I have to say that I
won’t get tired of seeing what the Mariners are doing on the road so far this
season. Also they are doing the same thing at home now to after a rocky start.
I am sure none of us
expected the Mariners going 5-2 on this road trip. It was an added plus to
sweep the A’s in Oakland especially after they swept the Mariners the first
series of the season at Safeco Field.
What made the road trip
good were not just the five wins they were in for both the games they lost even
Sunday’s for a while however the bats did not come alive. Outside of Robinson
Cano whom the Astros I am sure will want to forget hit another home run his twelfth
of the season.
Iwakuma had another
poor outing on Sunday after having an outstanding one in his previous outing.
He is the only pitcher right now who is having difficulty in the starting
rotation. We know that TaiJuan Walker had to leave early in his last outing
because of injury to his neck. He should be ready to go in his next outing
against Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Iwakuma only lasted five innings giving up
seven hits and three runs on ninety-eight pitches. The concern with Iwakuma is
not the runs as much as how many pitches he is throwing which is not common for
him. He usually throws a lot less pitches and can go for like seven innings.
Hopefully whatever the issues are they can be rectified in his next outing.
The Mariners now take
on Tampa Bay Rays in a three game series in Seattle. King Felix takes the mound
for the Mariners. We hope whatever problem he had in his last outing will be
corrected tonight. Knowing Felix he usually does not go through too many poor
outings in a row. In this series the Mariners will be seeing some former or
ex-Mariners. Lloyd Morrison will be at first base and Brad Miller at shortstop.
So far both of them are struggling at the plate and we may see Farquhar out of
the bullpen.
The Mariners will be
facing two lefties in the first two games of the series. Matt Moore will start
the first game against Felix. He had his worst outing in his last start against
the Dodgers giving up seven runs. The Rays gave him an extra day of rest
however we hope that Mariners offense can come back alive against him. The
Mariners will be having their regular lineup against lefties. We will be seeing
Franklin Gutierrez in right field while Dae-Hoo Lee will be at first base.
Nelson Cruz should be back in the lineup after missing Sunday’s game. Having an
injury I am sure he will be at designated hitter instead in right field. Also,
it will be nice to see that Seth Smith will have a little rest since he has
been struggling of late at the plate. I am sure if the Mariners can light up
Moore we will see Smith pinch hitting sometime in the game.
We can all hope that
some of the other bats besides Cano will come alive during this home stand.
Seager seems to be heating up to some degree so we hope that he will get some
hits. Also, Leonys Martin can start hitting on a consistent basis. He has been
working with hitting coach Edgar Martinez to correct his flaws.
The important thing is
for the Mariners to continue what they have been doing so far this May. It is
real nice to see them be in almost every game and winning most of the close
games. Go M’s.
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