Monday, April 21, 2014
SeaTalk Intenitonal Podcast Mariners Talk Episode 3
http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-129537/TS-852261.mp3
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
Offense carries Elias to first victory
You figure going to Texas would mean 65-70 degree weather and very humid.......that wasn't the case on Monday in Texas. The Mariners and Rangers squared off for game one of a four game series, at the start of the game the temperature was recorded at 52 degrees and Logan Morrison was scratched from the lineup due to a tight hamstring so Michael Saunders got the start in right field. Roenis Elias took to the mound seeking his first major league win. The Mariners offense decided to end a 21 scoreless inning streak and give Elias seven runs which helped him earn his first win of both the season and in his career.
Things started out slowly for both teams with both pitchers having to throw a lot of pitches. The Mariners were able to get the Rangers starter Colby Lewis to throw 28 pitches in the top of the second inning. Kyle Seager had himself a game, his first at bat was the most impressive. With two strikes Seager was able to foul off five pitches and work the count to full and finally on the tenth pitch of the at bat he singled up the middle for the M's first hit of the game. Justin Smoak singled to right following Seager's single but Dustin Ackley popped out to the end the threat for the Mariners.
The Mariners struck first blood in the top of the fifth inning when Mike Zunino destroyed and 0-1 pitch from Lewis that traveled 422 ft. Next inning though the Mariners offense really came together. Robinson Cano lead off the top of the sixth inning with a single and with one out Saunders tripled home Cano to put the Mariners up 2-0. Seager followed up Saunders's triple with an RBI single up the middle. Smoak was able to get on thanks to Kevin Kouzmanoff bobbling a ground ball and thanks to Seager hustling beat the throw to second, Ackley continued his hot start by driving in Seager with a single to left and on a fielding error by Alex Rios Smoak was able to mosey on over to third.
Zunino kept the scoring going for the Mariners as he singled to left to drive in Smoak to put the M's up 4-0. Abraham Almonte loaded up the bases with an infield hit and on the next play Brad Miller hit a chopper to Lewis and on the throw home it looked like there would be a force out at the plate but Lloyd McClendon challenged the play. On the replay it was revealed that J.P. Arencibia bobbled the exchanged and so the play was ruled a fielder's choice and a run scored, though Ron Washington didn't agree with the call and decided to do a Lou Pinella impression and was ejected. The Mariners got their final run of the inning off a Cano sacrifice fly and so the M's lead 7-0 after six innings.
Elias would go on to pitch into the seventh inning, he gave up a run on an RBI single by Kouzmanoff and after striking out Michael Choice for the second out of the seventh McClendon came out to relieve the 25 year old. Yoervis Medina was brought in to finish the seventh for the Mariners and he got the job done with the first batter. Medina would go out in the eighth inning and would would two but thankfully he got a double play and then got Elvis Andrus to line out to Saunders to end Medina's night.
Danny Farqhuar ended both the Mariners and the Rangers night in the ninth. Farqhuar gave up back-to-back singles to begin the ninth inning, Farqhuar settled down after that. He got Kouzmanoff to pop out, struck out Jim Adduci, and got Robinson Chirinos to fly out to end the game.
So the Mariners take game one of their seven game road trip and game one of their first series against the Rangers and move to 7-5 and improved their road record to 5-2. Tomorrow night the Mariners will send Blake Beavan for his first and possibly his only start of the season. Good news for the Mariners is that Taijuan Walker will be making possibly his last rehab start in Tacoma.
Players of the Game: Roenis Elias 6.2 IP 1 R 1 ER 5 K
Kyle Seager 2-4 R RBI
Michael Saunders 2-5 3B R RBI
Mike Zunino 2-4 2 R 2 RBI HR
Things started out slowly for both teams with both pitchers having to throw a lot of pitches. The Mariners were able to get the Rangers starter Colby Lewis to throw 28 pitches in the top of the second inning. Kyle Seager had himself a game, his first at bat was the most impressive. With two strikes Seager was able to foul off five pitches and work the count to full and finally on the tenth pitch of the at bat he singled up the middle for the M's first hit of the game. Justin Smoak singled to right following Seager's single but Dustin Ackley popped out to the end the threat for the Mariners.
The Mariners struck first blood in the top of the fifth inning when Mike Zunino destroyed and 0-1 pitch from Lewis that traveled 422 ft. Next inning though the Mariners offense really came together. Robinson Cano lead off the top of the sixth inning with a single and with one out Saunders tripled home Cano to put the Mariners up 2-0. Seager followed up Saunders's triple with an RBI single up the middle. Smoak was able to get on thanks to Kevin Kouzmanoff bobbling a ground ball and thanks to Seager hustling beat the throw to second, Ackley continued his hot start by driving in Seager with a single to left and on a fielding error by Alex Rios Smoak was able to mosey on over to third.
Zunino kept the scoring going for the Mariners as he singled to left to drive in Smoak to put the M's up 4-0. Abraham Almonte loaded up the bases with an infield hit and on the next play Brad Miller hit a chopper to Lewis and on the throw home it looked like there would be a force out at the plate but Lloyd McClendon challenged the play. On the replay it was revealed that J.P. Arencibia bobbled the exchanged and so the play was ruled a fielder's choice and a run scored, though Ron Washington didn't agree with the call and decided to do a Lou Pinella impression and was ejected. The Mariners got their final run of the inning off a Cano sacrifice fly and so the M's lead 7-0 after six innings.
Elias would go on to pitch into the seventh inning, he gave up a run on an RBI single by Kouzmanoff and after striking out Michael Choice for the second out of the seventh McClendon came out to relieve the 25 year old. Yoervis Medina was brought in to finish the seventh for the Mariners and he got the job done with the first batter. Medina would go out in the eighth inning and would would two but thankfully he got a double play and then got Elvis Andrus to line out to Saunders to end Medina's night.
Danny Farqhuar ended both the Mariners and the Rangers night in the ninth. Farqhuar gave up back-to-back singles to begin the ninth inning, Farqhuar settled down after that. He got Kouzmanoff to pop out, struck out Jim Adduci, and got Robinson Chirinos to fly out to end the game.
So the Mariners take game one of their seven game road trip and game one of their first series against the Rangers and move to 7-5 and improved their road record to 5-2. Tomorrow night the Mariners will send Blake Beavan for his first and possibly his only start of the season. Good news for the Mariners is that Taijuan Walker will be making possibly his last rehab start in Tacoma.
Players of the Game: Roenis Elias 6.2 IP 1 R 1 ER 5 K
Kyle Seager 2-4 R RBI
Michael Saunders 2-5 3B R RBI
Mike Zunino 2-4 2 R 2 RBI HR
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Felix bullies the A's in home debut
What do you get when you have 38,968 fans and 25,000 have yellow shirts and K cards? You get the first Supreme Court of the season and King Felix Hernandez didn't disappoint the fans. The day before this game he and Macklemore did a commercial for the #ChangeTheGame campaign for anti-bullying but boy it seemed he didn't want to promote anti-bullying against the Athletics.
Felix improved to 3-0 for the first time in his major league career and also improved his record against the A's to 17-7 in 31 starts with a 2.60 ERA. Though the bullpen nearly fell apart in the top of the eighth, thankfully they were able to hold the A's off and Fernando Rodney shut the door and shot his arrow to finish off the A's.
The Mariners offense the other night was only able to get one hit of Angels starter Garrett Richards, tonight was different story as the M's hitters decided to pound the A's pitching staff with 12 hits. Abraham Almonte got things started with the first pitch as he drilled a line drive to left and thanks to his amazing speed he was able to leg out his third double of the year, following that Brad Miller laid down a bunt that turned into a base hit thanks again to speed.
If you remember early this year the Yankees coaching staff said that Robinson Cano never hustled........well things change, Cano legged out his second infield hit of the season and on the play Almonte scored the first run of the game.The Mariners were able to load the bases with one out, but unfortunately Kyle Seager popped out on a high 3-2 pitch and Stefen Romero struck out on an off speed pitch and so A's starter Tommy Milone escaped the first with minimal damage.
Lets talk more about King Felix. Felix began the game off by retiring the first 10 batters he faced and struck out 6 batters in the first four innings. Felix continued his domination while his offense decided to give their King the run support he deserves.
The bottom of the fourth started off on what looked like a lead off home run by Seager but after replay review it turned out that Seager just missed his first home run of the year by a few feet, so after running around the bases and thinking he finally got that big hit he was searching for he ended up striking out on the next pitch, Romero struck out as well on another off speed pitch. So with two outs the Mariners decided to put the 2000 slogan to work again "2 outs so what?".
Dustin Ackley got his second hit of the game and following that Mike Zunino grounded to Josh Donaldson who's throw went wide and into the crowd which allowed Ackley to score Zunino was then able to score on another error by the A's and so the M's pushed their third run across.
The Mariners added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Ackley got things started with a half swinging single to left and following his single Zunino drove an inside pitch into the A's bullpen to give the M's a 5-0 lead. After a pitching change by the Athletics Brad Miller showed off his impressive power swing by driving a long one over the center field wall for his third homer of the season and pushing the Mariners lead to 6-0. After the sixth inning Felix went out and struck out the side to push his strikeout total to 11 for the night and while the M's were up to bat Felix decided that he wanted to throw one more inning even with 100 pitches under his belt.
Felix hit the first batter he saw in the eighth and then gave up a single to Eric Sogard. Lloyd McClendon then made the smart decision of coming out to relieve Felix of his duties for the night, and so Felix walked off to a standing ovation from 38,000+ fans giving thanks to the King for one amazing night.
The Mariners bullpen though was not as hot as Felix was, Lucas Luetge was brought in and walked the first batter he saw on four straight pitches so McClendon decided to relieve Luetge and give Danny Farqhuar a shot. That didn't fan out as great as McClendon intended, as Farqhuar walked Jed Lowrie with the bases loaded so that brought the A's first run home, Farqhuar was able to strike out Donaldson but McClendon went to the bullpen for the third time in the inning and brought in Charlie Furbush to try and stop the bleeding.
Furbush gave up an RBI single to Brandon Moss which made it 6-2, following that Yoenis Cespedes legged out a fielder's choice and on the play Sam Fuld scored and made it a 3 run ball game. To make things worse Furbush threw a wild pitch that allowed the fourth run to come across and score, thankfully on the very next pitch Furbush got Alberto Callaspo to pop out to Justin Smoak to end the nightmare inning.
Rodney was then called upon in the ninth inning to close things out and secure the M's 6th win and 1st place in the West. After giving up a lead off double to John Jaso Rodney settled down and Daric Barton to pop out and fooled Sogard with one nasty changeup. A's manager decided to send in another pinch hitter in Mariners killer Coco Crisp, so McClendon decided to make a quick trip to the mound to talk things over with his closer.
What ever Lloyd said to Rodney it worked, as he threw three straight changeup's to Crisp and got him to swing on the third one for the final strike of the game. Rodney shot that arrow towards the heavens and earn Felix his third win of the season and earned his third save of the year.
So the M's are back in first place in West, I know its early but you gotta take in the fact that the M's are over .500 and are in 1st place. Tomorrow the M's send Erasmo Ramirez to the mound who will look to have a better outing against Oakland than last time where he allowed five runs on seven hits, Sonny Gray will go against Ramirez and so tomorrow's game is basically a rematch of last Sunday's game.
Players of the Game: Felix Hernandez 7+ IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 11 K
Mike Zunino 2-4 HR 2 RBI 2 R
Brad Miller 2-5 HR RBI R
Dustin Ackley 3-4 2B 2 R
Felix improved to 3-0 for the first time in his major league career and also improved his record against the A's to 17-7 in 31 starts with a 2.60 ERA. Though the bullpen nearly fell apart in the top of the eighth, thankfully they were able to hold the A's off and Fernando Rodney shut the door and shot his arrow to finish off the A's.
The Mariners offense the other night was only able to get one hit of Angels starter Garrett Richards, tonight was different story as the M's hitters decided to pound the A's pitching staff with 12 hits. Abraham Almonte got things started with the first pitch as he drilled a line drive to left and thanks to his amazing speed he was able to leg out his third double of the year, following that Brad Miller laid down a bunt that turned into a base hit thanks again to speed.
If you remember early this year the Yankees coaching staff said that Robinson Cano never hustled........well things change, Cano legged out his second infield hit of the season and on the play Almonte scored the first run of the game.The Mariners were able to load the bases with one out, but unfortunately Kyle Seager popped out on a high 3-2 pitch and Stefen Romero struck out on an off speed pitch and so A's starter Tommy Milone escaped the first with minimal damage.
Lets talk more about King Felix. Felix began the game off by retiring the first 10 batters he faced and struck out 6 batters in the first four innings. Felix continued his domination while his offense decided to give their King the run support he deserves.
The bottom of the fourth started off on what looked like a lead off home run by Seager but after replay review it turned out that Seager just missed his first home run of the year by a few feet, so after running around the bases and thinking he finally got that big hit he was searching for he ended up striking out on the next pitch, Romero struck out as well on another off speed pitch. So with two outs the Mariners decided to put the 2000 slogan to work again "2 outs so what?".
Dustin Ackley got his second hit of the game and following that Mike Zunino grounded to Josh Donaldson who's throw went wide and into the crowd which allowed Ackley to score Zunino was then able to score on another error by the A's and so the M's pushed their third run across.
The Mariners added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Ackley got things started with a half swinging single to left and following his single Zunino drove an inside pitch into the A's bullpen to give the M's a 5-0 lead. After a pitching change by the Athletics Brad Miller showed off his impressive power swing by driving a long one over the center field wall for his third homer of the season and pushing the Mariners lead to 6-0. After the sixth inning Felix went out and struck out the side to push his strikeout total to 11 for the night and while the M's were up to bat Felix decided that he wanted to throw one more inning even with 100 pitches under his belt.
Felix hit the first batter he saw in the eighth and then gave up a single to Eric Sogard. Lloyd McClendon then made the smart decision of coming out to relieve Felix of his duties for the night, and so Felix walked off to a standing ovation from 38,000+ fans giving thanks to the King for one amazing night.
The Mariners bullpen though was not as hot as Felix was, Lucas Luetge was brought in and walked the first batter he saw on four straight pitches so McClendon decided to relieve Luetge and give Danny Farqhuar a shot. That didn't fan out as great as McClendon intended, as Farqhuar walked Jed Lowrie with the bases loaded so that brought the A's first run home, Farqhuar was able to strike out Donaldson but McClendon went to the bullpen for the third time in the inning and brought in Charlie Furbush to try and stop the bleeding.
Furbush gave up an RBI single to Brandon Moss which made it 6-2, following that Yoenis Cespedes legged out a fielder's choice and on the play Sam Fuld scored and made it a 3 run ball game. To make things worse Furbush threw a wild pitch that allowed the fourth run to come across and score, thankfully on the very next pitch Furbush got Alberto Callaspo to pop out to Justin Smoak to end the nightmare inning.
Rodney was then called upon in the ninth inning to close things out and secure the M's 6th win and 1st place in the West. After giving up a lead off double to John Jaso Rodney settled down and Daric Barton to pop out and fooled Sogard with one nasty changeup. A's manager decided to send in another pinch hitter in Mariners killer Coco Crisp, so McClendon decided to make a quick trip to the mound to talk things over with his closer.
What ever Lloyd said to Rodney it worked, as he threw three straight changeup's to Crisp and got him to swing on the third one for the final strike of the game. Rodney shot that arrow towards the heavens and earn Felix his third win of the season and earned his third save of the year.
So the M's are back in first place in West, I know its early but you gotta take in the fact that the M's are over .500 and are in 1st place. Tomorrow the M's send Erasmo Ramirez to the mound who will look to have a better outing against Oakland than last time where he allowed five runs on seven hits, Sonny Gray will go against Ramirez and so tomorrow's game is basically a rematch of last Sunday's game.
Players of the Game: Felix Hernandez 7+ IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 11 K
Mike Zunino 2-4 HR 2 RBI 2 R
Brad Miller 2-5 HR RBI R
Dustin Ackley 3-4 2B 2 R
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
M's rally to win home opener
45,661 packed Safeco Field to watch one helluva home opener for the Mariners. The M's improved their record to 5-2 with a 5-3 win over the Angels and are now 4-0 against the Angels this season. The Mariners home opener got off to both a great and rough start, as the introduction of the players and the Seahawks making an appearance pumped up the crowd. Though Albert Pujols and David Freese decided to take the crowd out of the game with back-to-back home runs.
James Paxton took the mound for the Mariners last night and became the first Mariners rookie to start a home opening game, the Angels jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Pujols hit a 2-run bomb to left and Freese followed with a solo shot to center. After that first inning Paxton though would settle down and retire the next 14 batters he would face.
In the first game the Mariners face Hector Santiago they were able to get to him early in the first and make him throw 26 pitches, this time it the M's three innings to finally get to Santiago. After the first two batters got out Brad Miller was able to get on first after a wild pitch third strike, following that Robinson Cano was able to walk on four straight pitches.
Justin Smoak then came up and hit laser shot up the gut which allowed Miller to score with ease and the M's were on the board for the first time at home this season. Corey Hart decided to give the Mariners some more runs but in a loud fashion as he drilled one into Edgar's Cantina to put the Mariners up 4-3.
In the top of the sixth inning a scary moment popped up as Paxton was taken out of the game after experiencing some tightness in his throwing arm. Paxton left the game with what would be diagnosed as a strained lat muscle in his left shoulder. Yoervis Medina was brought in to finish the sixth inning for Paxton. Medina struggled to locate his pitches but was able to strike out Mike Trout and get Freese to ground into an inning ending double play.
Paxton though is scheduled to have an MRI done on his shoulder this Wednesday, Paxton said that "It's just a little strain. I'm going to get an MRI to see what exactly is going on in there, but I just want to be careful right now. My strength is good, they said, so I just want to get it checked out."
If M's fans remember last year Stephen Pryor missed almost the entire 2013 season with a partially torn lat muscle, then had complications when he tried to return. Thankfully Paxton's injury is just a strain and if lucky could miss 1-2 starts but for now we can only hope that his injury isn't too serious.
Getting back to the recap of last night's win Hart added one more home run to his impressive night and added his 4th RBI of the game to boot with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hart now leads the team in home runs.
Manager Lloyd McClendon was now counting on his bullpen to keep the Angels hitters at bay. Danny Farqhuar came into the top of the seventh and would pitch 1.1 innings worth of work. Tom Wilhelmsen came in to relieve Farqhuar in the top of the eighth with two outs and got Trout out on strikes. Fernando Rodney was then summoned in the ninth to take aim and shoot his first arrow as a Mariner in Safeco. Rodney would give the fans a scare as he walked the first two batters he saw but settled down and was able to strike out two and get former Mariner Raul Ibanez to fly out to end the game and seal the M's victory.
Tomorrow night the M's have shot to get a two sweep on the Angels, as Roenis Elias takes the mound against Garrett Richards. Elias gave up just one run in his MLB debut but came away with a no decision, this time though I think the umpire will have a different strike zone that will be more consistent then Sean Barber.
Players of the Game: Corey Hart 2-4 2 HR 4 RBI 2 R
Justin Smoak 2-4 RBI R 2B
James Paxton took the mound for the Mariners last night and became the first Mariners rookie to start a home opening game, the Angels jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Pujols hit a 2-run bomb to left and Freese followed with a solo shot to center. After that first inning Paxton though would settle down and retire the next 14 batters he would face.
In the first game the Mariners face Hector Santiago they were able to get to him early in the first and make him throw 26 pitches, this time it the M's three innings to finally get to Santiago. After the first two batters got out Brad Miller was able to get on first after a wild pitch third strike, following that Robinson Cano was able to walk on four straight pitches.
Justin Smoak then came up and hit laser shot up the gut which allowed Miller to score with ease and the M's were on the board for the first time at home this season. Corey Hart decided to give the Mariners some more runs but in a loud fashion as he drilled one into Edgar's Cantina to put the Mariners up 4-3.
In the top of the sixth inning a scary moment popped up as Paxton was taken out of the game after experiencing some tightness in his throwing arm. Paxton left the game with what would be diagnosed as a strained lat muscle in his left shoulder. Yoervis Medina was brought in to finish the sixth inning for Paxton. Medina struggled to locate his pitches but was able to strike out Mike Trout and get Freese to ground into an inning ending double play.
Paxton though is scheduled to have an MRI done on his shoulder this Wednesday, Paxton said that "It's just a little strain. I'm going to get an MRI to see what exactly is going on in there, but I just want to be careful right now. My strength is good, they said, so I just want to get it checked out."
If M's fans remember last year Stephen Pryor missed almost the entire 2013 season with a partially torn lat muscle, then had complications when he tried to return. Thankfully Paxton's injury is just a strain and if lucky could miss 1-2 starts but for now we can only hope that his injury isn't too serious.
Getting back to the recap of last night's win Hart added one more home run to his impressive night and added his 4th RBI of the game to boot with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hart now leads the team in home runs.
Manager Lloyd McClendon was now counting on his bullpen to keep the Angels hitters at bay. Danny Farqhuar came into the top of the seventh and would pitch 1.1 innings worth of work. Tom Wilhelmsen came in to relieve Farqhuar in the top of the eighth with two outs and got Trout out on strikes. Fernando Rodney was then summoned in the ninth to take aim and shoot his first arrow as a Mariner in Safeco. Rodney would give the fans a scare as he walked the first two batters he saw but settled down and was able to strike out two and get former Mariner Raul Ibanez to fly out to end the game and seal the M's victory.
Tomorrow night the M's have shot to get a two sweep on the Angels, as Roenis Elias takes the mound against Garrett Richards. Elias gave up just one run in his MLB debut but came away with a no decision, this time though I think the umpire will have a different strike zone that will be more consistent then Sean Barber.
Players of the Game: Corey Hart 2-4 2 HR 4 RBI 2 R
Justin Smoak 2-4 RBI 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.
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!