Well that was refreshing to see! As I had stated in a previous post, the Mariners were 1-5 in games I attended that were started by Vargas. Most of those losses were because of our inept offense. Well, tonight we had hitting up and down the lineup and over multiple innings!!! Hell, we even scored in the first as we beat the Padres 6-0 on Turn Back the Clock Night (to 1984).
Padres (37-45)
Denorfia RF
Bartlett SS
Headley 3B
Ludwick LF
Guzman DH
Maybin CF
Hudson 2B
Rizzo 1B
Hundley C
Moseley P
Mariners (39-42)
Ichiro RF
Ryan SS
Kennedy 2B
Smoak 1B
Cust DH
Peguero LF
Gutierrez CF
Bard C
Figgins 3B
Vargas P
Vargas was Efficient and effective tonight, the very first pitch he got an out, and started the game retiring 13 of the first 14 batters he faced. The six hits he allowed were scattered throughout the game and he never seemed to run into trouble. He just quietly mowed them down. There were some fantastic defensive plays, including a line drive to Figgins and a potential hit into a leaping, stretching grab by Ryan in the la tter innings. I don't think I've ever seen someone snag a ball quite like that.
His final line... 9 IP, 106 pitches, 6 H, 7 K, 0 BB to improve to 6-5 with a 3.57 ERA.
I wanted to look back at the six previous starts I'd seen him pitch to look at overall performance. I recall a couple of bad ones but mostly outstanding ones with a lack of run support. So in the previous 6 games 2 were quality starts. The Mariners scored a total of 12 runs those 5 losses which is 2.4 runs per loss. In the 2 wins, the Mariners have scored 9 runs which is 4.5 runs scored per game. However, he has shut out the opponents in those two wins for a 0.00 ERA. Basically, he has to be perfect to win. That, is a shame. In only 2 of the games has he not pitched 6 or more innings.
Apr 8, L (0-1) 12-3, 63 P, 3.1 IP, 7 R, 9 H, 1K, 0 BB
Apr 18, L 8-3, 114 P, 6 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 4K, 2 BB (QS)
Apr 23 L (0-2) 9-1, 100 P, 5+ IP, 6 R, 6 H, 3K, 3 BB
May 18 W (3-2) 3-0, 115 P, 7 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 9K, 2 BB (QS)
Jun 13 L (4-4) 6-3, 108 P, 7 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 6 K, 2 BB
Jun 25 L (5-5) 4-2, 87 P, 6 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 4 K, 2 BB
Our lineup had contributions tonight from pretty much everyone in the order. Everyone reached base, although Ichiro only through a fielder's choice. We scored 1 in the 1st, 3 in the 3rd, and 1 more in both the 5th and 6th innings. Jack Cust had his 6th bases loaded BB in the 3rd, his 6th of the year to tie John Olerud for all-time in a season. Smoak snapped an 0-22 slump.
Ichiro 0-5, 1 R
Ryan 2-4, 2 R, 2B, SB, BB
Kennedy 2-4, 1 R, 2B, BB, 2 RBI
Smoak 1-3, 2 R, 2B, BB
Cust 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI
Peguero 1-4, 2 RBI
Gutierrez 0-3, 1 BB
Bard 1-4
Figgins 1-4, SB
As you can see Ryan had another solid night. The more I see, the more I like. He struggled early on in the year but the dude is just a solid ballplayer. He hustles, has a great attitude, and produces at the plate. Kennedy has been our most consistent batter of the year, but he's 35ish and would be a number 7 or 8 hitter in any other lineup. Hell, he'd probably be the backup infielder! But, he's still out there practically every day and continues to produce. Our unsung hero of the first half, without a doubt. Cust seems to be producing the last few games, but is still only batting .222 on the season!
Attendance was 23,616, I didn't score for the first time in awhile. Ate Pep Pizza and Garlic Fries. Bro in Law had some beer, pizza, and a pretzel. Oh, we munched on some peanuts too and had a good time. It was an interesting game with clutch hitting, great defense, and masterful pitching by Vargas.
Improved to 10-9 when I attend and 40-42 overall. We remain 3.5 games back of Texas in 3rd place.
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