Defense Brings Down Mariners

The Seattle Mariners had the chance to win another series the third one on the current road trip however defense in the first brought it to a screeching halt.

The Mariners started off the first inning with a double by Nelson Cruz that drove in Yonder Alonzo however that ended right there. In the bottom of the first their defense let them down by having five errors one by Ben Gamel who missed a catch, Jean Segura who had three of the errors fielding, catch and throw. The fifth error was a fielding miscue by Kyle Seager. After the game Seager said he couldn’t repeat the words that he was thinking after his error. Also he said that they didn’t play defense in the first and the pitcher deserved batter. I would have to say that is an understatement.

The five errors allowed the Yankees to score six runs in the first inning. Of course it would be hard for any team to overcome that even if they played a perfect game after the first inning. Andrew Albers who started his third game for the Mariners was able to get through five innings. Actually he started the sixth inning however Dan Altavilla replaced him. In total Albers gave up eleven hits and two walks in the five innings plus. His line was eight runs with only three earned and he struck out four.

Altavilla on the other hand went the rest of the way going three innings giving up four hits and two runs that made the final score 10-1. The Mariners have a record of 5-4 heading to Baltimore to take on the Orioles. We hope that the team can get into their heads to play better defense. The last time a time in the major leagues had five errors was 1977 when the Mariners were an expansion team. They actually were not the team that had the five error that honor goes to the Chicago Cubs.

The Mariners had a total of six hits in the game and no player had any more than one hit. Of course if you took the three earned runs in the game when Albers pitched the Mariners could have had a chance to win.

In team news Jarrod Dyson is eligible to come off the disabled list however he isn’t ready to do so. The Mariners right now have eight relievers in the bullpen so if Dyson were able to come off the disabled list likely it would be for a pitcher and my guess would be Dan Altavilla since he pitched three innings on Sunday.

Marco Gonzales will be taking the first start of the series on Monday night against the Orioles. Though he has struggled to get past the fifth inning it would be nice if the Mariners could have him go six innings. The bright spot the Orioles have ex-Mariner Chris Tillman who has been having problems all season. In fact he was sent to the bullpen for a couple weeks. His last outing was last Sunday when he went five and one-third innings. He gave up four runs on four hits however walked six batters while striking out two. If the Mariners can be patient at the beginning of the game they should be in good position to score runs early off of Tillman and get him out of the game so the Orioles have to use their bullpen for several innings. This is a good shot for the Mariners to win the opening game of the series. They did win the first game against the Yankees so the chances look good. If the Mariners win the series they can come home with a record of 7-5 on this road trip and 8-4 if they sweep the Orioles. It is nice to see that they are still in this wild card race after being on the road for nine games.

This coming Friday will be September 1 so the Mariners will be able to expand their rosters. How many players will come up is anyone’s guess however I am sure they will bring up a few pitchers. James Paxton and Felix Hernandez might still be a couple weeks before their returns. Iwakuma not sure if he will pitch the rest of the season or not. One thing for sure the Mariners will want both Paxton and Hernandez be totally healthy otherwise will not help them get to the playoffs or when they are in it. I would say that Andrew Albers has a good chance to stay in the rotation when Paxton and Felix return. I would send Gallardo back to the bullpen when one or both return. The Mariners could go with a six-man rotation the rest of the way as well. Go M’s.