Adam Lind Grand Slam Leads Mariners Over Rangers!

The Seattle Mariners decided at least for one game they were going to let the Texas Rangers have it and it took place on Wednesday Night. Actually the series so far has been a lot of offense happening in all three games. At least in this one they had some good pitching especially with starter Miranda who pitched into the seventh inning before going to the bullpen. Adam Lind had a grand slam to help the Mariners take a commanding lead in the first inning 5-0. He hit another home run in his next at bat along with one by Seth Smith which allowed the Mariners a comfortable lead. A.J. Griffin the starter for the Rangers lasted only four innings which was somewhat amazing when he had trouble giving up hits.

Miranda sailed along pretty good until the sixth inning with two outs Marte had a ball hit to him that went over his glove for an error. After another hit with two runners on base Carlos Beltran hit a home run. Miranda pitched to one batter in the seventh inning and walked him. At that point he was taken out of the game. I am not sure why no one was warming up in the bullpen when the sixth inning started even though they had a comfortable lead because in his other starts he has had trouble in that inning. He should have been taken out when the hitter reached base after the error. With all the stats and everything else to their disposal the coaching staff should know that Miranda starts getting in trouble in the sixth inning. On the fortunate side the bullpen did an excellent job not letting the lead get out of hand! I know that they want to rest the bullpen much as possible however the history of the starting pitchers should count for something. I hate to lose a game that gets out of hand just because they had a so called large lead.

Thursday night TaiJuan Walker takes the mound for the Mariners. There is a possibility that the Mariners could use the bullpen a lot with what Walker has been going thru the last few starts especially the last one where he did not make it through the 1^st inning. Stottlemyre worked with Walker on his mechanics so we will see Thursday how that works out. We hope that the problem is not just in his head like some think. Depending on how he does this could be his last start of the season. It looks like Wade LeBlanc will be back with the Mariners in a few days so he could take Walker’s spot if needed. Although the Mariners chances are slim now to make the playoffs as a wild card it is important that the team plays like they are in the playoffs and not just going through the motions. They are looking at guys like Gamel and Heredia to see where they fit in the equation for next year. We look forward to see what the team does the remaining of the season. It will be interesting to see what Dipoto does in the off-season. Regardless we do know that some changes will occur. Go M’s.