Pineda Goes Eight

Royals (60-86)

Gordon, LF

Cabrera, CF

Butler, DH

Hosmer, 1B

Francoeur, RF

Moustakas, 3B

Perez, C

Getz, 2B

Escobar, SS

Paulino (2-10, 4.60)

Mariners (61-83)

Ichiro, RF

Ryan, SS

Ackley, 2B

Carp, LF

Smoak, 1B

Kennedy, DH

Olivo, C

Seager, 3B

Saunders, CF

Pineda (9-9, 3.74)

Pineda went a season high 8 innings, but the first inning did him in.  He only had 14 pitches, and it lasted around 4 minutes... but the three runs the Royals quickly scored were all they needed as the Royals won 4-2.  Gordon lead off with a double to right, advanced to third on a groundout, then scored easily on a fielder's choice by Butler.  Hosmer then hit a two run homer to left field and just like that it was 3-0 before the Mariners were up.  Pineda pretty much sailed the rest of the way, scattering a few hits.  Like most good pitchers, the first inning was the key.  Felix has learned how to stay focused a lot better now, Pineda will too.  Hard to remember that this is still his first year.  He has a lot of promise.  So it was another quality start, for naught.

The only offensive highlights for the home team were two homers by Smoak and Carp (2nd and 4th innings).  They Mariners struck out 16 times and only had two hits, the solo shots.  They got on base two other times via a walk and an error but only had 29 total at bats, two above the minimum. Such a shame, another team and Pineda probably would have at least escaped with a no-decision instead of his 10th loss of the year.

On a funny note, when I went down to my seats at about 20 minutes before the game started a woman said she had reported my backpack to the ushers because I had left it unattended.  What a paranoid woman!  I told her that I've been doing this since I was a kid and that a lot of people do it.  I went up to tell the ushers in case they had called security and they all rolled their eyes and laughed about it.

Torta and Fries
Att: 17,884
16-18 when I attend

Smoak, Ichiro, and Vargas Deliver

Justin Smoak knocked his first home run in 48 games and the Mariners won 4-1 as we held one of the League's best hitting offenses to just five hits.  Kansas City's 1-3 hitters all came into the game batting exactly .300.

KC Royals (60-84)

Gordon LF

Cabrera CF

Butler DH

Hosmer 1B

Francoeur RF

Moustakas 3B

Giavotella 2B

Perez C

Escobar SS

Hochevar P

Mariners (59-83)

Ichiro RF

Ryan SS

Ackley 2B

Carp LF

Smoak 1B

Kennedy DH

Seager 3B

Robinson CF

Giminez C

Vargas P

After struggling in the second half of the season, the "old" Vargas showed up tonight, and it was nice to see.  He ended up lasting 6 innings, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits.  He retired the lineup in order in the first inning, then... in the second Francoeur hit a one out triple that got past Carp after he made a diving attempt at the fast sinking ball.  It should have been a double.  Vargas got out of the jam by inducing a fielder's choice from Moustakas with a sharp grounder to Ackley, who immediately threw the ball to Giminez.  There was a collision at home, but Giminez held on and Francoeur was out!  At that point we were up 1-0.

Ichiro led off the Mariners' offense by taking the first pitch 386 feet into the right field stands.  It was his 36th lead off homer of his career, and passed Bobby Bonds for 6th on the all-time list.  For a guy who flat out refuses to do anything but single, I guess that's a pretty amazing stat.  He now has 94 ML homers so 38% of all of his homers are lead off.

The game remained 1-0 until the 6th inning, when the Royals tied up the ballgame.  Cabrera got a one out bunt single (first pitch), then stole second and scored on a single to center.  The tie was short lived, as in the bottom of the sixth the Mariners went ahead for good thanks to a leadoff 4 pitch walk to Ackley, and a Smoak two run homer.  It was nice to see, as he has had a tough year with the death of his father and several injuries.  Hopefully he can have a good couple of weeks to finish off the season, right on through to Spring next year.

We added an insurance run in the 7th.  Ichiro got a two out single, stole second and third base, then scored when Ryan reached on an error by the shortstop.

League came on in the 9th to nail down his 34th save, but not before our defense put the tying run at the plate.  Moustakas reached on a single that ricocheted off League and ended in "no man's land" between Smoak and League.  Then, on what was going to be a sure out by Ryan to end the ballgame, he was unable to get a hold of the ball and committed the error.  Perez then hit a ground ball to Ryan, who tossed to Ackley for the Fielder's Choice.  And that was the ballgame.


Pizza
16-17 when I attend
Att: 14,377

Furbush Knocked for Another Loss

The Mariners had ample opportunity to win this game, but just couldn't get that clutch hit.  We walked eight times but had only four hits.  You could say Santana was "effectively wild", or maybe the Mariners were just inept.

Angels 73-63

Izturis SS

Bourjos CF

Kendrick 2B

Hunter DH

Trumbo 1B

Wells LF

Callaspo 3B

Trout RF

Wilson C

Santana P

Mariners 58-77

Ichiro RF

Gutierrez CF

Ackley 2B

Carp 1B

Olivo C

Seager 3B

Wells LF

Ryan SS

Robinson DH

Furbush P
Furbush didn't have a great first inning, he hit Izturis to lead off the game followed by a walk to Bourjos and then after a strikeout by Kendrick, Torii Hunter launched a 3 run homer to left.  Just like that, it was 3-0.  He ended up giving up another hit in the first and when it ended he had already thrown 29 pitches.  The Angels went in order in the 2nd, but in the third Furbush ended up giving up another homer, this time a solo shot to Kendrick.  He didn't pitch "that bad", but with the way the Mariners offense has gone at times this year, it just wasn't good enough.

After getting two walks in the 2nd inning, Wells ground into an inning ending double play.  We started the bottom of the third with two consecutive walks.  Then, on an 0-2 count Ichiro laced a double to right scoring Ryan.  Gutierrez flied out, but then "Mr. Calm" Ackley drove in Ryan and Ichiro with a single up the middle.  It was a brand new ballgame, as the Mariners trailed 4-3.  Carp followed with a single of his own but then Olivo and Seager went down with a strike out and fly to left.

Little did we know but that was the ballgame, as neither team scored again.  The Mariners threatened in the 5th after two more walks but Carp grounded into a double play.  Wright came in for Furbush in the 7th and finished the final three innings.

On another note, the Mariners released Matt Tuiasosopo.

Baked Potato
Att 19453
15-17

August Games Recap

Much better month of baseball than July!

Mon 8/1 OAK W 8-4, Beavan, Garlic Chicken, 23,335, scored
Tue 8/2 OAK W 4-2, Felix, Chicken Noodles, 22,576
Mon 8/15 TOR W 6-5, Pineda, Brisket, 28,530, scored
Wed 8/17 TOR L 6-1, Beavan, Pizza, 26,579, scored
Fri 8/26 CWS L 4-2, Furbush, Gyro, 28,621, scored
Sat 8/27 CWS L 3-0, Pineda, Burger, 30,522, scored
Mon 8/29 LAA W 5-3, Beavan, Garlic Chickem, 16,990, scored
Wed 8/31 LAA W 2-1, Felix, Gyro, 18,520, scored

Record by Starting Pitcher
Felix: 2-0 (6-3)
Pineda: 1-1 (4-1)
Vargas: N/A (1-6)
Beavan: 2-1 (2-1)
Furbush: 0-1 (0-1)
Fister: N/A (0-3)
Bedard: N/A (1-2)

Record by Day (Overall)
Mon: 3-0 (5-3)
Tue: 1-0 (2-1)
Wed: 1-1 (3-1)
Thu: N/A (1-0)
Fri: 0-1 (4-4)
Sat: 0-1 (0-7)

Record By Food
Baked Potato: N/A (1-1)
Cookies: N/A (1-1)
Pizza:  0-1 (3-1)
Gyro: 1-1 (3-2)
Garlic Chicken 2-0 (2-2)
Garlic Fries: N/A (1-1)
Kettle Corn: N/A (3-2)
Crepe: 0-1 (2-3)
Brisket Sandwich: 1-0 (1-1) 
Burger: 0-1 (0-1)

Record with Roof Closed: N/A (2-2)
Record while Scoring: 4-3 (7-10)

Attendance:
Mon: 23,335; 28,530; 16,990
Tue: 22,576
Wed: 26,579; 18,520
Fri: 28,621
Sat: 30,522
Avg Attendance:  24,459 (23,013)

Overall Score:  Opponent 18 (102) Mariners 37 (95)
Run Differential: +19 (-7)

Avg Runs Scored
Mariners 4.625
Opponent 2.25

Greatest Run Differential Win: 4
Greatest Run Differential Loss: 4

Mariners total Runs Record:
0: 0-1 (0-4)
1: 0-1 (1-7)
2: 1-1 (1-2)
3:       (4-3)
4: 1-0 (2-0)
5: 1-0 (3-0)
6: 1-0 (2-0)
8: 1-0 (2-0)

Opponent:
0:       (4-0)
1: 1-0 (2-1)
2: 1-0 (5-2)
3: 1-1 (1-2)
4: 1-1 (1-3)
5: 1-1 (1-3)
6:       (0-1)
7:       (1-0)
8:       (0-2)
9:       (0-1)
12:     (0-1)

Overall 5-3 (15-16)
One Run Games: 2-0 (6-3)

Safeco and Mariners Pet Peeves

In no particular order...

#35 Olivo
#34 Root sports changing the theme song to the opening
#33 Vendors blocking view during active play
#32 Ushers booting people from empty seats when there are 15k people at the game
#31 People taking pictures of Ichiro during the top of the inning... home plate is the other way
#30 Ichiro
#28 3-5 second delay between radio/tv broadcasts
#27 Fans who care more about the Hydro race than the game
#26 Fans who care more about the Hat Trick than the game
#25 Fans who care more about "hooking up" than the game
#24 Boston Fans
#23 New York Fans
#22 Chicago Cubs Fans
#21 Searching your bag/backpack when entering the game
#20 Rally Fries signs
#15 Dave Sims
#14 Dancing Grounds Crew gets louder applause than the team
#13 People who show up halfway through the game
#12 The Wave
#11 The Wave when the the home team is up
#10 Kids under the age of 7 going to the game
#9 Kids kicking my seat
#8 Kids standing on seats
#7 Ivars' Clam Chowder
#6 The food prices
#5 People getting up in the middle of an at bat to leave their seats
#4 People going down the wrong aisle and forgetting where their seats are (not that hard)
#3 People standing up in the middle of an inning while on their phone and waving to someone else across the stadium
#2 The endless giveaways
#1 God Bless America

Felix With 5th Complete Game

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!  What a way to end the month of August.  Carp tied the Mariners rookie mark for RBIs in a month, Felix passed Jamie Moyer for 2nd on the strike out list (trailing only Randy Johnson) as well as passed 200 strike outs in a season for the third year in a row.  This game had it all, fantastic defense, pitching, clutch hitting, and a come from behind 2-1 win.

Angels  (73-62)

Aybar SS

Kendrick 2B

Hunter RF

Trumbo 1B

Callaspo 3B

Bourjos CF

Trout LF

Mathis C

Haren P

Mariners (57-77)

Ichiro DH

Gutierrez CF

Ackley 2B

Carp 1B

Olivo C

Seager 3B

Wells RF

Ryan SS

Robinson LF

Hernandez P

With Felix and Haren on the mound, we knew it had the potential to be a great game.  When both pitchers are on, they're ON.  As with the majority of fantastic pitchers, you have to hit them in the first couple of innings or it will be a long night.

Haren gave up a walk in the first and a double in the second... which was followed by retiring the next 15 batters until a single by Carp in the 7th inning.  It was an inning in which we loaded the bases but weren't able to break out for a run. 

At that point we were trailing 1-0 thanks to a leadoff broken bat single by the speedy Trout in the 3rd who came around on another single by Kendrick after advancing to second base on a sac bunt.  The single by Kendrick followed Felix's 3rd strikeout in the game, Aybar, which made him pass Jamie Moyer to the number 2 position on career strikeouts at 1,240.  He ended up with another 6 on the night.

Felix wasn't perfect, but he was definitely sharp.  At one point, from the 4th to the 8th inning, he retired 12 in a row.  His final line:  9 IP, 109 P, 5H, 1 R, 9 K, 1 BB

So here Felix is, pitching his ass off again and looking at another complete game loss.  We got to Haren in the 7th but were unable to score.  Needless to say, I was less than confident with Robinson and Ichiro up 1 and 2 in the order in the top of the 8th.  As predicted, neither produced.  But Gutierrez, having refound his stroke in the month of August, got a single up the middle and WE WERE ALIVE!  Ackley quickly followed with a single of his own and we had runners at the corners.  All we needed was a single to tie or a well placed double to put us ahead.  Carp came up to the plate, needing those two RBI sitting on the bases to tie Danny Tartabull in 1986 for most RBIs by a Mariners rookie in any month (25).

After a pitching change in which Haren was pulled, on a 2-1 pitch Caro smoked it... and I mean smoked, to left center which got past Bourjos for a double that scored both runners!  The crowd went nuts.  Carp had tied the rookie record, we were up 2-1, and with the way Felix was pitching there was no doubt he wouldn't come out to complete the game.  To the roar of the crowd, he came trotting back out to the 9th and retired the first two batters via strikeouts.  Then, Trumbo took a 1-1 pitch deep to RF, but thankfully it was grabbed at the warning track for the final out.  Everyone went home happy and pumped up from the excitement.

Gyro
15-16 when I attend
18,520 att

Carp Snaps Streak

Losing streak, that is.  The Mariners played spoiler, knocking off the Angels 5-3 on one of their better games of the year.  We had everything, great hitting, great defense, and solid pitching.  Seeing as how we came into the game 20 games under, the only thing to look forward to is the role of spoiler and the continued development of our youngsters.  The Angels are fighting for the AL West top spot with the Rangers, but they will have to wait at least another day for a win.

Angels (72-61)

Izturis 3B

Kendrick 2B

Abreu DH

Hunter RF

Trumbo 1B

Wells LF

Aybar SS

Bourjos CF

Conger C

Pineiro P

Mariners (56-76)

Ichiro RF

Gutierrez CF

Ackley 2B

Carp 1B

Olivo C

Kennedy DH

Wells LF

Seager 3B

Ryan SS

Beavan P

Trumbo is a freaking beast of a rookie... he came into the game hitting 256 with 18 homers and 71 RBI.  He added 2 more RBI with his 2 run homer in the 4th.  The Angels added another run that inning, but that was pretty much all she wrote for their offense!

Ackley was a homer shy of a cycle, Wells got two outfield assists (3rd and 7th) as well as walked in 3 out of his 4 plate appearances (one intentional), and Carp crushed the game winning 2 run homer 432 feet to the hit it here cafe in the 8th as the Mariners won 5-3 in a thrilling game.  There were only 16,990 fans, which is pathetic considering the weather was beautiful and it is still August!  The Mariners hit a season high 7 extra base hits.  Ichiro had 2 of them, both doubles in which he came around on a sac fly to left field in the first and Ackley's triple in the 5th (which tied the game at 3).  He now has 153 hits on the year with 29 games to go on his quest for 200.  I really hope he doesn't get it.

Garlic Chicken
14-16 when I attend
I scored, but let my sister score for nearly half of the game.  She did a good job and I think had a good time.

Mariners Shut Out

Not much to say with this one, Danks went the whole way and we were shut out 3-0.  The higlight of the game was in the ceremonial pitch as Larry Bernandez (Felix Hernandez's commercial alter ego) threw out the first pitch.  It was Larry Bernandez bobblehead night.

White Sox

Pierre LF

De Aza RF

Konerko DH

Ramierez SS

Dunn 1B

Lillibridge CF

Flowers C

Morel 3B

Beckham 2B

Danks P

Mariners

Ichiro RF

Gutierrez CF

Ackley 2B

Carp 1B

Olivo C

Wells LF

Pena DH

Seager 3B

Ryan SS

Pineda P

Pineda retired the first 9 in order, then go into trouble in the 4th as Pierre led off with a high chopper of an infield hit.  Followed by two consecutive singles and then a sac fly, and we were down 2-0.  That's all Danks needed, but they added another in the 8th on a solo homer. The Mariners were only able to muster three hits and 1 walk, striking out 10 times.  At least the game was only 2 hours and 9 minutes, so it was over quickly.

Burger, Att 30,522

The Mariners fell to 13-16 when I attend

Lost Opportunities

White Sox (63-65)

Pierre LF

Lillibridge 1B

Konerko DH

Rios CF

Ramirez SS

Flowers C

De Aza RF

Morel 3B

Beckham 2B

Peavy P

Mariners (56-73)

Ichiro RF

Gutierrez CF

Ackley 2B

Carp 1B

Olivo C

Seager 3B

Pena DH

Ryan SS

Robinson LF

Furbush P

 

It was a disappointing loss as the Mariners had ample opportunity to win.  Furbush struggled early on, with 70 pitches through the first three.  He allowed the leadoff batter of the game on in a single.  Then, Olivo had a passed ball which took away a double play opportunity.  The White Sox ended up scoring two times in the first, and we never led the rest of the game.

In the bottom of the second we were able to get 1 back with a leadoff solo shot on the first pitch by Olivo.  Then, in the third we left the bases loaded.  We tied it up in the 4th, then after the White Sox immediately took back the lead with a two run homer in the 5th, we left the bases loaded once again in the 7th.  In all, we left 11 men on base and lost by the final score of 4-2.

Attendance 28,621
- Gyro/Fries

13-15 when I attend

Morrow Returns

It was the return of Brandon Morrow, our former #1 pick from several years ago.  After screwing around with him for a couple of years... we finally traded him away to Toronto for a fresh start.  He has days where he is just on, lights out... and then days when he gets rocked!  I was there for his first ML Start in which he took a no-hitter into the 8th inning.  Tonight was one of those nights.  At one point he struck out 5 in a row, ending up with 12k in 6 total innings.  He gave up just one run and picked up the win as the Mariners fell to the Blue Jays 5-1.

Blue Jays (62-60)

Escobar SS

Thames LF

Bautista RF

Lind 1B

Encarnacion DH

Rasmus CF

Lawrie 3B

Hill 2B

Molina C

Morrow P

Mariners (53-68)

Ichiro DH

Gutierrez CF

Ackley 2B

Carp 1B

Wells RF

Robinson LF

Seager 3B

Bard C

Wilson SS

Beavan P

The Blue Jays scored all their runs via the longball.  After hitting three on Monday they hit three more today.  A leadoff solo in the 2nd, 3 run HR in the 3rd, and another leadoff homer in the 4th.  5 runs was all they needed, and then some.  Wells had entered the game hitting home runs in 4 straight games.  Unfortunately this streak came to an end as he was hit on the nose in the 6th inning after striking out his first two times at the plate.  It turns out he was fine, just a little rattled, as x-rays etc came back negative.  However another streak was extended as Carp pushed his hitting streak to 17 games in the 4th.  Ackley had 3ks, he's struggling a little.  We only mustered 3 hits total in the game.

Ate a slice of Pizza
Attendance 26,579
13-14 when I attend and fell to 53-69 overall.