On Sunday the Mariners had another loss that could have been a victory.
It has been tough recently for this Mariner team.
They actually scored first with a home run by Franklin Gutierrez early
in the game and it held up for five innings. In the end because lack of offense
the Mariners lost again this time 2-1; right now it seems that other teams have
figured the Mariners out. On the current road trip they are 2-4 going into
Detroit. For the Mariners to break even on this road trip they will have to go
3-1.
The way that the Texas Rangers have been playing so far this month of
June they are leaving the Mariners and the rest of the division in the dust. The
Mariners need to figure things out and readjust to get back into the race.
Without some changes they could be on the losing end of the record when coming
home from Detroit.
TaiJuan Walker had to leave the game again because of his recent injury
after the fifth inning. Up to that point he had pitched very well and did not
give up any runs. Newcomer Diaz gave up the going run on a homer so had to take
the loss. Most of the bullpen should be OK now since most of them had a rest
against the Red Sox. We will know soon whether Walker will have to go on the
disabled list before his next scheduled start on Friday.
Late Sunday the Mariners made a trade with the Dodgers where they
traded shortstop Chris Taylor for starting pitcher Zach Lee who is currently in
triple A and will report to the Tacoma Rainiers for now. I do not know much
about Lee other than he was a first round draft pick and he is only twenty-four
years old. It is nice that the Mariners made a trade for a young pitcher that
adds depth to their roster. Chris Taylor was third on the depth chart at shortstop
and he was playing well for Tacoma though he had a poor outing when he came up
for the Mariners earlier when Marte went on the disable list.
The next step the Mariners need to do is make a trade for an outfielder
who has some speed and play defense. The other choice would be to bring Boog
Powell up however I am not sure if he is truly ready yet. Aoki has been a
disappointment in left field and Seth Smith along with Nelson Cruz has their liability
in right field. Besides Leonys Martin they have Franklin Gutierrez however he
can’t play every day in the outfield. Utility player Sean O’Malley can play
some defense however he doesn’t have the bat to play every day. He can come
late in games for pinch runner along with defense. He sometimes gives someone a
day off as well. The best lineup right now against lefties is O’Malley in left,
Martin in center and Gutierrez in right but lacks the defense against right
handed pitching.
Aoki started the season as the leadoff batter however his batting
average along with his defense have been a disappointment so he has been moved
to the bottom of the batting order. Right now Leonys Martin seems to be the
leadoff batter against righties and Marte against lefties. Personally I wish
Marte would be the everyday leadoff hitter though his best spot would be
batting second. So the Mariners are losing now because of the weaknesses on the
team. For them to make the playoffs they need to shore up those weaknesses or
we will see them continue losing. The Houston Astros could overtake them so
they could end up third in the division. There looks like not much hope for the
Angels and the A’s.
The Mariners need to pull off shortly and not wait until late July. I
wonder if they could get Michael Saunders back from Toronto or at least someone
like him. Now we will see what happens in Detroit. Go M’s.
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