Vargas Goes the Distance

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.

Three Peat

Wow, so much to talk about on this one. Since the last game I went to, the Mariners had gone 0-6 coming into the game including a disaster of a road trip in which they lost 4 out of the 5 games the final AB.... and 2 rain outs in Cleveland. The Twins came into the game having lost 8 in a row and the worst team in baseball. Someone had to win, I'm glad it was us... although we tried to make it interesting in the top of the ninth!

Pineda was scheduled to start yesterday but because of the postponement he was pushed back to today and Felix to tomorrow. It didn't faze him, in fact he had no-no type stuff through 2.2 innings. I was just starting to regret not bringing my scorebook when he gave up a single in the third. Overall he gave up three hits and hit a batter while striking out seven in 7 innings. The dude's composure is well behind his years. I keep waiting for him to falter, it will happen eventually, but right now he sure is fun to watch and brings excitement to the ballpark. As the late, great Niehaus said "DIABOLICAL!"

The only trouble he got into was in the sixth inning, through no fault of his own. With two out Luis Rodriguez committed and error, one of three in the game, which was followed by a single by Kubel (who sucks defensively, by the way) and then hit Morneau to load the bases. At that point it was a two run game after we'd scored single runs in the 1st and 3rd innings. But Pineda gathered himself and got Cuddyer to hit into a Fielder's Choice. The game was pretty much over at that point... all that was in his way from a win was our bullpen (at least League was sitting after blowing four consecutive outings... first time in Mariners history for a relief pitcher, by the way). It was our defense that almost failed us...

We got some insurance runs in the bottom of the 6th that we ended up needing, with the first back to back homers of the year for the Mariners by Kennedy and Peguero. It was Peguero's 2nd HR of his career. The first was Friday in Cleveland (which was last official game) so he has hit them in two consecutive games. I have never seen a homer like Peguero's... it was literally a line drive straight over the fence. It would have kept going if not for the stands. Kennedy also had a sacrifice in the 8th inning to make it 5-0. I won't mention his error in the 9th, it was a routine dribbler to him just a few few off of first (a little league play) and he simply bobbled it. Could have been because he had just moved over there due to Smoak being pulled for precautionary reasons?

Anyway, we almost threw the 9th away with two errors, the other was by Figgins which should have resulted in a game ending double play. They scored two runs but we hung on and ended our losing streak. Sure hope we can put together something on this homestand, tomorrow we're going for the sweep in the short two games series.

One annoying note, the radio was 5 seconds behind the action for the first five innings... which was REALLY weird and kind of off putting. Eventually it was fixed.

Attendance was 14,859 with the roof "extended" before the first pitch. The giveaway was yet another "bag of dirt", which means I now have three. I found out that you could "check-in" at Safeco and receive deals/specials so I was intrigued. I downloaded the free MLB at-bat application for my cellphone and used it for the first time tonight. The free version is sort of lacking in features but I was able to get $2 off a Torta. So I only paid $6.50 which is pretty good for ballpark fare. Too bad the torta still isn't that great.

The Mariners are Now 6-4 when I attend and are 17-23 overall.

He is GOOD!

I like him, I really like him! Pineda was on the mound again tonight, the second time I've seen him in person. Seeing as how he's a rookie, you expect him to have a troubled outing now and then. 4 starts in and we haven't seen it yet. Sure he's run into a few bad innings here and there, but like all good pitchers he bounces back and makes the adjustments as needed. We saw this again in the second inning when he threw 30 pitches yet got out of the jam after walking the first two batters by striking out the next two and then getting a groundout to first. Then Pineda sat for a long time while the Mariners scored three runs in the 5th... so he had some issues in the top of the 6th but made it through. He now has a quality start in all of his games this year. A quality start is at least six innings with 3 earned runs or less. Still waiting for him to blow up...

As you can see from the picture I had a Gyro ($6.50). This is the first game of the year I scored. I went to Kinko's earlier and made some copies. It was a good game to score, only a few issues with the scoreboard failing to turn over statistics fast enough There were great plays turned in by Figgins in the 4th (sliding catch of a foul ball) and 8th (line drive). Kennedy had another couple of quality defensive plays including throwing out Kouzmanoff at home in the 5th inning, at that point the game was still 1-0. When you have pitchers sharp and dealing, same goes the defense. Both pitching and defense have been outstanding the last two games, and we've had just as much offense as we've needed!

Kennedy continues his hot streak. He led off the 2nd with a single and scored. Then in the 5th he had a 2 RBI single after we had loaded the bases on a single and three straight walks (Cust had walked in a run previous to Kennedy). So Kennedy went 2-4 with 2 RBI and 1 Run scored. Cust's bases loaded walk was his fourth of the season! He has 7 RBI total on the season and 4 have come via a bases loaded walk!

It got a little dicey in the 9th inning... Wright came in and loaded the bases with two consecutive singles and a walk after striking out the first batter. He'd been pretty much lights out this year (his last two appearances he needed only 2 pitches total). So we was pulled and in came Brandon League. The dude scares me, it seemed every time last year he had inherited runners he would have troubles. Well, with the tying run at the plate he picked up his 5th save of the year after inducing pinch hitter Conor Jackson to ground into a game ending double play. Until he proves otherwise on a consistent basis I will always have heart palpitations when he comes in to the game with runners on.

We're now 8-13 on the season and the Mariners are 4-3 when I attend! We've had two shutout wins in a row.

Oh, and since it was Earth Day we all got to take home another bag of dirt!

This is Why I Love Baseball!

I know I've said it before, you never know what you're going to see at the ballpark on any given day and often will see something that has never happened. A few days ago, it was the first ball to hit the Safeco roof. Lately, it has been record breaking attendance (tonight third lowest ever with 12,770). Tonight we saw two firsts, a couple of OUTSTANDING defensive plays, a great pitching performance by King Felix, and a 1-0 win. I am so glad I taped this game 'cause I want to watch everything over again.

With the roof closed, Felix started off the game retiring the first eight batters he faced, then giving up a solid single in the third. He had a season high 8 ks against the Oakland A's... who believe it or not have scored fewer runs this year than the inept Mariners. He went 7.2 innings and got into a little trouble so Wedge brought in Wright, who has been LIGHTS OUT so far this year. He only needed one pitch to end the inning. League came in for a nail biting 9th and we pulled out the win. Everyone went home happy, and it was a quick game.

The defensive plays, a line drive snag above Figgins' head doubled off runner at first in the seventh... wow. Then later in the inning an amazing snag by Brendan Ryan at SS who somehow managed to get it off and Kennedy stretched out to snag the ball.

We got our lone run in the 4th when Kennedy, our 1B today, hit a solo shot. Smoak is on the bereavement list... his father passed away at the age of 54 from cancer. Truly sad for the young man, I wish him the best and hope he comes back soon. It seems like every year someone on the team loses a member of their family. That's just part of baseball, I guess, because of the long season and many many months they are away from family. It must be tough. But, Kennedy made several great defensive plays and he has pretty much done whatever Wedge has asked him to do (which is what is supposed to happen). He's been a pleasant surprise.

Let's get to the firsts... after Felix gave up his first hit he attempted to pick off the runner but threw the ball away, he was lucky in that the ball somehow ended up behind the tarp. Never before had we lost a ball in the tarp! So instead of the runner ending up on third (or scoring) he ending up on second! Another first, Carlo Peguero got his first ML hit with an infield hit in the third... he was then subsequently picked off two pitches later. Oops. Regardless, congrats on the milestone.

Interesting note... the Mariners have scored three runs the last two games after their 13 run outburst on Tuesday. Whenever we score that many runs I always say "save some for tomorrow!" Well, we lost 3-2 yesterday... today we only got 1 run but it was all we needed. It doesn't matter how much you score as long as you get the win!

My sister and her family were at the game today, one of her kids was at her first game! They gave me a ticket so I could join them in the terrace club, where they now have $8 credit on each ticket to go toward concessions. They also have special food you can't get anywhere else, like pasta and baked potatoes. I decided on a baked potato ($7.75) which was really good! My sister got nachos and was in heaven! I think they changed the concourse floor, although they may have changed it last year. I don't think I went to one game in the terrace club last year! Anyway, we ate together and then I wanted to go down to my seats to get closer to Felix. After three innings of fighting to see around the tall people in front of me, I decided to go back up to the terrace club. I actually had a better view of Felix, with no obstructions. I was able to see the tarp play unfold right in front of me, and didn't miss a single play as I walked around the concourse with no problem. Like I've said, I kind of like the small crowds, easy to get around! The kids an her husband left around then, and my sister and I enjoyed the rest of the game (after she helped the kids to the car and missed the only run of the game). We got a rice krispie treat and some mini chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Best game of the year so far? Possibly! Ranks right up there with the Pineda outing. Speaking of which, tomorrow is Pineda day!

They are now back to .500 with me in attendance, at 3-3!