home two more in Gillespie and Miller and so the Mariners took the 4-2 lead. Romero drove in the 5th run of the ball game for the M's with an RBI single.
Cano added another run with his second RBI single of the game, following another pitching change by the Astros Kyle Seager extended his hitting streak to 8 games with an RBI double to make it 7-2. So, here we are two outs and Smoak making his second plate appearance of the inning and he decides to drive the first pitch he sees onto the train tracks at Minute Maid Park.......so he basically destroyed it and put the Mariners up 9-2.
So after a 30 minute break, Kuma came out in the seventh and was not sharp. Chris Carter continued to destroy Mariner pitchers as he hit a one out solo home run to put the Astros down by 6 runs. With two outs though Kuma gave up a single to Gonzalez so the M's decided to go to the bullpen and Dominic Leone was brought in. Leone was not sharp either, as he gave up a two home run to Villar and so the Astros now trailed by 4 runs. Altuve drew a walk and after stealing second Dexter Fowler drove him in, so now this game turned around for the Astros real quickly as they now trailed by just 3 runs. Leone was relieved by Joe Beimel.
Beimel was able to get the final out in the inning and would pitch to one more batter in the eighth before being relieved by Yoervis Medina. Medina though did not have his stuff either. Medina would get one out but then would have trouble, giving up 2 runs. So since Medina couldn't get the job done, Fernando Rodney would be brought in to try and stop the bleeding. Rodney not only stopped the bleeding but he also earned his seventh save of the season and saved his team from completing a total meltdown.
NOTES: Saunders has been making the most of his time as the lead off hitter. He has batted .385 since becoming the lead off hitter and has raised his batting average to .250. Seager has also been on a tear since his two home run game against the Astros one week ago, he has raised his batting average from .156 to .237 during his 8 game hitting streak.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Fernando Rodney 1.1 IP 0 H 2 K SV
Justin Smoak 2-3 2 R HR 2B BB 2 RBI
Michael Saunders 2-5 R 2B 2 RBI
Robinson Cano 2-5 R 2 RBI
Kuma looked like he brought his A game today as he got through the first two innings with only throwing 20 pitches and striking out one, but the third saw the Astros get to him. Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Villar strung together back-to-back hits and Jose Altuve hit a sacrifice fly to put the Astros up 2-0 early in the ball game. The Mariners got a run back in the top of the sixth, Stefen Romero lead off the inning with just missing a home run by a matter of inches but was still able to leg out his first triple of his career. Robinson Cano drove in Romero with a line drive single to left to put the M's on the board.
The Mariners in the top of the seventh would see the team show great plate discipline, being patient at the plate, and being aggressive as well and scored 8 runs. Justin Smoak and Cole Gillespie drew back-to-back walks and so Brad Miller now had a job to do, get the bunt down to move the runners over. After chopping at one pitch and fouling off another Miller worked a walk by showing great discipline, and so the bases were full of Mariners. Bo Porter made his way out to the mound to talk with his starter Dallas Keuchel and following the mound visit catcher Jason Castro made his way back out to the mound, and that set manager Lloyd McClendon off.
McClendon had a decent argument as Porter and Castro were stalling for time and quiet frankly that's just messed up. So after McClendon was ejected Porter made his happy butt back out to the mound to make a pitching change, so Jose Cisnero was brought in to try and get out of this jam. Didn't happen. Mike Zunino drew the fourth walk in a row that brought home Smoak to tie the game up at 2-2. Michael Saunders continued to make the most of being the lead off hitter and doubled home two more in Gillespie and Miller and so the Mariners took the 4-2 lead. Romero drove in the 5th run of the ball game for the M's with an RBI single.
Cano added another run with his second RBI single of the game, following another pitching change by the Astros Kyle Seager extended his hitting streak to 8 games with an RBI double to make it 7-2. So, here we are two outs and Smoak making his second plate appearance of the inning and he decides to drive the first pitch he sees onto the train tracks at Minute Maid Park.......so he basically destroyed it and put the Mariners up 9-2.
So after a 30 minute break, Kuma came out in the seventh and was not sharp. Chris Carter continued to destroy Mariner pitchers as he hit a one out solo home run to put the Astros down by 6 runs. With two outs though Kuma gave up a single to Gonzalez so the M's decided to go to the bullpen and Dominic Leone was brought in. Leone was not sharp either, as he gave up a two home run to Villar and so the Astros now trailed by 4 runs. Altuve drew a walk and after stealing second Dexter Fowler drove him in, so now this game turned around for the Astros real quickly as they now trailed by just 3 runs. Leone was relieved by Joe Beimel.
Beimel was able to get the final out in the inning and would pitch to one more batter in the eighth before being relieved by Yoervis Medina. Medina though did not have his stuff either. Medina would get one out but then would have trouble, giving up 2 runs. So since Medina couldn't get the job done, Fernando Rodney would be brought in to try and stop the bleeding. Rodney not only stopped the bleeding but he also earned his seventh save of the season and saved his team from completing a total meltdown.
NOTES: Saunders has been making the most of his time as the lead off hitter. He has batted .385 since becoming the lead off hitter and has raised his batting average to .250. Seager has also been on a tear since his two home run game against the Astros one week ago, he has raised his batting average from .156 to .237 during his 8 game hitting streak.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Fernando Rodney 1.1 IP 0 H 2 K SV
Justin Smoak 2-3 2 R HR 2B BB 2 RBI
Michael Saunders 2-5 R 2B 2 RBI
Robinson Cano 2-5 R 2 RBI
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Smoak's bat and glove helps beat the Rangers
Well, it was both College Night and Bearded Hat night at the ballpark last night. So, you have both college kids getting smashed in The Pen and people wanting probably the dumbest promotion the Mariners have had this season. There was a point during the game where the camera over The Pen went over and then went to a single fan who was actually watching the game.......sad huh? If these college kids are so smart then they really should have just gone to a bar if they didn't want to watch the Mariners game and just get drunk, but I'm getting off topic. The Mariners opened up a three game against the Texas Rangers......so for the second time the M's faced their Texas rivals and they really wanted to forget the last series against this team.
The Mariners decided since they walked things off two days ago, they would get back to their winning ways. Though at first they didn't seem to be in the winning mood, it just took them five innings to wake up their bats. Adrian Beltre got activated from the DL and Roenis Elias took to the mound looking for his 2nd win against the Rangers.
Robbie Ross, Jr., took to the mound for the Rangers and in the first two innings both pitchers look evenly matched. Elias ran into trouble in back-to-back innings, as the Rangers got a run in both the top of the third and fourth inning. I have to give Elias a great deal of credit, even though he had two tough innings the fourth inning was the toughest he had. Elias walked three in that inning and gave up an RBI double but with the bases loaded Elias went into Beast Mode. He struck out the next two batters he face to end the inning, so after four innings of work Elias was up to 73 pitches.
With the Rangers up 2-0 the Mariners got back both runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. With 2 outs Abraham Almonte and Willie Bloomquist were able to get on base, Robinson Cano drove in both runners with his first big hit at Safeco so the Mariners tied the game, but that tie wouldn't last long. Elias's night was done after allowing two more hits in the top of the sixth, so manager Lloyd McClendon brought in Dominic Leone to try and get out of the jam. Leone got out of the inning but threw a wild pitch that allowed Prince Fielder to score from third to put the Rangers back up 3-2.
Inning by inning went by until the game reached the bottom of the eighth inning, and most um "Mariner" fans were thinking "here we go again" and were already counting the Mariners out of this game. The Mariners though were still on their "comeback kid" hangover and wanted another one. Cano lead off the inning with his second hit of the ball game, following Corey Hart getting hit by a pitch Stefen Romero singled to load the bases up for the M's. After a mound visit by the Rangers, McClendon sent out Michael Saunders to pinch run for Hart. Justin Smoak entered the batter's box with a ton of pressure on his shoulders. Nobody out, bases loaded, and a chance to give his team the lead.
Smoak decided to not let the pressure get to him this time, with a full now on him Smoak lined one to left passed Michael Choice that made 31,145 fans go nuts as Cano and Saunders scored to put the Mariners up 4-3. After that the Mariners didn't look back as Kyle Seager drove in his 6th run in 2 games with an RBI single, the M's got one more run on a wild pitch that allowed Smoak to score and so the Mariners lead 6-3 going into the 9th.
Fernando Rodney was brought in to try and earn his fourth save of the season. With one out the Rangers got to Rodney. The Rangers loaded the bases after a fielder's choice, a single, and a hit batter so Rodney had some work to do. Rodney walked both Choice and Elvis Andrus to put the Rangers deficit to only one run, so here we went again. Rodney was saved though, as Smoak made the play of the night that literally saved the Mariners and Rodney as he dove for a line drive off Beltre. Smoak snagged it and touched first base for a game ending unassisted double play.
So, a nail biting night ends with the good guys winning it and officially starting a winning streak, which is at two games now. Though questions were made both before and after the game. For example Jason Churchill from 1090 "The Fan" AM questioned Lloyd McClendon's decision making as the manager of the team.
The Mariners decided since they walked things off two days ago, they would get back to their winning ways. Though at first they didn't seem to be in the winning mood, it just took them five innings to wake up their bats. Adrian Beltre got activated from the DL and Roenis Elias took to the mound looking for his 2nd win against the Rangers.
Robbie Ross, Jr., took to the mound for the Rangers and in the first two innings both pitchers look evenly matched. Elias ran into trouble in back-to-back innings, as the Rangers got a run in both the top of the third and fourth inning. I have to give Elias a great deal of credit, even though he had two tough innings the fourth inning was the toughest he had. Elias walked three in that inning and gave up an RBI double but with the bases loaded Elias went into Beast Mode. He struck out the next two batters he face to end the inning, so after four innings of work Elias was up to 73 pitches.
With the Rangers up 2-0 the Mariners got back both runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. With 2 outs Abraham Almonte and Willie Bloomquist were able to get on base, Robinson Cano drove in both runners with his first big hit at Safeco so the Mariners tied the game, but that tie wouldn't last long. Elias's night was done after allowing two more hits in the top of the sixth, so manager Lloyd McClendon brought in Dominic Leone to try and get out of the jam. Leone got out of the inning but threw a wild pitch that allowed Prince Fielder to score from third to put the Rangers back up 3-2.
Inning by inning went by until the game reached the bottom of the eighth inning, and most um "Mariner" fans were thinking "here we go again" and were already counting the Mariners out of this game. The Mariners though were still on their "comeback kid" hangover and wanted another one. Cano lead off the inning with his second hit of the ball game, following Corey Hart getting hit by a pitch Stefen Romero singled to load the bases up for the M's. After a mound visit by the Rangers, McClendon sent out Michael Saunders to pinch run for Hart. Justin Smoak entered the batter's box with a ton of pressure on his shoulders. Nobody out, bases loaded, and a chance to give his team the lead.
Smoak decided to not let the pressure get to him this time, with a full now on him Smoak lined one to left passed Michael Choice that made 31,145 fans go nuts as Cano and Saunders scored to put the Mariners up 4-3. After that the Mariners didn't look back as Kyle Seager drove in his 6th run in 2 games with an RBI single, the M's got one more run on a wild pitch that allowed Smoak to score and so the Mariners lead 6-3 going into the 9th.
Fernando Rodney was brought in to try and earn his fourth save of the season. With one out the Rangers got to Rodney. The Rangers loaded the bases after a fielder's choice, a single, and a hit batter so Rodney had some work to do. Rodney walked both Choice and Elvis Andrus to put the Rangers deficit to only one run, so here we went again. Rodney was saved though, as Smoak made the play of the night that literally saved the Mariners and Rodney as he dove for a line drive off Beltre. Smoak snagged it and touched first base for a game ending unassisted double play.
So, a nail biting night ends with the good guys winning it and officially starting a winning streak, which is at two games now. Though questions were made both before and after the game. For example Jason Churchill from 1090 "The Fan" AM questioned Lloyd McClendon's decision making as the manager of the team.
McClendon decided to put Cole Gillespie in the lineup against a left handed pitcher when he has had trouble against lefties in his career and Dustin Ackley has had great success against lefties. So, who would you rather start? Gillespie who hits better against righties or Ackley who hits better against lefties? I thought so. Also McClendon continues to favor Almonte for the lead off hitter role and all Almonte has done is strike out 32 times and posted a .215 batting average.....that's not lead off hitter material. Also tonight McClendon should think about who should be the closer for this team as Rodney had another rough save opportunity and has only had 1-2-3 appearance this season. In Rodney's 7.1 innings of work he has walked 6 batters.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Robinson Cano 2-4 R 2B 2 RBIs
Justin Smoak 1-3 R 2B 2 RBIs
Stefen Romero 2-4 R 2B
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Mariners tee off to sweep the Angels
The Mariners were unable to take batting practice today because of the weather, so they decided to take their batting practice during the game. The Mariners finished off their first sweep of the season of the Angels with an 8-2 win thanks to the strength of 3 home runs and a spectacular pitching performance by James Paxton. Justin Smoak added his second home run of the season late in the game and Corey Hart hit his first Mariner home run of the season right after Smoak. Stefen Romero added his first hit and RBI in the majors as he went 2-3 tonight. The Mariners also added 4 more 2-out RBIs giving them 18 for the season.
The game got off to a rough start for both starting pitchers. Hector Santiago made his Angels debut, but he began his night off by having difficulty locating his pitches as he walked Abraham Almonte and Robinson Cano. Although the Mariners would not score in the inning, Santiago managed to strike out Brad Miller and Smoak and got Hart to fly out to end the threat.
Paxton also had difficulty locating his pitches in the bottom of the first. Thankfully after giving up a lead off double to Kole Calhoun and walking Mike Trout, he got Albert Pujols to ground into a double play and then got David Freese to line out to Almonte to end the threat.
The Mariners would strike first in the top of the third inning. With two out Miller got things started with a hustling double, after that Cano singled up the middle and Miller hustled around to score to give Cano his first RBI as a Mariner. Things would be quiet for both teams for a couple innings. Paxton stole the show though. After a rough first inning he would strikeout 5 batters through the next 4 innings, and even though the home plate umpire had an inconsistent strike zone Paxton still found a way to strike guys out.
In the top of the fifth inning the Mariners would add another run to the box score. After Zunino lead off with a single and Willie Bloomquist walked Almonte grounded into a double play but Miller hit soft line drive to left which allowed Bloomquist to score. So the M's took a 2-0 lead after 5 innings.
The sixth inning was the big inning for the Mariners. After back-to-back singles by Smoak and Hart Angels manager Mike Scioscia came out to end Santiago's night. Fernando Salas was brought in to face Romero, who got his first MLB hit 2 innings ago, this time Romero decided to hit a laser down the left field line that scored Smoak and so the M's now had a 3-0 lead. After Ackley grounded out Zunino came up and blasted his first home run of the season and put the Mariners up 6-0.
Mariners would get two more runs in the top of the ninth inning with two outs. Smoak and Hart went back-to-back and the Mariners cushion on the Angels was now 8-0. Hector Noesi was brought in to finish the game for the M's, though his one inning of work wouldn't be easy as he gave up two runs but managed to get the last three outs to secure the Mariners first sweep of the season and their first sweep against the Angels since 2006.
The Mariners begin the season 3-0 for the first time since their "Refuse To Lose" 1995 season, they now will make the trip to Oakland for a four game match up against the defending AL West Champs.
Roenis Elias is set to make his major league debut in the series opener against the Athletics, he will face Jesse Chavez who is making his first start in the majors since June 24, 2012. The Mariners will look to continue their hot start in Oakland by continuing to drive in runs with two outs but the last time a Mariner pitcher made his MLB debut against the A's, Brandon Maurer got rocked for six runs so Elias will look to have a better outing than Maurer did.
Players of the Game: James Paxton 7 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 9 Ks
Mike Zunino 2-4 1 R HR 3 RBI
Justin Smoak 2-5 2 R HR 1 RBI
Corey Hart 2-5 2 R HR 1 RBI
NOTES: Mike Trout went 2-3 in last night's game whereas the rest of the Angels team went 1-26. Out of the 26 runs the Mariners scored in the 3 game series against the Angels 18 of them came with 2 outs. The Mariners also finished the series going 12-28 with runners in scoring position.
The game got off to a rough start for both starting pitchers. Hector Santiago made his Angels debut, but he began his night off by having difficulty locating his pitches as he walked Abraham Almonte and Robinson Cano. Although the Mariners would not score in the inning, Santiago managed to strike out Brad Miller and Smoak and got Hart to fly out to end the threat.
Paxton also had difficulty locating his pitches in the bottom of the first. Thankfully after giving up a lead off double to Kole Calhoun and walking Mike Trout, he got Albert Pujols to ground into a double play and then got David Freese to line out to Almonte to end the threat.
The Mariners would strike first in the top of the third inning. With two out Miller got things started with a hustling double, after that Cano singled up the middle and Miller hustled around to score to give Cano his first RBI as a Mariner. Things would be quiet for both teams for a couple innings. Paxton stole the show though. After a rough first inning he would strikeout 5 batters through the next 4 innings, and even though the home plate umpire had an inconsistent strike zone Paxton still found a way to strike guys out.
In the top of the fifth inning the Mariners would add another run to the box score. After Zunino lead off with a single and Willie Bloomquist walked Almonte grounded into a double play but Miller hit soft line drive to left which allowed Bloomquist to score. So the M's took a 2-0 lead after 5 innings.
The sixth inning was the big inning for the Mariners. After back-to-back singles by Smoak and Hart Angels manager Mike Scioscia came out to end Santiago's night. Fernando Salas was brought in to face Romero, who got his first MLB hit 2 innings ago, this time Romero decided to hit a laser down the left field line that scored Smoak and so the M's now had a 3-0 lead. After Ackley grounded out Zunino came up and blasted his first home run of the season and put the Mariners up 6-0.
Mariners would get two more runs in the top of the ninth inning with two outs. Smoak and Hart went back-to-back and the Mariners cushion on the Angels was now 8-0. Hector Noesi was brought in to finish the game for the M's, though his one inning of work wouldn't be easy as he gave up two runs but managed to get the last three outs to secure the Mariners first sweep of the season and their first sweep against the Angels since 2006.
The Mariners begin the season 3-0 for the first time since their "Refuse To Lose" 1995 season, they now will make the trip to Oakland for a four game match up against the defending AL West Champs.
Roenis Elias is set to make his major league debut in the series opener against the Athletics, he will face Jesse Chavez who is making his first start in the majors since June 24, 2012. The Mariners will look to continue their hot start in Oakland by continuing to drive in runs with two outs but the last time a Mariner pitcher made his MLB debut against the A's, Brandon Maurer got rocked for six runs so Elias will look to have a better outing than Maurer did.
Players of the Game: James Paxton 7 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 9 Ks
Mike Zunino 2-4 1 R HR 3 RBI
Justin Smoak 2-5 2 R HR 1 RBI
Corey Hart 2-5 2 R HR 1 RBI
NOTES: Mike Trout went 2-3 in last night's game whereas the rest of the Angels team went 1-26. Out of the 26 runs the Mariners scored in the 3 game series against the Angels 18 of them came with 2 outs. The Mariners also finished the series going 12-28 with runners in scoring position.
Smoakin hot Mariners off to 2-0 start
Last night during the 6 run ninth inning I was thinking to myself "OK Mariners save some runs and hits for tomorrow".......what I didn't know was that they already saved up some runs and hits for tonight. Justin Smoak and Brad Miller lead the way for the Mariners as they helped Erasmo Ramirez earn his first win both in the season and against the Angels. The Mariners red hot offense pushed 8 more runs tonight against C.J. Wilson and the Angels and moved to 2-0. Stefen Romero made his major league debut tonight along with Corey Hart and John Buck making their Mariners debut.
The Mariners got the scoring going in the top of the third. After Romero flew out to lead off the inning both Dustin Ackley and Buck singled, Abraham Almonte would then double home Ackley and so the Mariners drew first blood in this game. M's weren't done, with two outs Wilson intentionally walked Robinson Cano and Smoak decided to make him pay by drilling one into left center field that cleared the bases and so the M's hammered Wilson for four runs in the third.
In the bottom of the fourth the Angels got their two cents in, and by two cents I mean two runs thanks to Raul Ibanez's first home run of the season and so the M's lead was cut to just 2 runs.
That lead would be put to 3 runs thanks to "Crazy legs" Miller, as he hit his first round tripper of the season and his first home run off a left handed pitcher. Hart lead off the top half of the sixth inning with his first hit as a Mariner then two outs later Ackley provided another 2-out RBI for the Mariners by hitting his first extra base hit of the season with a double.
Ramirez provided the M's with another great pitching performance. Ramirez went 7 strong innings and struck out 6 Angel hitters. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in for Ramirez in the bottom of the eighth inning and this time Tommy Boy didn't have the success he had last night. Though the Bartender didn't seem to have control problems but the defense made a mistake that would allow a run to score, Lloyd McClendon then decided to bring in Joe Beimel for his Mariner debut. Beimel didn't even need to throw a pitch to get out of the inning as he picked off David Freese to end the inning.
Miller added two more runs in the top of the ninth inning. Ackley lead off the inning with a walk and 2-outs (yes again) Miller literally destroyed the first pitch he saw into the right field seat for his second homer of the game and his fourth multi home run game in his career. Fernando Rodney was then brought in for his Mariner debut in the ninth, man last night saw a lot of players making their Mariner debut. Getting back to the game, Rodney only allowed a lead off single to Ibanez after which he struck out Howie Kendrick and got Hank Croger to ground into a game ending double play.
So, last night saw a lot of first's. Four players made their Mariner debut, Romero made his MLB debut, and Rodney fired the first arrow of the season. All and all it was one great game to watch as the Mariners put their 1st place record to 2-0.
The M's will look to go 3-0 for the first time since 1995.......hmm wasn't that a good year? I cant remember anyways the M's will send James Paxton out for his season debut.
Players of the Game: Erasmo Ramirez 7 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 6 K
Justin Smoak 2-4 2B 3 RBIs
Brad Miller 2-5 2 HRs 3 RBIs 2 R
NOTES: The Mariners hot start is thank not just for 18 runs but for how those runs have been scored. The M's in two game are 8-29 with runners in scoring position and 14 of those runs have come with 2 outs. Brad Miller's 2 home run game was his 4th in his career.
The Mariners got the scoring going in the top of the third. After Romero flew out to lead off the inning both Dustin Ackley and Buck singled, Abraham Almonte would then double home Ackley and so the Mariners drew first blood in this game. M's weren't done, with two outs Wilson intentionally walked Robinson Cano and Smoak decided to make him pay by drilling one into left center field that cleared the bases and so the M's hammered Wilson for four runs in the third.
In the bottom of the fourth the Angels got their two cents in, and by two cents I mean two runs thanks to Raul Ibanez's first home run of the season and so the M's lead was cut to just 2 runs.
That lead would be put to 3 runs thanks to "Crazy legs" Miller, as he hit his first round tripper of the season and his first home run off a left handed pitcher. Hart lead off the top half of the sixth inning with his first hit as a Mariner then two outs later Ackley provided another 2-out RBI for the Mariners by hitting his first extra base hit of the season with a double.
Ramirez provided the M's with another great pitching performance. Ramirez went 7 strong innings and struck out 6 Angel hitters. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in for Ramirez in the bottom of the eighth inning and this time Tommy Boy didn't have the success he had last night. Though the Bartender didn't seem to have control problems but the defense made a mistake that would allow a run to score, Lloyd McClendon then decided to bring in Joe Beimel for his Mariner debut. Beimel didn't even need to throw a pitch to get out of the inning as he picked off David Freese to end the inning.
Miller added two more runs in the top of the ninth inning. Ackley lead off the inning with a walk and 2-outs (yes again) Miller literally destroyed the first pitch he saw into the right field seat for his second homer of the game and his fourth multi home run game in his career. Fernando Rodney was then brought in for his Mariner debut in the ninth, man last night saw a lot of players making their Mariner debut. Getting back to the game, Rodney only allowed a lead off single to Ibanez after which he struck out Howie Kendrick and got Hank Croger to ground into a game ending double play.
So, last night saw a lot of first's. Four players made their Mariner debut, Romero made his MLB debut, and Rodney fired the first arrow of the season. All and all it was one great game to watch as the Mariners put their 1st place record to 2-0.
The M's will look to go 3-0 for the first time since 1995.......hmm wasn't that a good year? I cant remember anyways the M's will send James Paxton out for his season debut.
Players of the Game: Erasmo Ramirez 7 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 6 K
Justin Smoak 2-4 2B 3 RBIs
Brad Miller 2-5 2 HRs 3 RBIs 2 R
NOTES: The Mariners hot start is thank not just for 18 runs but for how those runs have been scored. The M's in two game are 8-29 with runners in scoring position and 14 of those runs have come with 2 outs. Brad Miller's 2 home run game was his 4th in his career.
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About Me
Im a huge Seattle sports nut. Thats basically about me. But im an upcoming blogger who writes only about the Mariners, Seahawks, Sounders, and when they come back the Sonics. Now if you would like me to write about something tweet me and i will write it. Now i should mark that im also Irish and have a beard that is feared above Brian Wilson's beard. His beard can kiss my beard's ass!