Good Job Gonzales

After having trouble pitching in New York and Boston Marco Gonzales returning home to Safeco Field facing the Kansas City Royals pitched a complete game for the Mariners on Friday Night.

Gonzales was pitching a shutout going into the ninth inning throwing fewer than one hundred pitches. The Mariners were leading 4-0 however he gave up a single that scored a runner from second base then the next batter hit a grounder to Jean Segura to end the game.

The nine innings Gonzales threw ninety-six pitches giving up six hits and striking out seven batters. His control was so good that he didn’t walk a batter at all. In his seventeen starts going one hundred and a third innings he has only walked twenty batters and giving up ten home runs. I believe he has to be the biggest surprise in the Mariners rotation and tied with Mike Leake with being the most productive pitcher outside of James Paxton. Gonzales and Leake are tied with the most wins with eight while he has five losses comparted to Leake’s four.

Felix Hernandez who goes for the Mariners Saturday night has been the least productive pitcher of the three in the rotation and he has a record of 7-6. If Felix wins then he will tie Leake and Gonzales with wins. Right now Felix has an era of 5.10 primarily because he has had trouble getting started in the first inning. He continues like he has in his last couple outings he has a great chance of winning.

Gonzales going the distances allows the Mariners to rest most of their bullpen the last couple of games including Edwin Diaz. We should see him in the game Saturday if the game is close. The Mariners are hoping that Felix can go six innings giving up three runs or fewer. The Mariners are now up again twenty-one games over five hundred at 52-21.

The Mariners scored their first two runs in the fourth inning on a home run by Mitch Haniger with a runner on base and then Mike Zunino hit a mammoth home run in the fifth inning to make it 3-0 at the time. Haniger had his seventeenth home run while Zunino his twelve of the season. Haniger still leads the team in runs batted in with sixty-one. He is turning into a superstar right in front of us. He deserves to be in the All-Star game along with Jean Segura and Edwin Diaz. You could add Nelson Cruz to that mix as well. You would think Paxton would deserve it to if he wins his next three starts giving him ten wins. The Mariners could have at least three starters with ten if not four. Wade LeBlanc who has pitched well as the fifth starter since being inserted into the rotation has a record of 3-0 with an era of 3.38 in sixteen games with eleven being starts. The starting pitching has to be the main reason that the Mariners have the record of 52-31. Outside of Edwin Diaz who has thirty saves in thirty-three opportunities the bullpen has struggled at times. The only other consistent reliever has been lefty James Pazos who has an era of 1.91 in thirty-three games. Now as the primary lefty he should see more action in the second half unless the Mariners pick up a veteran lefty reliever. We hope that Nick Vincent, Juan Nicasio and Alex Colome can pick things up in the second half. If so the Mariners should find making into the playoffs with ease. The Mariners win half of their remaining games will be around the ninety win mark. Go M’s.