Sonics Night

Sorry about the formatting, it is acting all wonky!

Well, the last game I went to they honored the 116 win Mariners team.  The hi-light of this evening was before the first pitch, as the Seattle Mariners brought many Supersonics legends to Safeco in a pregame ceremony.  Michael Cage, Tom Chambers, Jack Sikma, Lenny Wilkens, Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, George Karl and others all gathered around the mound.  It was the largest gathering of former Sonics since the team was ripped from our hearts.  It was cool to see so much green and gold in the stands, but bittersweet as well.  They never should have left.  I can't believe it has been three years already.

Tampa Bay Rays Jennings LF Damon DH Longoria 3B Zobrist 2B Upton CF Kotchman 1B Shoppach C Joyce RF Rodriguez SS Niemann P Mariners

Suzuki RF
Ryan SS
Ackley 2B
Olivo C
Carp LF
Smoak DH
Kennedy 1B
Gutierrez CF
Figgins 3B

Bedard P

Unfortunately all the goodwill ended when Erik Bedard, coming off the DL, couldn't make it through the second inning.  I can't recall the last time I saw one of our starting pitchers have such a short stint.  He lasted on 1.1 innings on 57 pitches, giving up 3 hits, 4 walks, and 5 runs.  If he had a good outing we were sure to trade him.  Some think he sabotaged the outing on purpose.  Who knows... but it was disappointing regardless.  The Rays ended up scoring 8 total in the inning... and the Mariners only mustered 3 hits the whole night.  We were shut out 8-0.

There was also a moment of silence for Rick "The Peanut Man" Kaminski who had been a fixture at the Kingdome and Safeco since the inaugural season.  He passed away from a Brain Aneurysm earlier in the week.  It has been a tough couple of years for the Mariners family, both on and off the field.
Coming into the game the Mariners had snapped a 17 game losing streak, the most in franchise history.  We are now 1-18 in our last 19 games.  We started the streak at 43-43 and only 2.5 games back.

Ate Brisket Sandwich, pretty good.  Attendance was  26,570 and they dropped to 10-13 when I attend.  Went with my bro-in-law

Some movement from the Mariners as we get near the deadline... they DFA Cust and traded Langerhans for cash.

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.

Offense Fails Fister

The big story of the game is in how the only run of the game scored... but if the Mariners had been able to muster a mere TWO RUNS, it wouldn't have mattered.  Instead, Doug Fister picked up a complete game 1-0 loss.

Padres (37-46)

Venable RF

Bartlett SS

Headley 3B

Ludwick DH

Denorfia LF

Phillips C

Maybin CF

Rizzo 1B

Gonzalez 2B

Luebke P

Mariners (40-42)

Ichiro RF

Ryan SS

Gutierrez CF

Smoak 1B

Halman LF

Cust DH

Bard C

Figgins 3B

Wilson 2B

Fister P

Interesting lineup for the Mariners with Gutierrez in at the number 3 slot, obviously to try and get his .192 batting average going.  Wilson was in at 2B because Ackley was out for the second straight game to rest bruised ribs.  Well, with Ichiro, Cust, Figgins, and Wilson in there with the way Guti has struggled and Smoak mired in a slump... we were pretty hopeless.

The only two hits for the Mariners were from Greg Halman, batting 5th.  The kid doesn't play enough!  He was 12/34 (.353) coming into the game and went 2-3 with a double in the 2nd and single in the 5th.  The only other base runner for the Mariners the entire game was Ryan who reached on an error in the 7th.  He stole a base but then ended up being stranded at third.  The Mariners only had 29 total plate appearances, 2 above the minimum.

There were questionable calls by Homeplate Umpire Phil Cuzzi throughout the game.  There were 8 called strikeouts (4 by each team), and in the 5th inning after a "discussion" with Phillips (caught looking) and Manager Bud Black... he let Maybin advance to 1st on a THREE BALL WALK.  I was scoring and thought that I had missed a ball somewhere.  Nope, it was confirmed that there were only three balls in the at-bat.  Why nobody noticed in the Mariners dugout is beyond me.  Unfortunately Maybin ended up coming around on a hard hit single through short... and that was the ballgame!!

Fister didn't deserve this.  He retired the first 11 he faced until giving up two consecutive singles in the 4th.  Then, the phantom walk in the 5th.  He went the distance, maybe was even better than Vargas yesterday, but it didn't matter 'cause his teammates were inept.  His final line:  9 IP, 114 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K .

Needless to say everyone was talking about that walk after the game.  It is one of those fluke things that happens sometimes, and if the Mariners had scored two runs it wouldn't have mattered.  Unfortunately, the baseball gods were not on our side tonight.  I'm just so pissed off at the lack of run support for Fister this year.  His 3-9 record is absolute bullshit!

I ate a Gyro and picked up a Brendan Ryan autographed baseball in their Mariners Care Auction.  The attendance was 22,798.

They dropped to 10-10 when I attend and 40-43 overall.

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.

June Games Recap

Back into the swing of things, and I even had time to take in a couple away games.

Mon 6/13 LAA L 6-3, Vargas, Baked Potato and Cookies, 20,238 scored
Wed 6/15 LAA W 3-1, Bedard, Pizza, 19,321 scored
Sat 6/19 PHI L 5-1, Felix, Garlic Chicken, 35,829 scored
Fri 6/24 @ FLA W 5-1, Felix, Gyro and Kettle Korn, 15,279 scored, ROOF
Sat 6/25 @ FLA L 4-2, Vargas, Crepe and Kettle/Caramel corn, 16,896 scored
Mon 6/27 ATL L 3-1, Bedard, Crepe, 25,467, scored, ROOF


Record by Starting Pitcher
Felix: 1-1 (4-2)
Pineda: N/A (3-0)
Vargas: 0-2 (1-5)
Fister: N/A (0-1)
Bedard: 1-1 (1-1)

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

Record By Food
Baked Potato: 0-1 (1-1)
Cookies: 0-1 (1-1)
Pizza:  1-0 (2-0)
Gyro: 1-0 (2-0)
Garlic Chicken 0-1 (0-2)
Kettle Corn: 1-1 (3-2)
Crepe: 1-1 (2-2)

Record with Roof Closed: 1-1 (2-1)
Record while Scoring: 2-4 (3-4)

Attendance:
Mon: 20,238; 25,467
Wed: 19,231
Fri: 15,279 (A)
Sat: 35,829; 16,896 (A)
Avg Attendance:  22,156 (21,294)

Overall Score:  Opponent 20 (66) Mariners 15 (51)
Run Differential: -5 (-15)

Avg Runs Scored
Mariners 2.5
Opponent 3.33

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

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

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

Overall 2-4 (9-9)
One Run Games: N/A (4-2)

Our Offensive Offense Strikes Out

Yesterday the Mariners won 2-1 in the 10th by scoring Ackley from 3rd on the 3rd pitch of an intentional base on balls to Peguero!!! 

Lineups 

Atlanta

Heyward RF

Lugo 3B

McCann C

Jones DH

Freeman 1B

Uggla 2B

Gonzalez SS

McLouth

Ramirez LF

Beachy P

Mariners RF

Ryan SS

Kennedy DH

Smoak 1B

Ackley 2B

Olivo C

Carp LF

Gutierrez CF

Figgins 3B

Bedard P

 

I am getting really pissed off... like REALLY pissed off at the way our offense continues to suck.  Our pitchers pitch their asses off and one little mistake means they take home the loss.  In our last six losses we've scored a total of FIVE RUNS!  Tonight, all the scoring came via home runs, and unfortunately all we got was a solo shot from Kennedy in the 4th.  The Braves got two monster homers, one from McCann, their star catcher, in the 1st... and a 2 run homer by rookie Freeman in the 7th as we lost 3-1.  Bedard picked up yet another loss while producing another quality start.  You can't ask for much more from our pitchers. They keep us in it, our offense just doesn't produce and hasn't for a couple of weeks.

Their rookie closer, Kimbrel, had NASTY stuff.  Just, nasty! He picked up his 21st save of the year.   Totally fooled Smoak and Ackley.

I had a Turkey Crepe again because it was still $1 off.  It was very good, taking out the cheese improved it 200%! 

The attendance was 25,467 with a very vocal and quite prominent Atlanta contingent.  I didn't realize they had so many  "followers".  It wasn't until McCann's homer that I noticed how many of them there were.  I swear, must've been a third of the crowd!  But, I guess after winning 14 straight division titles you earn some fans.  At least they weren't obnoxious.

Roof was closed, scored for the sixth straight game.  The Mariners dropped back under .500 again at 39-40 and are now 9-9 when I attend.

Offense Falters Again

Mariners (38-38)

Ichiro RF

Ryan SS

Kennedy 1B

Olivo C

Ackley 2B

Gutierrez CF

Peguero LF

Figgins 3B

Vargas P

Marlins (33-43)

Bonifacio CF

Infante 2B

Ramirez SS

Stanton RF

Buck C

Helms 3B

Wise LF

Volstad P

When your offense can barely muster 3 runs a game, your margin for error is a slim one.  Your pitchers have to be practically perfect, and even then you may not win.   Tonight, Vargas struggled in the first by giving up three runs on 4 hits, and that was pretty much the ballgame.   We were only able to muster 2 runs on 6 hits.  On the postgame show it was mentioned that when then Mariners score 4 or more runs, they are 25-6.  When they score less than 4, they are 13-33.  Yikes!  It would be interesting to know how other teams compare, seeing as how we are now out of the steroids era.

As you can see Smoak didn't start as he was feeling under the weather, although he did pinch hit in the 7th inning. Volstad, 6'8, held the Mariners to no hits into the 5th inning.   Volstad came into the game with a 2-7 record and 5.65 ERA and we made him look like a genius.  The Mariners had been retired in order until Ichiro reached on an error to lead off the 4th.  He was able to advance to 3rd via a Balk and ground out, but was stranded by Olivo's ground ball to Ramirez.  In the 5th inning, Ackley fouled out to the catcher and Gutierrez grounded out to Ramirez, which brought up Peguero.  On a 2-1 pitch he hit a line drive home run just over the RF fence... it sailed all of 332 feet.  It was almost as fast as the previous line drive homer he hit earlier in the year.  The no-hitter and shutout was over!  But really, waiting until the 5th inning to get a  hit adds too much pressure on the starting pitching.

The Marlins added another run in the bottom of the sixth, which the Mariners answered by hitting three straight singles by Ackley, Gutierrez, and Peguero to load the bases with one out.  Figgins did what he was supposed to and hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Ackley and advance Guti to 3rd.  Pinch hitter Carp came up to bat for Vargas, which forced the Marlins to bring in Choate.  We responded by pinch hitting Smoak for Carp!  In a huge twist during the game, the best case scenario for Florida occurred when Smoak was hit by a pitch on a 1-2 count.  This loaded the bases for Ichiro... but he isn't a threat and he wasn't again tonight when he ended the inning by grounding out to third.  And that was pretty much the ballgame.  There was no more scoring and we lost 4-2.

Pork all gone!

Since there wasn't much to talk about, I will share in more detail what I ate.  My sister and I decided that we wanted to try the combo kettle/caramel corn so we bought that outside for $5.  We then entered the game in The Pen where I picked up a Turkey Crepe, this time without cheese.  The first time I had it I was not impressed, but this time it was really good!  Maybe it was the freshness factor?  I got it for a dollar off, at $7.50, by using the MLB At-Bat phone App.  If you "check-in" to a game they give you daily rewards, always $1 off at some stand.  My sister decided to get pulled pork sandwich, which came with coleslaw and fried onions on top.  It looked really tasty, but I forgot to take a picture until it was too late.  The price was $10.50.

I scored again, and for some reason today I had more difficulty putting scoring the right team at the right time.  I even put the first 4 Marlins on the Visitors side! The attendance was 16,896, the roof was open and it was a very quick game, just 2:10

They dropped to 9-8 when I attend and back under .500 at 38-39.  Because the Angels won, we are now in 3rd place at 2.5 games behind Texas and .5 games behind the Angels.  We're struggling right now, we need some offense!!  This was the 6th game I'd seen Vargas pitch and the Mariners are 1-5 in those games.  Yikes!

A Safeco First

Notice anything different?

Well, like I've said many times before you always see something at the ballpark that you've never seen before... whether it be an unassisted triple play, a weird bounce off a base or fielder, or a broken bat that sails 150 feet.  Tonight, for the first time, the Mariners played as an away team at Safeco while using National League rules.  It was the first time in MLB during the DH era that pitchers batted at an AL ballpark! 

The Mariners came into this having been swept by the Nationals despite only giving up 1 ER in 3 games.  That's inexcusable.  We fell below .500 for the first time since May 25th.  The Marlins came into the game at 2-20 for June.

The Lineups:

Mariners (37-38)

Ichiro Suzuki RF

Brendan Ryan SS

Adam Kennedy 3B

Justin Smoak 1B

Dustin Ackley 2B

Miguel Olivo C

Carlos Peguero LF

Franklin Gutierrez CF

Felix Hernandez P

Marlins (33-42)

Emilio Bonifacio CF

Logan Morrison LF

Gaby Sanchez 1B

Hanley Ramirez SS

Greg Dobbs 3B

Mike Stanton RF

John Buck C

Omar Infante 2B

Ricky Nolasco P

Watching the Mariners bat first in gray uniforms was definitely a different experience.  Usually we hear the national anthem, then the mariners gets introduced as they trot out to the field... followed by a "play ball" cheer from some lucky kid.  Side rant... how come they never had any of these running around the bases/kids day/open the game/in the broadcast booth promotions when I was a kid!  The only thing we got to do was walk around the field once a year.  This time it was "play ball" with the Mariners batting first!  The Marlins took the field to scattered applause.

King's Court going crazy with Ks

The Mariners went down in order and Felix ran into some trouble the first two innings.  He caught Bonifacio looking in the first.  King's Court, expanded to three sections tonight, waved their K signs and went crazy everytime he got to two strikes in a count.  Then, he walked Morrison who two batters later got picked off to end the inning.  The Mariners went down in order in the top of the second as well.  The bottom of the second sure was an interesting one.

Ramirez, who had been up at the plate when Morrison was picked off first the prior inning, led off by flying out to Guti on the first pitch.  Then, former Mariner Dobbs walked.  Stanton struck out swinging.  The next batter, Buck, was hit by a pitch on an 0-1 count.  The next batter is when it got really interesting.   With the count 2-2, Felix pitched inside and it looked like the ball hit off of the knob of the bat.  Infante acted like he had been hit on his hand.  The initial call was a foul, but Jack McKeon came out and protested... the umpires met for a conference and then called Wedge over to discuss.  In a rarity, the umpires reversed a call.  The delay was at least seven minutes, and the fans were not pleased.  Infante trotted out to first and the bases were loaded, all without a hit.    According to the radio it hit off the knob of the bat.  Fortunately, Felix was able to get out of the inning 'cause the pitcher was up, and Nolasco flied out to Left to end the threat.  Felix threw 41 pitches in the first two innings!

Hit It There!!

In the top of the third, there was some excitement.  Peguero sturck out but then Guti had a good AB and before he grounded out to third he hit a foul ball right in front of us in which the ball dropped between the 1B and RF.  You don't see a foul in play missed that often.  Felix Hernandez, with two outs, came up to the plate and the crowd when wild!  He got a rousing cheer.  The King's Court turned their cards around and on the back it said "Hit It There" with and arrow pointing to the field.  He fouled off the first pitch which drew appreciation from everyone.  Then, on the next pitch he hit it solidly to the opposite field, right through the hole between 1st and 2nd.  Felix had the first hit of the game, and became the first pitcher to ever get a hit at Safeco!  He was only the third pitcher to ever get an AB at Safeco after Nolasco and Hipolito Pichardo.  Ichiro grounded out to end the inning.  The Mariners then went down in order until the 7th inning.

The Marlins went down in order in the 3rd with Felix notching two Ks.  In the 4th inning he gave up a leadoff hit up the middle to Ramirez who advanced to second on a groundout to the pitcher.  Ramirez further advanced when he stole a base on a probable hit and run when Stanton struck out.  So, there were two out with a runner on third.  On a 2-2 count Buck struck out swinging, but Olivo couldn't handle the pitch and lost the ball as it went past him.  He found it and threw to first, but  Buck was safe and Ramirez had come in to score the first run of the game.  This was all on Olivo, but Felix was charged with the WP.  He got out of the inning when Infante grounded out to third.  He allowed only two more baserunners the rest of the game, a hit in the sixth and another hit batter (Buck for the second time) in the seventh.  His final line, 8 IP, 10k, 2h, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 HBP

FC, and IBB (to Ackley), Olivo came to the plate with one out looking to redeem himself.  He ended up knocking Kennedy in with the tying run on a FC.  So now there were runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out.  Peguero hit an infield single to deep short to load the bases again, and Guti came up with the bases loaded.  He came into the game batting only .192 with 0 HR and 6 RBI.  On a 1-1 count he knocked the ball up the middle into center, driving in 2 runs and the Mariners were up 3-1!  It was a big hit for him, hopefully he will start to come out of his season long slump.

In the 9th inning with Ackley walked with one out, and Olivo had an 8 pitch AB in which King's Court started changing oo Liv o ohhhh (like the Wizard of Oz chant). Don't ask me why they started chanting like that.  But, it worked, as he knocked a pitch 352 feet just over the fence near the left field foul pole to make it a 5-1 game. Yep, I would say he redeemed himself pretty well.  Peguero struck out and Guti got another base hit.  While Guti was at the plate, Felix came into the on deck circle and the crowd went crazy! After Guti's hit he went back to the dugout and Cust came out to pinch hit amid Boos from the seats.  On the postgame show Wedge said that Felix was going to come back out to finish off the game, but when Olivo hit the homer he didn't want to risk it.  Cust struck out looking, which did not please the fans.  League came in to finish of the bottom of the 9th.

looking strange in the away grays

It was a fun and exciting game., a lot of interesting moments.  I kept looking at the wrong part of the scoreboard and it took time to get used to cheering for the gray uniforms.  The novelty of Felix hitting was cool, but I think over time that would wear off (just like interleague play).  Personally I would like to see it abolished altogether and have it go back to only in the WS and All-Star game in which the leagues meet.  Unfortunately it is all about money, and it continues to draw bigger crowds.

I had a Gyro and Kettle Corn, and scored the game.

The roof was closed in the top of the first.  

The attendance was 15,279

The Mariners improved to 38-38 overall and  9-7 when I attend.

Phillies Win, but Future Looks Bright!

King's Court - Newly Expanded!

Tonight, it was King Felix on the mound! About a month ago the Mariners implemented a "King's Court" promotion in which you can buy a ticket in a special section and receive a shirt and crown. Genius marketing guys. Because of popularity they extended this to an additional section. Also, in quite an awesome coincidence, there was a Felix giveaway with King Felix knit caps for the first 20k fans.  It was very Felix oriented tonight, and the reigning Cy Young award winner deserves it!  Coming into the game Felix had the top June winning percentage in ML history with a minimum of 15 starts at .810.

I was unable to attend yesterday's game because of family bonding, but Ackley singled in his first ML AB and our starting pitcher, Pineda, had 5.2 innings of no-hit ball. We ended up winning 4-2 to stay just half a game back in the AL West! It was pretty magical yesterday. Today, a little of that magic remained. I am proud to say that I was there, and scored, Dustin Ackley's first Major League Homer!

Philadelphia came into the series having won 7 consecutive games with the best record in the Majors.  They have a potent lineup and top notch rotation.  Thankfully, we get to skip Cliff Lee and Roy Hallada in the series.  Here are the starting lineups. 

Phillies (43-27)

Jimmy Rollins SS

Shane Victorino CF

Chase Utley 2B

Ryan Howard 1B

Placido Polanco 3B

Raul Ibanez LF

Ross Gload DH

Dominic Brown RF

Carlos Ruiz C

Vance Worley P

Mariners (36-34)

Ichiro Suzuki RF

Brendan Ryan SS

Adam Kennedy 3B

Justin Smoak 1B

Miguel Olivo C

Carlos Peguero LF

Dustin Ackley 2B

Mike Carp DH

Greg Halman CF

Felix Hernandez P

Unfortunately, while not part of the Phillies' heralded top 4 of Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, and Hamels... we were only able to score one run off of Worley and the bullpen shut us down.  That means that Felix had to be perfect tonight.  He wasn't, and he picked up his 6th loss of the season as we lost by a final score of  5-1.  While he was in and out of trouble through various parts of the game... an unlucky double in the 7th down left field line that hit the chalk and bounced into the stands turned a tied ballgame into a 3-1 game, and his sixth loss of the season.  It looked like he was going to get out of the jam, but the Phillies aren't the best team in the Majors out of luck.  They're good.

Jimmy Rollins led of the game with a single to right then advanced to second on a Wild Pitch.  Honestly, it should have been on Olivo.  He continues to have problems blocking at the plate and catching the ball.  I know he has won us a few games with his bat, but he's lost us a few games with his glove.  Rollins had a great day as he went 3-4 with a BB, SB, and 2 Runs scored.  Victorino, batting 2nd, had an even bigger day.  He went 3-4 with a BB, 2B, 3B, HR, 1 Run and 4 RBI.  Rollins scored on a SAC Fly by Howard in the first (his 58th of the year!).

In the bottom of the first the Mariners threatened...  after Ichiro and Ryan made two easy outs, Kennedy singled to right which brought up Justin Smoak batting cleanup for the second day in a row.  He hit an opposite field bomb to left that hit off the wall for a 2B, it was just a foot shy of a home run.  Kennedy didn't come around the score, not sure if he would have been thrown out or not but we'll never know.  That would have tied the game up, but you never want to make your third out at home.  Olivo then grounded out to the pitcher.

Ackley and Smoak, both from North Carolina,  warming up.

In the second inning Peguero struck out swinging which brought up Ackley.  On a full count he launched a pitch 386 feet to the right field stands, and the crowd went absolutely wild.  People were jumping up and down, high fiving strangers.  Ackley got a standing ovation, which continued until he stepped back out of the dugout for his curtain call.  It was a pretty awesome experience.  Carp, coming into the game 5-18 on the year with a .409 OBP worked a walk, and Halman followed with a single.  He entered the game batting .409 (9-22)  Halman ended up going 2-3 with a SB and his first BB of the year.

I am really liking what I'm seeing from Halman.  Ever since he was called up this year he has hustled and produced.  Carp quietly goes about his business, Peguero has ridiculous power (In the 6th inning his broken bat went 20 rows the section behind 1st base).  Smoak, while struggling at times, has the best OBP on the team (.354 and he drew another BB today).  Ackley, there is no reason he won't be a productive hitter, he has been at every level he has ever played.  With Pineda and Felix in our starting rotation and these young fielders, how can you not be optimistic about the future!?

So the game remained 1-1 until the 7th inning, when Felix loaded the bases on 2 hits and a BB.  The walk to Rollins brought up Victorino and his ground rule double.  It hit the chalk line!  2 runs scored and that was the ballgame.  If the ball had only hit a few inches to the left, who knows what would have happened.  It is a shame, 'cause Felix had a gutsy performance and another quality start.  He wasn't in top form, but he kept us in it.

In the 9th Jamey Wright came in after Pauley pitched a scoreless 8th.  Wright has been struggling in June, and his struggles continued as he gave up a 1B to Rollins followed by a 2 Run HR to Victorino.  This was all with 2 outs.  Then, he hit Utley, but got Howard with a swinging strikeout.  So, instead of going into the bottom of the 9th within striking distance, we were down 5-1.  Halman had a 2 out single in the 9th but Ichiro ended the game with a strikeout.  He went 1-5 and ended his streak of 6 straight multi-hit games.

Tomorrow is the final game of the homestand, then we go to Washington for 3 and come home for a unique series against Florida.  U2 is on tour and will be using Florida's stadium, so the series was moved to Seattle and will be played with National League rules!  It should be interesting and I'm looking forward to it.  The Marlins aren't doing very well, only 1-17 in June!  

I went to 3 games this homestand (scored them all) and the Mariners were 1-2.  I had Garlic Chicken tonight, which is now $9.75. It wasn't as good as usual, they must have changed the recipe.

The attendance was 35,829 and the roof was closed (a lot of Phillies Red).  The Mariners dropped to 8-7 when I attend and 36-35 overall.  We are now 1.5 games behind Texas. I heard that only 1000 tickets remain for tomorrow's game.