The really good news is that the Mariners took the first game
of the series against the Braves in Atlanta. What that means is continuing on
in the wild card race and whether they win the remaining two in the series or
not at least they have taken care of the first important game. I think it is
always important to when the first game.
The Mariners scored first in the game going ahead 1-0 in the
top of the second however the Braves responded by scoring two runs in the
second that included a home run by catcher Suzuki. This is a guy I have wished
that the Mariners could have acquired after he left playing for the Oakland A’s.
He would be fine fit playing a couple times a week at catcher for the Mariners
along with pinch hitting role. He could have been the regular catcher when Mike
Zunino was struggling and spent parts of two seasons at triple A. It is not
always easy to find a good catcher these days but when one is available to go
out and snatch him.
The Mariners came back and tied the score in the third inning
at 2.-2 and then scored three runs in the fourth inning. It included a hit and
an rbi by Mariner starter Andrew Albers. It was his first in the major league
for both. Yonder Alonso had his best
game as a Mariner hitting two doubles and driving in three runs including in
the fourth inning. The Mariners scored their final run in the top of the six to
make it a 6-2 lead however the Braves made it interesting scoring three runs in
the bottom of the sixth to make the final score 6-5. The Mariners bullpen
especially Nick Vincent who got the final out in the seventh inning was able to
get through the eighth without giving up a hit as well. He actually only threw
seven pitches to record the four outs so he should be available again on
Tuesday. Edwin Diaz recorded his twenty-eighth save pitching the ninth inning
to preserve the win. He did give up one hit but otherwise pitched well.
Marco Gonzales will make the start for the Mariners in the
middle game of the series on Tuesday. The importance for the Mariners is hoping
that he will be able to get through five innings with the Mariners leading in
the game. He faces Lucas Sims for the Braves who has started and pitched in
four games for them. He has a record of 1-3 with an era of 5.24. Also he has given
up four home runs in those games so the Mariners have a good chance to score
some runs off of him however as we know this doesn’t always work for the
Mariners offense. Only on Sunday they scored no runs against Seattle native
Blake Snell for the Tampa Bay Rays. We hope that the Mariners will have more
success against Sims.
With Gonzales starting for the Mariners we could see long
reliever Casey Lawrence along with lefty James Pazos pitching multiple innings
in relief. In pitching news Dave Phelps pitched a simulated game on Monday and
could be activated on Wednesday or over the weekend against the Yankees. Also
Iwakuma has done a little throwing to see how his shoulder is going. Not sure
whether he will be back soon or at all this season. The Mariners are expecting
Felix Hernandez and James Paxton to start throwing this week as well. Most
likely they may return early September. This will be good news for the rotation
along with the bullpen. Right now the important thing is that the starters will
go at least five innings and hopefully six or seven to keep the bullpen rested
as possible. The Mariners will likely make at least a few moves in the bullpen
before the September roster call ups happen.
I don’t expect that the Mariners will acquire another player
however with Dipoto we can never say never; he does make a move most likely a
pitcher and could be someone for the bullpen. In the meantime we enjoy the rest
of this road trip.
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