Mariners Take Game One Against Rangers

The Seattle Mariners have decided to keep us in suspense by beating up on the Rangers on Monday night 14-6. It was fortunate because Felix had another poor game pitching giving up five runs. We hope that he will be able to correct things and get back to his pitching like he did a couple weeks ago.

The offense started off with a great home run that Robinson Cano hit into the right field bleachers to make the score 2-0. Before Felix had some trouble the Mariner were up to 8-0. Besides the hitting it allowed the Mariners to keeping the bullpen pitching at a minimum. Other words the key relievers did not pitch in the game.

We have seen the Mariners this season where they score a lot of runs like this and then go in a hitting slump. I just hope this doesn’t happen and the hitting can keep on going. It would be nice to score at least six runs a game especially with a starting rotation that continues to struggle. I am sure though that Felix will recover and figure things out not like TaiJuan Walker.

Tuesday night James Paxton is back on the mound after having finger issues. It will be real nice if he is recovered from that and he can pitch at least six innings in the game. I hope that the game is not close but Edwin Diaz needs some action to keep him sharp.

It will be interesting to see who the Mariners will keep in the bullpen for next season. Outside of Nunez every other spot seems to be open. It would be nice that someone takes up the setup role in the seventh and eighth innings like what was going on about a month ago.

The starting rotation seems to be an area of concern going into next season as well. The Mariners may need to go out and get themselves a number one starter. I am not saying that Felix is no longer capable of being the number one starter but they do show they are vulnerable there. James Paxton does show he could be the number three or four starter depending on where Iwakuma is put in. TaiJuan Walker needs to get his head back into the game. He has the potential but that goes only so far; going out and getting another starter would be a good idea as well.

Last week Dipoto going out and getting Ben Gamel was a good idea. He plays good defense along with looking like a leadoff hitter the Mariners can use however no one knows at this point where he is the long term solution as a regular outfielder. He certainly has the speed and defense to be a part of next year’s team. Shawn O’Malley still looks to be the guy as the backup infielder. Depending on Marte he could play regularly at shortstop too. He answered it when Marte was on the disabled list.

The Mariners are planning to bring up Aoki Tuesday. How much he plays depends on him and the other guys in the outfield. Gamel will be playing a lot and we will see Heredia in games against lefties. Aoki and Smith most likely alternate in the outfield against right handers. One will be used as a left handed pinch hitter when not starting against right handers while they both can come in to pinch hit when they face a lefty. In fact Tuesday night the Mariners face Perez who is another lefty so both will be available off the bench.

I still have questions at the catching position. It was nice to see Jesus Sucre contribute by starting on Monday night getting three hits and driving three runs. He had the history of hitting well off of Hamels so a good choice by Servais in starting him. If he can stay healthy I could see Sucre being the backup catcher next year. Iannetta is showing that he can’t do it after playing in so many games. Mike Zunino has been in a slump so hard to know if the Mariners will think about keeping him around or go after another catcher to start in the off-season. We do see the potential in Zunino just like in Walker but how long can the Mariners stick with both guys. They could be involved in a blockbuster trade especially for a number one starter. Another team could look at the potential in both of them and take a gamble. In the meantime whether the Mariners continue toward the playoffs or not it will be nice to see some parts that could be on the team next season. Go M’s.