July has seen the Seattle Mariners surge onto the spotlight......well sorta. The Mariners have started July out with a 5-3 record and in those eight games we've seen our fair share of homeruns, clutch hits, great plays, clutch pitching, and plenty of hits. In the last two games that the Mariners have played they have scored 19 runs including the 11 run massacre of the Red Sox on Monday. Right now they sit at 40-50 while being 13.5 games out of first place in the American League West standings and only 10.5 games out of the American League Wild Card.
The way the Mariners have been playing this month we have also seen Justin Smoak and Michael Saunders get their swing back and Raul Ibanez continues his amazing season as he leads the team in homeruns and tied with Kendrys Morales for the team leader in RBIs with 51. Kyle Seager has been incredible (as always) in the last 10 games has he has posted a .410 batting average including his current 9 game hitting streak and he leads the team in batting average batting .288. Brad Miller last night had a career night as he went 3-5 with two doubles and a career high 4 RBIs and he also raised his batting average 75 points in the last two games.
Nick Franklin continues his amazing season as well, he is second on the team in batting average batting .281 and he's clubbed 6 homeruns while driving in 16 runs. Like I said in the first paragraph Smoak's bat has come alive, in the last 10 games he's batting .382 with 2 homeruns and 5 runs driven in, in the 10 games that Smoak has been heating up since he has come off the DL he's raised his average to an impressive .266 and currently this month he's hitting and unbelievable .423. Saunders's bat like I said in the paragraph above this one has also been heating up as over the last 4 games he has played he has gone 5 for 15 while driving in 6 runs and 3 of those 5 hits have been extra base hits including the triple he hit last night.
Now, the Mariners have a big problem though currently and surprisingly its Hisashi Iwakuma. In Iwakuma's last 5 starts has gone 0-3 with a 6.83 ERA while giving up 10 homeruns and 22 runs all earned. Felix Hernandez is doing very well coming off his bad start in Anaheim as he has gone 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in his last 3 starts while striking out 24 in 21 innings. Hisashi needs to get his stuff together and pitch like the Cy Young contender he was when he was 7-1 with a 1.79 ERA. Another concern for the Mariners is their bullpen, now not all of our relievers have been terrible for example Oliver Perez is making a name for himself as he has pitched in 36 games, 33.1 innings, while striking out 46 and posting a 1.89 ERA.
Carter Capps has been struggling in his last 6 games that he has pitched. He has given up 14 runs and his ERA has risen from 3.54 to 6.62 while posting a 15.12 ERA in his last 10 games pitched. The Mariners need to make a decision to either send Capps down to Triple A for a bit and call up either Logan Bawcom or Hector Noesi. Now, all I've written about so far in this blog is the good and the bad about the team but as you can tell from the title of the blog that's not all I'm going to write about, the Mariners right now are having a good season.
They've been hot in hitting the baseball in the last two weeks and if they can get together a good winning streak and come out in the second half red smoking hot they Mariners could possibly make a run for the Wild Card. The bullpen has to improve and not give up runs in clutch situations like last night when they gave up 5 critical runs to the Red Sox. Both Felix and Hisashi need to improve and go deep in games and work on keeping their pitch count down early in the games, Joe Saunders needs to continue his hot pitching as he is 2-0 in his last 2 starts, Aaron Harang needs to keep his hot streak going as well, and finally with Erasmo Ramirez coming up this Thursday he must go deep into ball games and pitch like he did in Spring Training.
If the Mariners can do all these things then fans will see either the M's finishing the season above .500 or see the M's make an impressive run to the playoffs.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
A slugfest in Seattle
After last night's massacre the Mariners were looking to give their second All Star ace Hisashi Iwakuma his first win since June 10th when he beat the Houston Astros. Iwakuma got an easy 1-2-3 inning to start off the game, moving into the bottom of the first inning Nick Franklin was able to extend his hitting streak to three games with a one out single to center. With two outs Kendrys Morales extended the Mariners streak of hitting a homerun in consecutive games to 17 with a two-run homerun to put the M's up 2-0. Former Mariner David Ortiz lead off the top of the second inning with a long homerun to put the Red Sox first run on the board. Iwakuma had a tough second inning after the lead off homerun by Ortiz as Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jose Iglesias singled with one out, Iwakuma was able to get out of the jam by Brock Holt to ground out and then striking out Jackie Bradley, Jr., Iwakuma ended up throwing 29 pitches in the second inning to put his pitch count to 40 after the inning ended.
Justin Smoak continued his hotstreak by leading off the bottom of the second with a single to center extending his hitting streak to three games, following that Michael Saunders drew a walk to put the first two batters on for the Mariners. After Mike Zunino struck out Dustin Ackley was able to draw the second walk in the inning to load up the bases with only one out, Brad Miller then came up and on the second pitch he saw lined a ball down the right field line to empty the bases, Miller's bases clearing double pushed the Mariners lead to 5-1 and that was all the M's got in the second. Iwakuma had another tough inning in the third but this time it would cost him dearly. With one out the Red Sox put together four straight hits with two two-run homeruns from Dustin Pedroia and Mike Napoli, the Sox got an extra run on a sacrifice fly by Holt that scored Saltalamacchia and after the third the Red Sox had a one run lead 6-5.
Morales only needed one pitch to tie the game back up at 6-6 as he drove his thirteenth homerun of the year and second of the game over the center field fence. Kyle Seager extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single to right field, Michael Saunders continued to have a hot bat as he drove one to deep center field to score Seager from first and Saunders slide into third safely for his second triple of the year and the Mariners took the 7-6 lead. Blake Beaven came into the fourth inning to relief Iwakuma and didn't start out very hot, on an 0-2 pitch he hit Daniel Nava and then walked Shane Victorino and after that Pedroia singled to right that allowed Nava to score and the Red Sox retied the game at 7-7. Beaven was able to get out of the inning without allowing another run by getting Ortiz to pop out and then striking out both Napoli and Saltalamacchia. The Red Sox were able to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning when Bradley drove one out into the right center field seats.
The Mariners wouldn't get another run until the bottom of the eighth inning but in the top of the eighth the Red Sox got an additional three runs. Victorino lead off the eighth by hitting his fourth homerun of the year and the fifth for the team then both Iglesias and Holt had RBI singles to put the Red Sox lead to 11-7. Miller drove in the Mariners final run of the game when he grounded into a force out as Saunders scored. After that the game was sealed after that as the Mariners couldn't muster up a rally to tie or win the game, Beaven took the loss in the game and Iwakuma had his shortest outing in his career. Aaron Harang will go out looking for his fifth win of the year and his fourth quality start in a row. Tonight's loss puts the Mariners back to 10 games under .500. Ibanez's 13 game hitting streak came to an end last night as he went 0-5.
Justin Smoak continued his hotstreak by leading off the bottom of the second with a single to center extending his hitting streak to three games, following that Michael Saunders drew a walk to put the first two batters on for the Mariners. After Mike Zunino struck out Dustin Ackley was able to draw the second walk in the inning to load up the bases with only one out, Brad Miller then came up and on the second pitch he saw lined a ball down the right field line to empty the bases, Miller's bases clearing double pushed the Mariners lead to 5-1 and that was all the M's got in the second. Iwakuma had another tough inning in the third but this time it would cost him dearly. With one out the Red Sox put together four straight hits with two two-run homeruns from Dustin Pedroia and Mike Napoli, the Sox got an extra run on a sacrifice fly by Holt that scored Saltalamacchia and after the third the Red Sox had a one run lead 6-5.
Morales only needed one pitch to tie the game back up at 6-6 as he drove his thirteenth homerun of the year and second of the game over the center field fence. Kyle Seager extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single to right field, Michael Saunders continued to have a hot bat as he drove one to deep center field to score Seager from first and Saunders slide into third safely for his second triple of the year and the Mariners took the 7-6 lead. Blake Beaven came into the fourth inning to relief Iwakuma and didn't start out very hot, on an 0-2 pitch he hit Daniel Nava and then walked Shane Victorino and after that Pedroia singled to right that allowed Nava to score and the Red Sox retied the game at 7-7. Beaven was able to get out of the inning without allowing another run by getting Ortiz to pop out and then striking out both Napoli and Saltalamacchia. The Red Sox were able to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning when Bradley drove one out into the right center field seats.
The Mariners wouldn't get another run until the bottom of the eighth inning but in the top of the eighth the Red Sox got an additional three runs. Victorino lead off the eighth by hitting his fourth homerun of the year and the fifth for the team then both Iglesias and Holt had RBI singles to put the Red Sox lead to 11-7. Miller drove in the Mariners final run of the game when he grounded into a force out as Saunders scored. After that the game was sealed after that as the Mariners couldn't muster up a rally to tie or win the game, Beaven took the loss in the game and Iwakuma had his shortest outing in his career. Aaron Harang will go out looking for his fifth win of the year and his fourth quality start in a row. Tonight's loss puts the Mariners back to 10 games under .500. Ibanez's 13 game hitting streak came to an end last night as he went 0-5.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Boston Massacre in Seattle
The Mariners came into tonight's game with their King on the mound. Felix went out looking for his first win in four starts. Felix did not struggle in the first inning as he only gave up the one out single to Jonny Gomes and following Gomes's single got Dustin Pedroia to ground into an inning ending double play. The Bellarmine Prep grad and Washington native John Lester took the mound for the Red Sox looking to get his ninth win of the year, he got the Mariners to go 1-2-3 while striking out two batters. David Ortiz lead off the top of the second inning for the Red Sox by singling to center, Felix got Mike Napoli to strikeout looking following him former Mariners outfielder and first basemen Mike Carp singled to put runners at first and second for the Red Sox. Felix didn't let the pressure get to him as usual, he got Jarod Saltalamacchia to line out to Raul in left and finished the inning by getting Jose Iglesias to strikeout swinging.
Both teams didn't score until the fourth inning. The Mariners began the bottom of the fourth inning on a great note, Kendrys Morales singled and following him Kyle Seager singled to right, on the single Morales was able to hustle into third and the M's had runners at the corners with nobody out. Lester was able to get Jason Bay to strikeout but after that it was all Mariners; Justin Smoak lined a double down the left field line that brought home the Mariners first run of the game and following Smoak's double Mike Zunino was able to draw a seven pitch walk.
After a quick visit to the mound by the Red Sox pitching coach Michael Saunders was able to be patient and draw the bases loaded walk that put the Mariners up 2-0, Lester finally was able to get out of the inning by getting Brad Miller and Nick Franklin to pop out and if anyone was happy to get out of the was Lester as he threw 39 pitches in the inning. The Red Sox bounced back in the top of the fifth inning by getting two runs back to tie the game up.
Raul Ibanez lead off the bottom of the fifth inning by extending his hitting streak to 13 games by hitting his 22nd homerun of the year and putting the Mariners up 3-2. The Mariners had another big inning in the bottom of the sixth inning as Smoak and Zunino lead off the inning by singling, after that Lester exited the game and Alex Wilson came into relief him. Saunders was able to take a 2-0 pitch deep to center field that scored both Smoak and Zunino to put the Mariners lead to 5-2. After Miller and Franklin were unable to add to the lead Ibanez decided that he should be the one to do so, he singled up the middle driving in Saunders for his 51st RBI of the season. The Mariners weren't done there, the bottom of the seventh inning saw four more runs come across for the M's.
Seager lead off the inning by walking, Smoak then drove in his second run of the game with his second double of the game as well. Saunders was able to get his second double of the game as well driving in Smoak on the play and the Mariners now took a 8-2 lead. Brad Miller got his first hit of the game as well and drove in the ninth run of the game and following that Franklin checked in with his first hit of the game and drove in Miller and after the bottom of the seventh inning the Mariners had a 10-2 lead.
Oliver Perez was brought in the top of the eighth to relief Felix and ended up giving up two additional runs. Going in the bottom of the eighth inning the Mariners weren't looking to score anymore runs but after Morales lead off by getting hit by a pitch, Seager walking and Smoak walking as well Zunino grounded out on a check swing that allowed Morales to score and the Mariners had an 11-4 lead after the eighth. Yoervis Medina came into the ninth inning and shut the door to secure the Mariners their 40th win of the year and Felix's first win since June 15th.
Both teams didn't score until the fourth inning. The Mariners began the bottom of the fourth inning on a great note, Kendrys Morales singled and following him Kyle Seager singled to right, on the single Morales was able to hustle into third and the M's had runners at the corners with nobody out. Lester was able to get Jason Bay to strikeout but after that it was all Mariners; Justin Smoak lined a double down the left field line that brought home the Mariners first run of the game and following Smoak's double Mike Zunino was able to draw a seven pitch walk.
After a quick visit to the mound by the Red Sox pitching coach Michael Saunders was able to be patient and draw the bases loaded walk that put the Mariners up 2-0, Lester finally was able to get out of the inning by getting Brad Miller and Nick Franklin to pop out and if anyone was happy to get out of the was Lester as he threw 39 pitches in the inning. The Red Sox bounced back in the top of the fifth inning by getting two runs back to tie the game up.
Raul Ibanez lead off the bottom of the fifth inning by extending his hitting streak to 13 games by hitting his 22nd homerun of the year and putting the Mariners up 3-2. The Mariners had another big inning in the bottom of the sixth inning as Smoak and Zunino lead off the inning by singling, after that Lester exited the game and Alex Wilson came into relief him. Saunders was able to take a 2-0 pitch deep to center field that scored both Smoak and Zunino to put the Mariners lead to 5-2. After Miller and Franklin were unable to add to the lead Ibanez decided that he should be the one to do so, he singled up the middle driving in Saunders for his 51st RBI of the season. The Mariners weren't done there, the bottom of the seventh inning saw four more runs come across for the M's.
Seager lead off the inning by walking, Smoak then drove in his second run of the game with his second double of the game as well. Saunders was able to get his second double of the game as well driving in Smoak on the play and the Mariners now took a 8-2 lead. Brad Miller got his first hit of the game as well and drove in the ninth run of the game and following that Franklin checked in with his first hit of the game and drove in Miller and after the bottom of the seventh inning the Mariners had a 10-2 lead.
Oliver Perez was brought in the top of the eighth to relief Felix and ended up giving up two additional runs. Going in the bottom of the eighth inning the Mariners weren't looking to score anymore runs but after Morales lead off by getting hit by a pitch, Seager walking and Smoak walking as well Zunino grounded out on a check swing that allowed Morales to score and the Mariners had an 11-4 lead after the eighth. Yoervis Medina came into the ninth inning and shut the door to secure the Mariners their 40th win of the year and Felix's first win since June 15th.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
An All Star weekend
Well, just got back from Alaska and during my time in Alaska I managed to watch the Mariners games and keep up with writing my blogs. I guess that ill go over the last three days since I was too stupid not to write on Friday or Saturday. The Mariners were able to take the series from the Cincinnati Reds and go back to Seattle with a successful road trip going 4-2. On Friday the Mariners lead off the top of the first with Brad Miller tripling to start things off for the team, following that Nick Franklin took Reds pitcher Mike Leake deep to give the Mariners the early 2-0 lead. After Aaron Harang went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first inning Michael Saunders lead off the top of the second inning by hitting his fifth homerun of the year putting the Mariners lead to 3-0.
It was Saunders's first homerun since May 4th when he hit two homeruns. Saunders drove in his second run of the game by scoring Kyle Seager on a sacrifice fly to give the Mariners the 4-0 lead. In the top of the fifth inning Miller tripled for the second time in the game but the M's couldn't drive him in. The Reds scored their first run of the game when former Mariners player Shin-Soo Choo doubled to score Devin Mesoraco, then in the bottom of the sixth inning All Star Jay Bruce drove his fifteenth homerun of the year over the center field fence and the Reds now trailed 4-2. Oliver Perez came into the ninth inning to close the game and get the Mariners their 38th win of the year, with only throwing 11 pitches Perez struck out the side and the Mariners took game one of the three game series.
Game two was completely different and was not pretty to watch. For the second game in a row the Mariners got their first run of the game via the homerun thanks to Seager hitting his thirteenth homerun of the year and the M's took the 1-0 after the top of the first inning. Seager broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the third by scoring Miller on a sacrifice fly and the M's took the 2-1 lead. After that it was all Reds as they pounded the Mariners pitching staff for 13 runs. Matt Latos struck out 11 batters and the rest of the bullpen struck out an additional 3 batters. So now we move onto today, the Mariners lead off their third game in a row with a homerun as Franklin hit his sixth homerun of the year. Raul Ibanez also extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
The Mariners got two additional runs in the top of the third as Justin Smoak hit his seventh homerun of the year and drove in Seager as well, so thanks to the Smoak Bomb the Mariners took the 3-0 lead. Tom Wilhelmsen came in the bottom of the ninth and closed the game while only throwing 7 pitches and the Mariners took the series from the Reds and come home to face the Boston Red Sox for a four game series and will also face the Los Angeles Angels for the final three games of the first half.
NOTES: Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma both were named to the American League All Star Team on Saturday.
It was Saunders's first homerun since May 4th when he hit two homeruns. Saunders drove in his second run of the game by scoring Kyle Seager on a sacrifice fly to give the Mariners the 4-0 lead. In the top of the fifth inning Miller tripled for the second time in the game but the M's couldn't drive him in. The Reds scored their first run of the game when former Mariners player Shin-Soo Choo doubled to score Devin Mesoraco, then in the bottom of the sixth inning All Star Jay Bruce drove his fifteenth homerun of the year over the center field fence and the Reds now trailed 4-2. Oliver Perez came into the ninth inning to close the game and get the Mariners their 38th win of the year, with only throwing 11 pitches Perez struck out the side and the Mariners took game one of the three game series.
Game two was completely different and was not pretty to watch. For the second game in a row the Mariners got their first run of the game via the homerun thanks to Seager hitting his thirteenth homerun of the year and the M's took the 1-0 after the top of the first inning. Seager broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the third by scoring Miller on a sacrifice fly and the M's took the 2-1 lead. After that it was all Reds as they pounded the Mariners pitching staff for 13 runs. Matt Latos struck out 11 batters and the rest of the bullpen struck out an additional 3 batters. So now we move onto today, the Mariners lead off their third game in a row with a homerun as Franklin hit his sixth homerun of the year. Raul Ibanez also extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
The Mariners got two additional runs in the top of the third as Justin Smoak hit his seventh homerun of the year and drove in Seager as well, so thanks to the Smoak Bomb the Mariners took the 3-0 lead. Tom Wilhelmsen came in the bottom of the ninth and closed the game while only throwing 7 pitches and the Mariners took the series from the Reds and come home to face the Boston Red Sox for a four game series and will also face the Los Angeles Angels for the final three games of the first half.
NOTES: Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma both were named to the American League All Star Team on Saturday.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Simply Seager sweet swing wins it in extras
Felix Hernandez took to the mound in yesterday's game against the Rangers looking for his first win in three decisions as he went up against Derek Holland. The Mariners wasted no time in putting up the first run of the ball game, as Jason Bay launched his eleventh solo homerun of the season to put the M's up 1-0. Holland finished off the top of the first by striking out both Nick Franklin and Raul Ibanez and by getting Kendrys Morales to ground out. Felix didn't wasted anytime as well as he struck out the first two batters he faced and got Adrian Beltre to fly out. After that both teams were really quiet through the next three and a half innings. The Mariners lead off the top of the second inning with a pair of singles by Kyle Seager and Justin Smoak but Holland worked out of the jam by getting Dustin Ackley to fly out, striking out Mike Zunino, and finally getting Brad Miller to fly out to end the top of the second inning.
A.J. Pierzynski lead off the Rangers half of the second inning by singling to left field, Felix then got Lance Berkman to line out to Bay for the first out of the inning following that he struck out Mitch Moreland for the second out of the inning. David Murphy was able to get a two out single that allowed Pierzynski to move to third but Leonys Martin grounded out to end the bottom of the second inning for the Rangers. Both Holland and Felix had an easy 1-2-3 third innings. In the fourth inning the Mariners were able to get two runners one in both Seager and Ackley, but were unable again to get the job done with runners in scoring position as Zunino struck out to end the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth inning though the Rangers struck for their first runs of the game, Murphy lead off the inning by hitting his ninth homerun of the year, after Martin flew out Ian Kinsler took Hernandez deep for his eighth homerun of the year and the Rangers now took the lead 2-1 over the Mariners.
Ibanez lead off the top of the sixth inning by singling to left field, following Ibanez's single Morales singled to right field and the Mariners had their first two batters on to start off the inning. With one out Smoak drew a seven pitch walk that loaded up the bases for the Mariners but Ackley struck out to bring up Zunino. Zunino was looking to either tie the game up or give the M's the lead, Zunino did just that as he legged out an infield single to tie the game up at 2-2. Felix would keep the Mariners in the game by giving the team two more strong innings and would leave the game after the seventh inning.
Both teams wouldn't have a single threat as the game went into the tenth inning. Michael Saunders drew a two out walk that brought up Seager, and on a 1-1 pitch Seager drove the ball into the right field seats for his twelfth homerun of the year and gave the Mariners the 4-2 lead. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in to try and get his first save since the tenth of June. The Bartender did the job and got his seventeenth save of the year with a quick 1-2-3 inning.
Today the Mariners will try and go for their first sweep of the year as Hisashi Iwakuma goes to the mound for the M's.
A.J. Pierzynski lead off the Rangers half of the second inning by singling to left field, Felix then got Lance Berkman to line out to Bay for the first out of the inning following that he struck out Mitch Moreland for the second out of the inning. David Murphy was able to get a two out single that allowed Pierzynski to move to third but Leonys Martin grounded out to end the bottom of the second inning for the Rangers. Both Holland and Felix had an easy 1-2-3 third innings. In the fourth inning the Mariners were able to get two runners one in both Seager and Ackley, but were unable again to get the job done with runners in scoring position as Zunino struck out to end the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth inning though the Rangers struck for their first runs of the game, Murphy lead off the inning by hitting his ninth homerun of the year, after Martin flew out Ian Kinsler took Hernandez deep for his eighth homerun of the year and the Rangers now took the lead 2-1 over the Mariners.
Ibanez lead off the top of the sixth inning by singling to left field, following Ibanez's single Morales singled to right field and the Mariners had their first two batters on to start off the inning. With one out Smoak drew a seven pitch walk that loaded up the bases for the Mariners but Ackley struck out to bring up Zunino. Zunino was looking to either tie the game up or give the M's the lead, Zunino did just that as he legged out an infield single to tie the game up at 2-2. Felix would keep the Mariners in the game by giving the team two more strong innings and would leave the game after the seventh inning.
Both teams wouldn't have a single threat as the game went into the tenth inning. Michael Saunders drew a two out walk that brought up Seager, and on a 1-1 pitch Seager drove the ball into the right field seats for his twelfth homerun of the year and gave the Mariners the 4-2 lead. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in to try and get his first save since the tenth of June. The Bartender did the job and got his seventeenth save of the year with a quick 1-2-3 inning.
Today the Mariners will try and go for their first sweep of the year as Hisashi Iwakuma goes to the mound for the M's.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Mariners turn up the heat in Texas
The Mariners came into Texas on a day of rest looking to start off a stretch of 13 games until the All Star break right. The Mariners started the game off with both Endy Chavez and Nick Franklin grounding out. Raul Ibanez took Justin Grimm deep for his 20th homerun of the season, following that Kendrys Morales went deep for the Mariners as well for his 10th homerun of the year took give the Mariners the early 2-0 lead. After the Mariners half inning Joe Saunders took to the mound and had an easy 1-2-3 inning, Grimm had a 10 pitch 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second inning. In the bottom of the second inning Adrian Beltre by singling into center field, Saunders was able to strikeout A.J. Pierzynski and Jurickson Profar and then finally Saunders got David Murphy to ground out to end the inning.
The Rangers got their first run in the bottom of the third inning as the Rangers started things off by singling three times in a row and on the third single Elvis Andrus drove in Leonys Martin. Saunders was able to get out of the third by getting three huge outs in striking out Nelson Cruz, getting Beltre to ground into a force out and then finally getting Pierzynski to ground out to end the inning.
The Mariners began the top of the fourth inning off right as Kyle Seager doubled for the 23rd time this year, following Justin Smoak's four pitch walk Dustin Ackley doubled down the right field line that allowed Seager to score and put the Mariners lead to 3-1. In the top of the fifth inning Franklin began things off by singling and then Ibanez drew a walk that brought up Morales. Morales only looked at one pitch and drove that one pitch into the right field seats for a 3-run homerun and the Mariners took the 6-1 lead, that with that homerun Grimm was taken out and replaced by Ross Wolf.
The top of the sixth saw the Mariners score an extra run with two outs. Endy Chavez and Nick Franklin both singled with two outs and Raul Ibanez walked to load up the bases to bring up Morales, he then singled softly to drive in both Chavez and Franklin for his sixth RBI of the game, but on that single Ibanez had a base running error and was thrown out to end the top of the sixth inning. So, the Mariners took the 8-1 lead.
In the top of the seventh inning Zunino drove in the Mariners ninth run after Seager started the inning by getting hit by a pitch and was moved over with two ground balls. Saunders was able to start off the bottom of the seventh inning by striking out Leonys Martin and got Ian Kinsler to ground out, but after that Elvis Andrus and Nelson Cruz singled which made Eric Wedge make the pitching change. Yoervis Medina would come in and try and get out of a jam that Saunders but on a passed ball that Zunino couldn't handle allowed Andrus to score from third, but Medina got Pierzynski to ground out to end the inning. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in the ninth inning to get some work in, he was able to have a 1-2-3 inning. With this win the Mariners move to 36-47 and began the 13 game stretch off right.
The Rangers got their first run in the bottom of the third inning as the Rangers started things off by singling three times in a row and on the third single Elvis Andrus drove in Leonys Martin. Saunders was able to get out of the third by getting three huge outs in striking out Nelson Cruz, getting Beltre to ground into a force out and then finally getting Pierzynski to ground out to end the inning.
The Mariners began the top of the fourth inning off right as Kyle Seager doubled for the 23rd time this year, following Justin Smoak's four pitch walk Dustin Ackley doubled down the right field line that allowed Seager to score and put the Mariners lead to 3-1. In the top of the fifth inning Franklin began things off by singling and then Ibanez drew a walk that brought up Morales. Morales only looked at one pitch and drove that one pitch into the right field seats for a 3-run homerun and the Mariners took the 6-1 lead, that with that homerun Grimm was taken out and replaced by Ross Wolf.
The top of the sixth saw the Mariners score an extra run with two outs. Endy Chavez and Nick Franklin both singled with two outs and Raul Ibanez walked to load up the bases to bring up Morales, he then singled softly to drive in both Chavez and Franklin for his sixth RBI of the game, but on that single Ibanez had a base running error and was thrown out to end the top of the sixth inning. So, the Mariners took the 8-1 lead.
In the top of the seventh inning Zunino drove in the Mariners ninth run after Seager started the inning by getting hit by a pitch and was moved over with two ground balls. Saunders was able to start off the bottom of the seventh inning by striking out Leonys Martin and got Ian Kinsler to ground out, but after that Elvis Andrus and Nelson Cruz singled which made Eric Wedge make the pitching change. Yoervis Medina would come in and try and get out of a jam that Saunders but on a passed ball that Zunino couldn't handle allowed Andrus to score from third, but Medina got Pierzynski to ground out to end the inning. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in the ninth inning to get some work in, he was able to have a 1-2-3 inning. With this win the Mariners move to 36-47 and began the 13 game stretch off right.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Why have a Big 3?
Well, its my third day in Alaska and I turned to ESPN Radio and I had to endure listening to how Dwight Howard wants out of Los Angeles. It makes me laugh because ever since Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh got together to make up the Big 3 in Miami all NBA teams have been trying to get their own Big 3. Why bother? I mean it makes me laugh even harder that Los Angeles crashed and burned horribly with getting Howard, Steve Nash and Kobe for their Big 3. Their season began with them going 0-8 preseason and then started the regular season 1-4, following that head coach Mike Brown was fired after only 5 games and Mike D'Antoni replaced him as the full time head coach. Even though the Lakers made the playoffs the Big 3 didn't produce as well as LA fans hoped for. Nash, Howard, and Bryant all went down with injuries including Bryant's season ending Achilles tendon rupture.
Now, this list I'm posting is my Top 5 Big 3 in the NBA
5) Boston Celtics- Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo
4) Indiana Pacers- Roy Hibbert, Paul George, and George Hill
3) Los Angeles Clippers- Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan
2) New York Knicks- Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, and J.R. Smith
1) Miami Heat- Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh
Now, this list doesn't have the Lakers on it. Why? Because right now Howard isn't on the Lakers and might now be on the Lakers this upcoming season. Also the Lakers Big 3 didn't play as well as I thought they would and I would rank them at #6. Now to tell you the truth I really don't think its a good idea that teams go out and get their own Big 3. I say that because if you pay three guys $20+ million dollars a year its going to eat up a lot of the salary cap and that prevents you from signing other good players. Now, the Miami Heat this year are an example of making the most of the remaining salary cap as they signed Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, and signed Chris "Birdman" Anderson and won their second consecutive NBA Championship.
Now I can name a few teams that didn't have just a Big 3 but a whole team around one or two big stars. The Chicago Bulls won 6 championships with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, B.J. Armstrong, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc, Luc Longley, Bill Cartwright, Will Perdue, Horace Grant, John Paxson, Craig Hodges, and Cliff Levingston. The 1995-96 Seattle Supersonics had Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Nate McMillan, Detlef Schrempf, and Hershey Hawkins. There are plenty of other teams that didn't need a Big 3 to make the Finals or win championships. The point is that teams need to focus more on getting the better players and more on signing as many good players they can get for cheap change.
Now, this list I'm posting is my Top 5 Big 3 in the NBA
5) Boston Celtics- Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo
4) Indiana Pacers- Roy Hibbert, Paul George, and George Hill
3) Los Angeles Clippers- Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan
2) New York Knicks- Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, and J.R. Smith
1) Miami Heat- Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh
Now, this list doesn't have the Lakers on it. Why? Because right now Howard isn't on the Lakers and might now be on the Lakers this upcoming season. Also the Lakers Big 3 didn't play as well as I thought they would and I would rank them at #6. Now to tell you the truth I really don't think its a good idea that teams go out and get their own Big 3. I say that because if you pay three guys $20+ million dollars a year its going to eat up a lot of the salary cap and that prevents you from signing other good players. Now, the Miami Heat this year are an example of making the most of the remaining salary cap as they signed Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, and signed Chris "Birdman" Anderson and won their second consecutive NBA Championship.
Now I can name a few teams that didn't have just a Big 3 but a whole team around one or two big stars. The Chicago Bulls won 6 championships with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, B.J. Armstrong, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc, Luc Longley, Bill Cartwright, Will Perdue, Horace Grant, John Paxson, Craig Hodges, and Cliff Levingston. The 1995-96 Seattle Supersonics had Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Nate McMillan, Detlef Schrempf, and Hershey Hawkins. There are plenty of other teams that didn't need a Big 3 to make the Finals or win championships. The point is that teams need to focus more on getting the better players and more on signing as many good players they can get for cheap change.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
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!