Mariners Start Second Half On a Familiar Note

They lost ANOTHER one run game, this time 3-2, as they were shutout through 8 innings.  They sure made the 9th an exciting one, but it was too little too late.

Rangers (52-34)

Kinsler 2B

Andrus SS

Hamilton LF

Beltre 3B

Cruz RF

Young 1B

Murphy DH

Napoli C

Martin CF

Holland (5-4,5.63)

Mariners (36-51)

Ackley 2B

Ichiro RF

Wells LF

Montero DH

Seager 3B

Smoak 1B

Olivo C

Saunders CF

Ryan SS

Millwood (3-6,3.69)

I thought Millwood did a pretty good job of keeping the Rangers at bay.  They are full of Mariners killers, practically the entire lineup, so holding them to three runs in 6.2 innings is something I will take from our starting pitcher every outing.  Unfortunately our offense did not suddenly transform over the all-star break.  It wasn't like we didn't have opportunities, we loaded the bases with one out in the 4th but couldn't capitalize.  We had only four hits until we banged three in the bottom of the 9th as we scored two runs.  That's unacceptable.  We have to start scoring early.  And Ackley in particular, along with Smoak, needs to start producing.  He ended the game striking out, with runners at first and third and down by only a run.

This series is going to be very interesting.  If things don't start changing, I predict heads will roll.

The Mariners are now 11-14 when I attend, 5-7 in one run games
Attendance: 23,721
Time of Game:  2:58

Mariners Can't Break Out

The Mariners couldn't break through as they left the Bases Loaded in top of the 1st and lost 3-1.

Rangers (26-17)

Kinsler 2B

Andrus SS

Hamilton CF

Beltre 3B

Young DH

Murphy LF

Cruz RF

Napoli C

Moreland 1B

Harrison (4-3, 5.21)

Mariners (20-24)

Ackley DH

Liddi 3B

Ichiro RF

Montero C

Smoak 1B

Seager 2B

Wells LF

Saunders CF

Ryan SS

Noesi (2-4, 5.61)

Noesi was stellar, he only had two mistakes all game and unfortunately those mistakes cost him as our offense just couldn't give him enough support.  We had ample opportunity, especially in the 1st inning as we loaded the bases after already scoring one run on an RBI single by Smoak.  Wells, on his first pitch, absolutely crushed the ball to left center and for a few seconds nearly everyone in the ballpark thought he'd hit it out.  Unfortunately Hamilton was able to haul it in at the warning track to end the inning. 

The Rangers had pretty much their entire offense in the third inning as Noesi walked two, then gave up a triple to left-center to Andrus followed by a double to left by Hamilton (both with two outs).  3-1 Rangers at that point, and that was pretty much the game.  The Rangers only had two base runners the rest of the game, and the Mariners couldn't break through.

In the third, Liddi lead off the inning by crushing a ball himself... once again Hamilton tracked the ball down.  This time it was against the wall and he may have taken back a home run, it was hard to tell from my perspective.  He ripped the bottom of the wall from pushing off of it.  The Mariners had a couple of more chances in the game to score but were unable to do anything.  In the 5th, there were runners on 1st and 3rd with two outs after a double by Ryan and error by Beltre on Liddi's at-bat.  But, Ichiro hit into a fielder's choice to end the threat.  In the 8th, we had our first two hitters reach base via singles but Montero, Smoak, and Seager couldn't come through.  That was our last threat.

It is always a shame to waste a good pitching performance, but something we have all become accustomed to the last few years.  You can see the players are getting better.  Baseball is a game of failure and most of the time you aren't going to come through.  Only in those rare seasons, like 2001, does everyone hit lights out and come through in nearly every situation.  And hell, we ended up not coming through in the ALCS against the Yankees!  So you just have to chalk this up to one of those games, and hope that tomorrow they will hit that grand slam with the bases loaded if the opportunity should arise.

There was a lot of debate after the game about moving the fences in to improve the mental approach by Mariners hitters.  I say, if you move in the fences it improves the opponents as well, and that they never seem to have a problem hitting homers.  This was only 1 game in which we would have won because of homers, the Wells and Liddi fly balls.  Well... what about every other game in which our own fielders haul down shots that would go out if the fences were drawn in?  We just need the right players.  Hell, we just need players to hit to their potential!

They started closing the roof in the top of the 1st inning, about 4 minutes after the game started.

The Mariners are 6-6 when I attend
Time of Game: 2:28
Attendance: 15,604

Mariners handle Darvish

The Mariners won their fourth in a row, 6-1, as Felix pitched 8 strong innings against the best team in the American League.

Rangers (26-16)

Kinsler 2B

Andrus SS

Hamilton CF

Beltre 3B

Young DH

Murphy LF

Cruz RF

Napoli C

Moreland 1B

Darvish (6-1, 2.60)

Mariners (19-24)

Ackley 2B

Saunders CF

Ichiro RF

Seager 3B

Montero DH

Smoak 1B

Jaso C

Carp LF

Ryan SS

Hernandez (3-3 ,3.02)

It was the first appearance at Safeco by rookie Yu Darvish, the heralded starting pitcher signed in the offseason from Japan.  It was our second time facing him, and once again the Mariners proved that he is human.  Last time we were unable to put him away early on.  Tonight, he lasted only four innings, trailing 5-0.  In all honesty it probably should have been 7-0 or 8-0, as we didn't take full advantage of our opportunities.  But the way Felix was pitching, the run in the first inning was all we needed for most of the game.

Josh Hamilton came into the game batting .389 with 18 HR and 47 RBI!!  Yep, you read that right.  The dude is leading the league in all categories, and I think we'd have to combine 3 or possibly 4 mariners to match his output.  Contrast that to our third batter in the order, Ichiro, at .280 with 1 HR and 14 RBI... having a true middle of the order guy instead of a 7/8 hitter and who knows what we'd be doing!  Anyway, Felix was able to handle Hamilton, retiring him all four times including two strikeouts in which Hamilton looked like a fooled rookie.

The Mariners got their first run in the opening inning after Saunders drew a four pitch walk, followed by an triple down right field line by Ichiro, it got stuck under the padding in foul territory.  Darvish ended up walking six total batters in his four innings.  We were retired in order in the 2nd, then Ryan lead off the 3rd with a single followed by Darvish's second walk of the game to Ackley.  With no outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, Saunders laid down a bunt up the first base side, unfortunately Moreland went for the forced out at third.  So, once again runners on 1st and 2nd but now one out.  Ichiro, notoriously bad this year with runners in scoring position, laced an RBI single to center.  Ackley raced around to home, and Hamilton tried to throw out Saunders at third for some reason.  The throw sailed into the dugout, so Saunders scored and Ichiro was now on third!  Seager walked, leaving runners on 1st and 3rd with one out.  Montero then came through with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in center, making it 4-0.

In the fourth we probably should have added at least three or four more runs, but were unable to get a clutch hit.  Darvish loaded the bases to open up the inning on three walks, then Ackley hit a single to right to score Jaso, making it 5-0.  Unfortunately we then ground into two consecutive fielder's choices, forcing the out at home both times.  Seager then got caught looking in three pitches.  We had loaded the bases with nobody out, and couldn't muster a sacrifice fly or a ball hit out of the infield.  But, thanks to Felix, it didn't matter in the long run.  It was the last inning for Darvish, and we were retired in order in the 5th and 6th innings.  Our final run came in the 7th when  Montero hit an RBI double to left.

The Rangers got their lone run in the top of the 8th, when Moreland launched a solo shot to right field that traveled 403 feet.  What was funny is that I called it earlier in the game.  There were about 4/5 fans in the row in front of me who were ragging on Moreland all night for some reason.  They were just teasing him and yelling at him.  That homer was his answer.   It would have been nice to shut out the Rangers, but I got a chuckle out of it.

The Mariners improved to  6-5 when I attend!
Time of Game: 2:49
Attendance: 18,672

Mariners Appreciate Fans With Another Loss

Tonight was not as good of a pitching performance, for either team.  It was fan appreciation night for 22.159 in attendance, but the Mariners couldn't put together a good pitching performance, and despite the six runs they scored they only got one runner on base past the 5th inning.

Rangers (86-65)

Kinsler 2B

Andrus SS

Hamilton LF

Young 1B

Beltre 3B

Napoli C

Cruz DH

Murphy RF

Gentry CF

Lewis (12-10, 4.29)

Mariners (63-87)

Ichiro RF

Seager 3B

Ackley 2B

Carp 1B

Kennedy DH

Bard C

Ryan SS

Robinson LF

Saunders CF

Vasquez (1-3, 7.29)

Vasquez was never in it, struggling from the beginning.  He only went 3 plus innings, giving up two hits in the first and second innings (including a run in the 2nd).  Then, it pretty much fell apart in the 3rd inning.  To lead off the inning Vasquez gave up back to back home runs to Andrus and Hamilton, then another solo shot to Beltre that traveled 408 feet.  This was after the Mariners had scored 4 runs of their own in the 2nd inning.  They enjoyed their 4-1 lead for only a few minutes.  After starting the 4th inning with a walk, Vasquez was pulled for Gray.  But he himself struggled and the Rangers scored another 3 runs in the inning to go up 7-4.  Carp made it interesting in the 5th with a 2 run homer of his own, to pull the Mariners within 1 run at 7-6.  But there the score remained.  The Mariners were lucky to escape without giving up more runs.  Let's take a look at the Rangers' box score, everyone contributed.  They left 10 men on base, the damage could have been so much worse.

Kinsler:  BB, R
Andrus: 1B, HR, RBI, 2 R
Hamilton: 3H, 2B, HR, 3RBI, R
Young: 2 BB, 1B, SAC, RBI
Beltre: HR, RBI, R
Napoli: 2 2B
Cruz: 1B
Murphy: BB, 1B, R
Gentry: 1B, RBI

On a historic note, Ichiro passed Mantle with his RBI base hit in the 2nd inning.  He now has 2,416 base hits for his ML career.  Never thought I would talk about Mantle in the same sentence as Ichiro.  This will be the last time.

I would also like to add that this is the second year in a row that nobody from my seating section has won a prize.

The roof was closed in the bottom of the 8th.
They are now  17-21 when I attend.

Mariners earn 10th Shutout

The Mariners put in a solid performance, shutting out their opponent for the 10th time this season behind the excellent pitching of Beavan.  He ended up going 8 strong innings, giving up only four hits.  League wrapped up his 45th save of the year by striking out the side.  

Rangers (86-64)

Kinsler 2B

Andrus SS

Hamilton LF

Young 3B

Beltre DH

Murphy RF

Torrealba C

Moreland 1B

Chavez CF

Wilson (16-6, 3.01)

Mariners (62-87)

Ichiro RF

Ryan SS

Ackley 2B

Olivo C

Carp 1B

Pena DH

Seager 3B

Robinson LF

Wells CF

Beavan (4-5, 4.32)

The Mariners scored 3 of their 4 runs in a 41 pitch 3rd inning, thanks to a key error. Wells and Ryan were on 1st and 2nd, respectively, with 2 outs when Ackley came to the plate.  The count was 3-2 and he hit a chopper to Kinsler.  Kinsler fielded it fine but his throw to first was way off.   It ended up being a 2 base error as Wells scored and Ryan ended up at 3rd.  Chalk it up to Ackley's speed, a brain fart?  I don't know, but I'll take it.  Just three pitches later and a wild pitch got past Torrealba, scoring Ryan.  Olivo ended up with an infield single to shortstop followed by an RBI single off the second base bag for Carp. Pena was then hit by a pitch on his foot to load the bases, but Seager struck out for the final out. It was a wild inning, and one that Niehaus would have enjoyed.  Remember, this was all with 2 outs.  So we got an error, wild pitch, and freak hit to thank for the 3 runs as we went through the lineup.  That was all we needed, but they added an insurance run in the 7th inning as Wells lead off with a homer into the Rangers' bullpen, and we won 4-0.  Special note, Wells worked a full count in each of his at-bats tonight.  

Now 17-21 when I attend!
Att: 17,607

A Celebration of History

The rolled out the red carpet tonight for the 2001 team, at least those who could make it to the game.  It was a little weird to remember all of the wonderful memories from that year, especially in contrast to the offensive ineptitude of this year.  It almost feels as if any of those retired ballplayer... whether it be Dan, Jay, Edgar, Olerud, Boone... could pick up a bat and come up with better results than any of our current team.  We haven't made the playoffs since the historic 116 win 2001 season, which is hard to believe, but isn't.  Between 1995 and 2001 we made the playoffs 4 times and haven't been back since. Will we ever go back!?

Rangers (53-41)

Kinsler DH

Andrus SS

Hamilton LF

Beltre 3B

Young 2B

Cruz RF

Moreland 1B

Torrealba C

Chavez CF

Wilson P

Mariners (43-50)

Ichiro RF

Ryan SS

Ackley 2B

Olivo C

Smoak 1B

Kennedy DH

Gutierriez CF

Seager 3B

Halman LF

Hernandez P

Coming into the game we had 26 consecutive scoreless innings, the team record being 29.  Well, we made history tonight.  Kinsler led off the game with a solo shot to left, and that was the game.  We had to score 2 runs to win and were only able to get 1, in the 5th inning.  The inning prior we had reached the club record 30 consecutive innings without scoring.  Yippee, History of Ineptitude.

The tie was short lived, as Texas regained the lead in the 6th inning.  We looked like we could maybe get another run in our half of the sixth when Smoak got a 1 out walk, but Kennedy grounded into a double play.  The Rangers added three more insurance runs (including another solo shot by Kinsler) in the 8th and we lost by a final score of 5-1.  The Rangers picked up their 10th win in a row, we dropped our 8th in a row, and we are now 10.5 games back in the AL West.  We're done, cooked... I wish we were Smoaked but the kid has been struggling.

Eric Wedge was ejected in the 8th inning on a "Balk" called against Felix, I was hoping for an exciting Lou Piniella impression since he was in the ballpark.  Nope.  I went to the game with a friend from Iowa, she said she had fun!  Unfortunately we couldn't pull a win for her.  I tried to explain scorekeeping.  She asked me why the DH and not pitcher.  Don't know, those are the rules!  That's like asking why they have four balls and three strikes! 

Had a Turkey Crepe, shared onion rings, and we got 116 shirts.  The Mariners dropped to 10-12 when I attend.  They were also outscored by the Sounders 4-1.  The Attendance was 30,896.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Same old, same old.  The Mariners had come into this game having dropped six in a row.  Well, let's make it seven as we fell to the AL West leaders Texas Rangers by a final score of 4-0 infront of 30,551 on 2001 116 wins Bobblehead Night.  You know things are bed when you can barely draw 30k on bobblehead night.  We mustered only 2 hits through the first 8 innings against Colby Lewis, and got a token 2 in the ninth.  Our scoreless inning streak now runs 26 innings.

Texas Rangers (52-41)

Kinsler 2B

Andrus SS

Hamilton LF

Beltre 3B

Cruz RF

Moreland 1B

Torrealba C

Chavez CF

Lewis P

Mariners (43-49)

Ichiro RF

Ryan SS

Ackley 2B

Olivo C

Kennedy 1B

Cust DH

Gutierrez CF

Seager 3B

Peguero LF

Fister P

Fister was great as usual, the first three innings he let the leadoff man on each time, who ended up scoring in the first and second to make it 2-0.  Then he retired 15 in a row until the 8th when the Rangers tacked on 2 more.  It didn't matter.  1 run would have done it.  Absolute BULLSHIT!  Where is our fucking offense?   We don't have a singular batter above .300 batting average.

I'm not going to get into this one too much.  Tomorrow is the 2001 celebration with Lou Piniella and players like Charles Gipson, Bret Boone, etc.  MacLemore threw out the first pitch tonight

Ate Garlic Fries, Roof was closed.  Scored.  First time seeing Seager at home.  We are now 9.5 games behind the Rangers.  The Mariners dropped to 10-11 when I attend.