James Paxton Returns in Great Fashion

The last time that James Paxton it had been eighteen days and he had to leave the game because of a stiff back. He was supposed to have started again last Tuesday however the back stiffen again on him.  Monday night he didn't look like anyone one who had gone eighteen days without pitching.

Monday night's game looked like whichever team scored first would win the game and that is what happened.  While James Paxton went seven innings giving up three hits only walking no batters and striking out eight the Houston Astros starting pitcher Gerrit Cole was throwing a no-hitter going into the sixth inning. His fastball was up to almost a hundred miles an hour just a little faster than Paxton's however in the sixth inning Jean Segura got the first hit of the game followed by another single by Denard  Span then Nelson Cruz hit a double down the third base line that scored both Segura and Span to make it 2-0 which turned out to be the final score. With the win the Mariners are now three games behind the Astros. The Oakland A's won once so they are still two games behind the Mariners. A very tight race indeed for the division and a wild card. Alex Colome pitched the eighth inning for the Mariners while he struggled a bit he at least didn't surrender a run. Edwin Diaz recorded his fortieth save of the season. Though he didn't strike out a batter he threw only seven pitches to get all three Astro players in a row.  Tuesday night Mike Leake goes for the Mariners and Wednesday afternoon Wade LeBlanc. These two games should be close as well however Leake and LeBlanc pitch like they did in their two last outings the Mariners have a great chance to win. It will be a good series if the Mariners can at least split these two games before facing the Toronto Blue Jays Thursday night thru Sunday afternoon. Should be a lot of excitement at Safeco Field.

The Mariners picked up two new relievers in trades on Monday acquiring left handed reliever specialist Zach Duke from the Minnesota Twins for a couple of minor leaguers and righthanded reliever  Adam Warren from the New York Yankees for international slot money. Dipoto isn't sure if he can pick up a starting pitcher on Tuesday with the trading deadline ending at 1pm Pacific Time. The Mariners actually can still go for trades in August however the players have to go through waivers first. The Mariners picked up Mike Leake that way last year. We will see if Dipoto is done trading and who Duke and Warren will take two players spots. Go M's. 

Mariners Offense Comes Alive Early

Sunday afternoon the Mariners offense came alive finally in the first inning where they scored seven runs. It started out with Dee Gordon singling then stealing second base followed by a single by Segura. Denard Span who was hitting third had a great game getting a double to score Segura to make it 2-0.  Nelson Cruz hit another single driving in Span to make it 3-0.  Things were on from there. Dee Gordon, Span and Ben Gamel all had three hits in the game. Mike Zunino had a great game at the plate getting two hits and driving in three runs. Gamel had a triple in the third inning than Zunino drove him in with a single. That was where the Mariners scoring ended. It would have been nice if the Mariners could have added on after that. 

Marco Gonzales who struggled early turned out having a good outing. He was pitching a shutout until the fifth inning when Justin Upton hit a home run with Mike Trout on base. Gonzales was able to go six inning giving up seven hits. Nick Vincent who came in the seventh inning to relieve Gonzales had a terrible game pitching going two-thirds of an inning where the Angels scored three runs however  Span caught a ball that could have gone out of the park for a two-run homer which would have left the game with the Mariners ahead by one run. Nicasio came in to relieve Vincent and got the batter to fly out.  Alex Colome had another good eight inning giving up no hits and runs striking out two batters. Diaz came in to get his thirty-ninth save of the season. He did had trouble initially however he was able to strike out two batters as well including the final out of the game.

Now the Mariners will come home to face the Houston Astros in a three game series with  James Paxton expected to pitch on Monday followed by Mike Leake and Wade LeBlanc. It would be nice if the Mariners can win at least two out of the three games. The Astros and A's lost again on Sunday so the Mariners gained a game on both teams. Now they are four games behind the Astros while two games ahead of the A's. The Mariners will play four games against the Toronto Blue Jays  to finish off the home stand. Expect a large crowd including some fans coming down from Canada. The Blue Jays though have had trouble this season being fourth in the American League East and they are eight games below five hundred. They have had a hard time since mid-May when they were around five hundred. Actually they had about the same record as the Mariners but they went the other direction from the Mariners. The Blue Jays recently trade Jay Happ to the New York Yankees so the Mariners won't be facing this ex-Mariner next weekend.

The trading deadline will end on Tuesday July 31 so we will have to see if Jerry Dipoto will make another trade. I am sure he will be looking for a starter along with a position player if possible. The Mariners could still make a trade in August like they did last year when they picked up Mike Leake from the St. Louis Cardinals.  So put on your belt to see what happens. I would never put any thing past Dipoto though he won't make a trade unless it totally makes sense for the Mariners. Now Mariners let's take care of the Astros. Go M's.

Monday afternoon the Mariners acquired left handed reliever  Zach Duke from the Minnesota Twins for a couple minor leaguers then a few minutes later they picked up right handed reliever Adam Warren from the New York Yankees for international slot money. So we will have to see the moves the Mariners make to activate both players when they arrive. Looking to bolster their bullpen for sure. In other moves Daniel Vogelbach was optioned to Tacoma with James Paxton coming off the disabled list and starting Monday Night. Another move infielder Zach Vincej was brought up while Kyle Seager is on paternity leave for a few days. Utility player Andrew Romine will be playing third base Monday night and batting ninth. General Manager Jerry Dipoto doesn't expect to trade for a starter before the trading deadline however I would say never. With Duke and Warren shows the Mariners are not satisfied with the way the bullpen has been except  James Pazos, Alex Colome and Edwin Diaz. Although Duke will be the primarily left handed specialist we should still see Pazos in the sixth or seventh innings.  Still the question comes out what will the Mariners do in the rotation in the spot that Felix Hernandez has been occupying. 

Felix Needs Fixing

Saturday Night when the Mariners really could use a win Felix Hernandez had another poor outing. In fact he called it his worst outing that he has ever had. He gave up a home run to Mike Trout in the bottom of the first then Nelson Cruz tied the game in the top of the second 1-1 however that was it for the game far as the Mariners side anyway.

In the second inning Felix had trouble getting his curve ball over the plate so the Angels were hitting him as target practice. Only a couple curve balls went the way they should however the rest were right in the middle of the plate. The Angels were able to get three runs off of Felix in the second to take the lead 4-1. I have no idea why the Mariners had Felix go out in the third inning with how he was pitching if they had any though of winning the game. I know that they didn't want to overextend the bullpen however the third inning wasn't any different in how Felix was pitching. They finally took Felix out with two runners on base and another run had scored to make it 5-1. Long reliever Casey Lawrence came in for Felix however he gave up a three run homer  to rookie catcher Francisco Arcia  to make it 8-1. Arcia all together had six runs batted in with the final score being 11-5. Nelson Cruz hit his second homer run in the fourth inning and the Mariners scored three runs in the eighth inning including a solo home run by Guillermo Heredia.  We do hope these five runs will help the Mariners come out of their hitting slump. It is amazing to me to think that the Mariners are still eighteen games above five hundred at this point. Sunday afternoon Marco Gonzales goes for the Mariners. He is acting like the ace of the staff at this point. We do hope that he can salvage this series against the Angels. The Mariners will call home to face the Houston Astros and James Paxton is expected to come off the disabled list to pitch on Monday of course we will have to see.

Speaking of the disabled list my idea right now would put Felix there to work out his problems. Whether he has a physical injury or not that would still be a good idea. He could work out on his pitching in the bullpen and see how the velocity works out. I would then  send  him out on a rehab assignment to see how things go. When he is ready than activate him. In the meantime add Elias or Ramirez to the starting rotation unless the Mariners are able to pick up another starter. Right now the Mariners are in a position where they can't use him if they still want to make the playoffs. Go M's.   

First Loss in Extra Innings

It would be bound to happen eventually the Mariners would lose in extra innings with all the close games they have been playing and Friday night it happened against the Angels. It was bad timing as the Houston Astros and the Oakland A's both lost as well.

The game was tied going into extra innings 3-3. In the top of the tenth inning it looked the Mariners may go up a run with Dee Gordon on third base and Jean Segura on first. Segura decided to steal second base which he did then Gordon went for home and he was called save by the home umpire however the Angels decided to go for the instant replay which was overturned by the umpires in New York. The Mariners were unable to score a run to take the lead. Mitch Haniger was not able to get a hit to bring home Haniger so going into the bottom of the tenth it was still 3-3. As time goes by I am disliking the instant replay. Although the team that the call is going against is supposed to get the benefit of the doubt it seems to me the call goes against the Mariners more in their favor whether they are the one that bring the replay or the other team. The call should be overturned when it is obvious a mistake but that doesn't seem happens enough with the Mariners. 

The bottom of the tenth Kole Calhoun hit a walk-off home run off of Juan Nicasio for the Angels win 4-3. I am not sure I dislike him worse or Mike Trout when facing the Mariners or Nicasio pitching for the Mariners. It was the second inning that Nicasio pitched for the Mariners. He got the Angels pretty good in the ninth inning but as they say it only takes one bad pitch. 

The Mariners made a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday morning picking up right handed reliever Sam Tuivailala  for single A reliever Seth Elledge who was pitching for Modesto. I know that some Mariner fans will object because Elledge was  the Mariners tenth top prospect however Tuivailala is twenty-five years and is in his second season in the major leagues though he did pitch a little in two other previous seasons. With the work of the bullpen the Mariners did need to pick up another reliever and he is under club control for the next four years so likely he isn't going any where. Though Elledge is a top prospect there is no guarantee that he will ever make to the major leagues and the Mariners are looking for someone to help them now. They have other relievers in the minor leagues that can help in the future although the bullpen is getting younger. I am not saying that Tuivailala will be a savior for the Mariners however he will help. Now we need to see the offense to step up.

Wade LeBlanc had struggles in the first inning giving up three runs however the Mariners were able to get back in the game with a solo home run by Mike Zunino in the fifth inning and Nelson in the seventh inning. The Mariners were able to score another run in the eighth to tie the game before going into the extra innings. At least the starting rotation is keeping the Mariners in the games for the most part however it would be nice to see the offense come alive and score more runs so don't have to be so dependent on the bullpen. I am not sure why Nicasio with his pitching record lately why the Mariners decided to have him go another inning. Some will say why didn't Edwin Diaz not pitch the tenth inning while others are glad that he didn't. Not sure however Servais must have felt to give him a day off. Anyway the true point is that the offense has to do their job well as the pitching and they have been lacking at that recently. We hope that they can come alive Saturday Night with Felix Hernandez starting for the Mariners. Go M's.   

Seahawk Training Camp Opened

Thursday training camp for the Seahawks opened up. Not much to report other than that Earl Thomas didn't report which was suspected. Head Coach Pete Carroll mentioned that Thomas should be here and that was about it besides reporting on a few players that are injured. The most notable was defensive end Dion Jordon and he may be out for a while. The Seahawks are short on the defensive line so wouldn't be surprised if they bring in a few other players as well. Also announced that last year's top pick McDowell who was out all last training camp and season was released as well. What a shame that a talent like that his career didn't even get started. He could have helped out on the defensive line as well. 

During camp we will be hearing briefs to the media by Pete Carroll I am sure on a daily basis how he sees things going. Of course he is always on the up beat so we will hear more positive things than negative. At least we hope so anyway. I am sure the fans want to see how the offense will be going this training camp and how the defense will improve without the top four in Cliff Avril, Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett.

I heard that running back Chris Carson who was hurt most of last season looked exceptional the first day of camp. Also they liked the look of top draft pick Rashaad Penny and  C.J. Prosise. It is important that Prosise stays healthy this year since he hasn't been very much his first two seasons. He is a talented runner and receiver however he does have to be healthy to keep his career going. It should be quite the competition at the running back position this camp. Look forward to August 9 when the Seahawks have their first pre-season game against the Indianapolis Colts. We just hope that the players stay healthy.

The offensive line we do hope will improve a lot this season so the running game goes well and Russell Wilson doesn't have to run for his life. I hope that Wilson will be able to perform well in the first half of games instead of waiting until the second half to pull off some tricks. We do hope that the kicking game will be an improvement this season too. I know a lot of fans blamed the field goal kicker for the team not making the playoffs however I don't think the Seahawks deserved to be in the playoffs anyway because the way the offense had played all season. If it weren't for the play of Russell Wilson in the second half of games they would have lost some of the games they did win. There are predictions that the Seahawks will have a losing season and miss the playoffs. I have to say the Seahawks love to prove everyone especially the media wrong.

In college football the Washington Huskies are favored to win the Pac 12 by the media that follows all the teams. Coach Chris Peterson said that he would prefer not to be favored so the Huskies can prove them wrong. The Washington State Cougars on the other hand are picked to place fifth in the North Division and Southern California to finish first in the south division which would mean the Huskies and Trojans would face each other in the title game at the end of the year. So it will be great to follow both of those teams along with the Seahawks this season and continue along with the Mariners toward the playoffs. Go Teams. 

Mariners Split Series

Wednesday afternoon the Seattle Mariners took on the San Francisco Giants in the second of two games before a sellout crowd at Safeco Field. A great day to go with the temperatures in the high eighties. 

The Mariners offense again struggled except the bat of Ryon Healy who had another home run. I was thinking during the game with a crowd that big wouldn't the players be motivated to hit more to entertain the crowd. If so the motivation didn't turn into hits though they score three runs on four hits. 

It was nice to see Mike Leake back to his old self where he was able to go six and a third innings. He gave up four hits with the two runs and didn't walk a batter while striking out two. Juan Nicasio came in to relieve Leake in the seventh inning. He gave up a hit in two-thirds of an inning. Actually the hit went to Leake's second run given up.  I am not sure why the Mariners are still using Nicasio to pitch in the seventh inning although Nick Vincent doesn't seem to be a very good alternative either. Chasen Bradford seems to be the logical choice to me but that isn't the role they have him at this time. I know that Dipoto is looking to pick up another reliever along with a starter. I hope that finding another reliever he will be one that can pitch in either the seventh or eighth inning. 

Alex Colome pitched the eighth inning and was recorded with the victory. He gave up a hit however struck out a batter as well. The bottom of the eighth inning with the tie at 2-2 Guillermo Heredia led off taking a walk. He was sacrificed to second by Dee Gordon who was initially called safe by the umpire but was overturned when the Giants asked for the replay. Jean the hitting machine Segura though was able to hit a single to bring Heredia home and that was the ball game. Although he has struggled at the plate since becoming a starter in centerfield what I like about Heredia is he has no problem in taking a walk when it is good for the team. I wish more of the players were willing to do so like Heredia. He knew getting a walk was as good as a single. Along with Gordon and Segura he is a good bunter as well. He is able to do the fundamentals to help win games.

The Oakland A's won again over the Texas Rangers so they are still a game and a half behind the Mariners. Both teams gained on the Astros though who lost on Wednesday. The Mariners now go to Anaheim to take a three game series against the Angels over the weekend before returning home to play the Houston Astros.  The Mariners play the Astros and the A's twenty-six times combined in their remaining sixty games on the season. We are hoping that the Mariners will be able to pick up some pitching either starting or relieving or both along with the increase of production from the offense. Whatever happens baseball will be exciting over the next five weeks for sure. Go M's. 

One Run Games

Although the Seattle Mariners have had success this season so far in one run games is that you going to lose some as well especially ones like Tuesday night when the Mariners lost 4-3 giving up a run in the top of the ninth inning to the San Francisco Giants.

The Mariners were tied 3-3 however the Giants scored because Dee Gordon threw an errant throw to first base that Ryan Healy wasn't able to hold on to and the Mariners were not able to score themselves in the bottom of the ninth inning. 

The Mariners were still unable to score runs like they should though they had nine hits. They left eight runners on base so the opportunities were there for sure. The Mariners need to score more runs with a higher difference than one run. Though they have been successful this season in one run games the odds can catch up with them over the whole season and since they are now in a tight race with the Oakland A's now being behind them by one and a half games. The A's though were in one of those games where they were way behind the Texas Rangers 10-2 and came back to win the game. Before that they had a victory over the Giants were they came from behind to win in extra innings. Just like one run games those are going to catch up with you as well. 

I hope that Dipoto can pick up another hitter or at least the batters start hitting more frequently with runners on base. It would be a sad story if the Mariners win less games than they lose the rest of the way after having a good start through June. They are now at nineteen games over five hundred but if they win where they stay at the same spot or drop down to like fifteen games over five hundred win the season ends and not make the playoffs. 

I know to that some fans complained that Edwin Diaz was used in the game when it was a tie. I am not sure whether he should have been used until they got into extra innings or not. It is a hard decision to make for the manager. Diaz has to be used so he can be ready for other games in the future as well but at the same time do the Mariners want to overuse him at the same time so he will be less affective later in the season. Both Nicasio and Colome were uses in the game so do they go with Diaz or go with Nick Vincent instead?  Having no error the game most likely would have gone into extra innings where Vincent would have been used. So pitch Diaz in the ninth or save him for the tenth. In either case the game would have still been tied or you even wait if the game goes even longer. I am not sure there is a true answer to the question about using Diaz or not. The important thing now for the Mariners to do is score more runs and beat the Giants today before going on the road to play the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend starting on Friday. Mike Leake goes Wednesday to end this home stand. Very important that he puts in a good performance and the Mariners win. Go M's. 

Seahawks Training Camp Begins on Thursday

For all the Seattle Seahawks fans who have been waiting training camp begins on Thursday July 24. Temperatures are expected to be in the upper eighties into the nineties so brings back memories when the Seahawks used to train in Cheney Washington. 

The main thing going on this season will be seeing a lot of new faces beyond just the rookies and college free agents. You could say the old guard is gone and the Seahawks are raising up new ones. No longer we will be seeing players like Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman, Jimmy Graham who were traded, released or became free agents signing else where along with the retirement of Cliff Avril and Kam Chancellor because of career ending injuries. So we will be seeing a different look on the defense line well as tight end, a different safety, and cornerback.  The tight end position will be more of use at blocking to improve the running game although we will see an occasion pass thrown to them as well. It would be nice to see a running back to lead the team in rushing yards instead of quarterback Russell Wilson who is one player that is returning this season. The wide receiving position will not be a lot different other than the absence of Paul Richardson who signed a free agent contract with the Washington Redskins. The Seahawks will have the return of Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett along with a few other youngsters to compete for playing time. 

The running back position will be different with the release of Thomas Rawls who didn't have a very good season last year or the year before. It will be first round pick Rashaad Penny and last year seventh round pick Chris Carson competing for the majority of playing time. Carson missed most of last season however was the most successful runner when playing early on in the season. We will see whether the running game problem had to do with the backs or the offensive line. I expect it was the line because very few runners could have gained yards behind it except maybe Marshawn Lynch. With a new offensive line coach along with offensive coordinator we hope to see a good improvement to the line this year. Since the defense won't be as good as years past it is important that the offense get's going earlier in games instead of waiting until the second half. I am not saying it will be a bad defense just not up to the caliber it has been. We will have to see though of course.

The first pre-season game will be on August 9 in Seattle against the Indianapolis Colts. The second  pre-season game against the Chargers in Los Angeles has been announced to be carried on the NFL network for all of you who live outside of  the area. These games will be interesting because of the new faces whether they will make the final roster or not. Go Hawks!

Gonzales Wins Eleventh Game

James Paxton who is called the Mariners Ace at this point will come off the disabled list to pitch against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday the one that is acting like the Ace is Marco Gonzales. Not only did he win his eleventh game of the season against the White Sox to win the series for the Mariners he had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning. He gave up a two-run homer that ended his shutout after giving up the first hit of the game. Up to that point it was clear sailing since the Mariners were leading 5-0. James Pazos came in to relieve Gonzales to get the second out of the inning and then Juan Nicasio got the third out. Alex Colome pitched the eighth inning for the Mariners. It looked like Edwin Diaz would come in to get another save however Ryon Healy hit his second three-run homer of the game to make the score and final 8-2. Nick Vincent came in the ninth inning instead to finish off the Sox.

The Mariners had Mike Zunino back on Sunday after a short rehab assignment with Tacoma. Gonzales doesn't seem that he doesn't really need Mike behind the plate though the other pitchers do. As far as at the plate Mike was his usual self getting no hits in four at bats and striking out twice. His value is obvious has to do with how he works with the pitchers. Getting a home run out of him once in a while is only good measure. It would be nice if he could at least hit around .220. Outside of Gonzales the other starters struggled without Zunino behind the plate. We now have to see if they can correct themselves with him back now.

Outside of Healy's two home runs and six rbi's  the Mariners offense continues to sputter. They only got four hits that were not out of the bat of Healy's who ended up with three hits. Dee Gordon had a triple while Jean Segura, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager each had a single. Mitch Haniger who didn't get a hit at least walked three times and scored twice. Time for the Mariners offense to step up and move into another gear. The Mariners can't depend totally on the pitching which has been suspect in itself outside of Gonzales lately. At least they are taking on the San Francisco Giants at Safeco Field for two games before going on the road. The Giants have a terrible record on the road. In fact is about the complete opposite from their home record. The Mariners need to take care of the Giants for sure. The Oakland A's took care of the Giants who should have won the game on Sunday so they are still three games behind the Mariners. While the Mariners take on the Giants the A's will be playing the Texas Rangers in Arlington. The Mariners have Monday off while the A's play the Rangers so they could gain or lose a half game to the Mariners.

The Mariners have talked about pitching Gonzales along with Paxton and Wade LeBlanc less innings however I am not sure if the Mariners can afford that depending who they may insert in the rotation. Gonzales has been pitching so well that it shouldn't be a problem pitching more games I wouldn't think anyway. Gonzales keeps going the way he is he may end up with seventeen or eighteen wins. In fact I would say these eleven wins are more than any of us expected out of Gonzales. Actually the Mariners at sixty wins is a big surprise to say the least. Now they can get their offense going with their pitching the Mariners should be just fine. They do have a solid lineup long as they can hit together or have someone like Healy hitting multiple home runs. Go M's. 

Mariners Go For Series Win

Saturday Night the first three innings Felix Hernandez looked a lot like his old self however came the fourth inning where he gave up four runs that included a three-run homer off the bat of Avisail  Garcia the right fielder of the White Sox. On the swing it looked to me that it was going to be a routine fly out than I saw Garcia's body language and new it was a home run.

Dylan Covey the starter of the White Sox pitched a wonderful game for them giving up only two hits to the Mariners both from the top of the lineup by Dee Gordon and Jean Seager. It was a surprise because Covey had been struggling coming into the game have an era average over seven in his last seven starts. It looks like he was due for a good start however it had to be against the Mariners whose offense has struggled against the Angels and Rockies before the break. The Mariners to keep their spot in the division toward the playoffs the offense has to get going. Yes every team goes through periods of not scoring runs but the Mariners can't afford to stay where they are at. For one thing we don't know how the pitching will hold up as well. It is possible that Felix would have continued pitching well if the Mariners had scored some runs but of course we will never know that. His fastball certainly isn't what it used to be but his other pitches are going well. He has to have the confidence to continue throwing those pitches. No matter what he thinks his fastball isn't what it used to be and likely won't return. I am sure the coaching staff has told him that but he needs to know that as well. 

Currently Erasmo Ramirez is on a rehab assignment with the Tacoma Rainiers along with catcher Mike Zunino. The Mariners are expecting Zunino back either Sunday or when the next series against the Giants starts on Tuesday. Ramirez not sure when he will be brought up and activated on the roster. Also not sure whether he will go into the bullpen or become the sixth starter if the Mariners decide to go that course. It would depend to whether Dipoto is able to get a starting pitcher before the trade deadline or a relief pitcher. Actually I would like the Mariners to get both. We hope that Edgar Martinez can push his buttons where the offense starts rolling. The Mariners can't wait for Robinson Cano to return in  three weeks. 

Mike Leake takes the mound Sunday afternoon in the final game against the Sox. The Mariners need him to get back into form instead what he has done in the last couple weeks. Right now James Paxton is expected to come off the disabled list to pitch Tuesday against the Giants. The Mariners need both Leake and Paxton to win these games. Go M's. 

Mariners Sign Servais to Extension Than Win Friday Night

Since Jerry Dipoto signed an extension a couple weeks ago it was just a matter of time that Manager Scott Servais signed one as well which was announced Friday morning and a press conference happened at noon. It was a multi-year contract which I expect is the same length as Dipoto's however no details were announced.

Friday Night the Mariners went out and beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 behind the pitching of Wade LeBlanc. As you can see by the score the Mariners offense continued to struggle though LeBlanc had a fine outing. He had a hard time in the first inning giving up the White Sox lone run on two doubles. Altogether LeBlanc went seven and a third innings giving up four hits and walked one batter. He struck out ten Sox batters. Also he only threw 84 pitches which shows his dominance for sure. 

James Shields the White Sox starting pitcher had a good game as well going seven innings giving up two runs with one being earned. He gave up seven hits, one walk and five strike outs. The Mariners scored their first one also in the first inning with a single by Dee Gordon who went 4-4 in the game and came home on a Nelson Cruz rbi.  Kyle Seager hit a double then scored on a Healy rbi in the fourth inning. The game stayed that way until the eighth inning when Nelson Cruz drove in his second run after Jean Segura hit a double. Alex Colome came in for LeBlanc in the top of the eighth with one run. He gave up a hit but got out with a double play. Colome only threw four pitches. Edwin Diaz was a little wild giving up a walk however he did strike out a batter and got the last guy on a fly to Span in left field to end the game. Diaz now has thirty-seven saves for the season and the Mariners now are twenty games above five hundred. The Oakland A's lost to the San Francisco Giants so the Mariners now have a four game lead over the A's. The Huston Astros did win so the Mariners are still five games behind them. 

I wonder with the offense still sputtering that Jerry Dipoto will look at going out to get a bat along with a pitcher whether a starter or reliever or both. He says that he will look anywhere to improve the roster. The Mariners added first baseman Daniel Vogelbach and outfielder John Andreoli  to the roster Friday as well. Neither of them played on Friday. The Mariners will be facing two more right handers of the White Sox so I am sure that Denard Span and Ben Gamel both start in at least one of the remaining games. Guillermo Heredia still struggling at the plate getting no hits in three at bats so I wouldn't be surprised if he is on the bench in at least one of these games against the Sox. The Mariners go out and get a position player it most likely would be an outfielder. Go M's. 

All-Star Break Over

Now that the all-star break is over and most of the Mariners had a needed break the Mariners are now back to business. After a terrible road trip where they beat the Angels once and lost three times to the Colorado Rockies the Mariners are at home to play five games starting with three against the Chicago White Sox and then two against the San Francisco Giants. 

The Mariners haven't played either the Sox or the Giants in some time. Except for this last road trip the Mariners have been playing really good baseball since playing both teams. It would be nice if the Mariners can win two of the three against the Sox or sweep the series. The Mariners have one of the best home records at 31-17 with only the Red Sox, Yankees, and Astros being the only ones with better records. They are tied with the Cleveland Indians who lead the American League Central. The White Sox who are in the same division as the Indians are in fourth place and have one of the worst road records at 14-33. The Mariners have scored the least amount of runs in the American League West at 412 while giving up 414. Quite amazing but shouldn't be surprising since they have won a lot of one run games. The White Sox have scored 384 runs however have given up 510 runs. This shows though the Mariners have struggled scoring runs especially lately the Sox have over the season and they have given up more runs than every team except the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles. The Mariners should be able to improve on their offense which has struggled as of late against the Sox. The Giants haven't done well on the road either though better than the Sox they have a record of 19-29 and they have scored on 399 runs while giving up 425.  Though the Giants are a bit closer to the Mariners in scoring runs they have a winning record at home so I expect that many of their runs have been at home. So if the Mariners can win 4 out of 5 that would be really nice. Go M's. 

Seahawks Safety Postion

The Seattle Seahawks are a week away now from training camp. One of the big question marks is what the Seahawks will do at the safety positions. First of all a few weeks ago Kam Chancellor announced his retirement so his position is open. The other is the safety position across from Chancellor as well. Right now Earl Thomas holds that position but no one knows what he will do or what the Seahawks will do. Thomas has one year left on his contract but he wants to either sign a new contract most likely for four years  as the highest paid in the NFL. That amount could be anywhere between $45 and $60 million for those four years. Thomas doesn't want to be here if doesn't get signed before the season begins or he likely will stay out of camp. Of course the Seahawks can level fines against him as well.  The thought is that the Seahawks may trade him but getting the true value for him is unlikely.  At this point he is the best defensive player on the team even before trading Michael Bennett, releasing Richard Thomas and the retirement of Chancellor and Cliff Avril. The only sure deal on the defense as the best guys are linebackers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.

When it does come to the safety positions  veteran Bradley McDougald is the only sure one to start this season whether Thomas is on the team or not. He is likely starting at strong safety without Chancellor but could move over to free safety if Thomas is no longer on the team. He has played both positions when Thomas was injured and also when Kam Chancellor went down as well. How the other safeties perform will decide where he lands. He could play a lot at both positions depending on the other players. Personally I would like to see Thomas back however if he doesn't really want to be on the team and the Seahawks want to wait until his contract is over to sign him to a new contract. I hope the Seahawks would trade him at some point to get at least a draft pick or more. Having him leave without any compensation would be not so good. A lot could depend on how they feel about his health as well since he has been injured the last couple seasons. Can't blame Thomas for wanting to be the highest paid safety in the league and I am sure he wants to be the highest paid player on the Seahawks behind Russell Wilson. It will be interesting to see how the fans will react to Thomas if he holds out for a period of time and he isn't traded at all. He could miss up to half of the games before it would really hurt him not reporting. How the Seahawks react to fines will be as well. Whatever the case it can be a nightmare for the team. The Seahawks could be a team that doesn't make the playoffs with or without him. The offense will have to score better this coming season to make up for some of the weaknesses on the defense. We know the defense won't be as good as previous seasons but how good is in question.

Looking at other players on the safety position look at strong safety first: Maurice Alexander who played the last four years with the Los Angeles Rams. His best year was 2016 when he started and played in fourteen games. Last year he played in thirteen games but started in four only. Delano Hill who the Seahawks drafted in the third round out of Michigan in 2017 played in fifteen games in his rookie season though he didn't start a game. He is a likely starter if McDougald is over playing free safety. Alexander and Hill are the only ones shown listed as strong safety on the Seahawks roster. At free safety besides Thomas  I look at Alex Carter who was a third-round draft pick by the Detroit Lions in 2015 as a cornerback. He played two seasons with the Lions. He was converted to safety by the Seahawks but has spent most of his time on the practice squad. The Seahawks always like players have had trouble playin in the NFL though a high draft pick. We will have to see what chances he has to make the squad this season. Another player is T.J. Mutcherson  who the Seahawks signed as a college free agent out of University of Central Florida. It will be hard for him to make the squad however the Seahawks do have a history of free agents making the roster. The last free safety listed is Tedric Thompson who the Seahawks drafted in the fourth round last year. So he should have a good chance to make the roster again and may get in more playing time if Thomas sits out or is traded by the Seahawks. He played in nine games for the Seahawks last year without starting any. 

It is possible the Seahawks will look elsewhere for other safeties especially whatever happens with Thomas unless he decides to come into camp whether signed or not. I am sure we all hope that details will be able to work out with Thomas.  Going into camp and during camp I will look at other positions as well and how the players do during the pre-season games. Go Hawks! 

Friday Mariners Start Again

Although they call it the second half of the season in major league baseball teams actually have less than half of the games remain. In fact the Seattle Mariners have sixty-five games remaining in the regular season. Though the Mariners have lost four games in a row they are still nineteen games above five hundred with a record of 58-39. They are five games behind the Houston Astros and three games ahead of the Oakland A's. The Mariners will have to do a good job to catch the Astros and they will have to keep sliding for the A's to catch them. The Mariners play both teams thirteen times each so it is important they start this Friday on good track. We hope that they have rested up, the offense gets on track and the starting pitching does what it has before July got underway. 

It is important that both James Paxton and Felix Hernandez are healthy for these remaining games. Also that Paxton can be the ace of the staff they need him to be. If Felix can pitch where he doesn't give up runs early in the game and can go six innings with the Mariners being in position to win. With the treading dead-line coming up we are hoping that Dipoto can pick up another starter and possibly a reliever. They need to be in state not only to win games but allow Edwin Diaz to pitch on a regular basis.  He gave up three runs in the All-Star game that cost Jesus Segura the MVP after hitting a three-run homer. I believe that he should have still been MVP however there is bias against the Mariners at this point. My estimation it would be nice to take down the Astros along with the Red Sox and the Yankees. It wouldn't be easy however very satisfying for sure.

Jerry Dipoto mentioned this week that Robinson Cano will see some action at first base when he returns in four weeks from suspension. I am sure he will play a little at second as well. What that means for Ryon Healy in his future in a Mariner uniform. Also it will be interesting to see whether Dee Gordon will stay at second base next season. Those questions maybe answered by how Guillermo Heredia continues to do in center field. Of course those answers can take place after the season. We do know that Dipoto will do his job to improve the team for this season well as the future. 

The Mariners will play the Chicago White Sox in three games this weekend followed by two against the San Francisco Giants for two games before going to Anaheim to play the Angels. They will come home to play the Astros to end the month of July. 

In football the Seattle Seahawks will start training camp a week from Thursday. The Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars will start soon as well. We do hope that the Mariners will keep at so we can have a lot of exciting sports going on the rest of 2018. I look forward to giving my analysts. Until next time.  

Mariners Get Swept

I guess the players must be tired because they didn't do well against the Rockies in Colorado. It sort of surprises me because the Mariners always seem to do well against the National League. Again on Sunday the Mariner's bats decided not to show up. At least this time the Rockies bats were not much better either.

The Mariners did lead off getting two runs in the first inning. however the Rockies tied in the third inning making the score 2-2. Both teams scored a run in the seventh inning making it 3-3. The Mariners were not able to score runs in either the eighth or ninth inning. Things were not looking good at that point for the Mariners. Nick Vincent who hadn't pitched in several days came in the ninth inning. Although I was trying to stay positive he gave up a walk-off home run to Trevor Story who had his 20th of the season.  

It seems to me that Scott Servais has to find a way to get the bullpen to be used more without over using them. There are times where they are used several days in a row then go a little time without being used.  Edwin Diaz wasn't used at all in Denver although he could use the rest. I wonder with this time off how he will do in the all-star game. 

I figure that each pitcher in the bullpen has to be used a certain amount so Servais needs to find a way to get them into the game regardless of the circumstances.  I don't like losing games where the pitcher has the odds of failing greatly because they haven't been used for a while. I remember James Pazos saying a couple months ago he needs to pitch every three days to be effective. So I say throw him in there even if it is just to face one batter. I would say that for each one of them.  I hope these next four days off that Servais is not only able to get to relax along with his players that he is able to figure things out that helps the team to make it into the playoffs. Of course they won't win every game but allowing each player to be able to play at the highest level possible would be nice. This would go for not only the pitching staff but the position players as well.  

We are hoping that the Mariners will have an exciting closing to the season up to what they did before this last road trip losing five out of six games. The hitters need to get back alive and the Mariners can't afford to wait until Cano comes back in just under a month. We are hoping to see a healthy Paxton and Hernandez in the next nine or ten weeks left of the season. On the positive note the Mariners are still nineteen games above five hundred at 58-39. The A's are now three games behind the Mariners however they play each other thirteen more times  along with facing the Astros that many times as well. So it will be important that the Mariners take good care of the A's for sure and then do OK against the Astros. The odds are against catching the Astros however the possibility is still there. The importance is that the team stays healthy and if Dipoto can pick up a pitcher or two whether for the rotation or the bullpen that will help too.

Enjoy the All-Star game. We hope that  Cruz, Haniger, Segura and Diaz have a good time. Go M's. 

Mariners Need to Bounce Back

Saturday night the Mariners are showing that they need to rebound when it comes to the hitting. Both parties the hitting and the pitching has struggled however Saturday the offense continued not to be there. Not really sure whether having Nelson Cruz out of the lineup didn't help or not. They choose not to use him in the field at all since they are in a national league park.  Of course Coors is the largest park in the major leagues so it would have been difficult on him. If the Mariners have to sacrifice his bat for three days so be it if helps for Nelson to be totally healthy for the post all-star break. I don't say second half because the Mariners have been in the second half for about twenty games already.

Saturday night the Mariners were able to get five hits in the game. The Mariners only scored one run in a park that you should score seven runs in most of the time. The Mariners only run scored by catcher Chris Herrmann who had the only extra-base hit in the game with a double in the top of the eighth inning. He drove in Ben Gamel who had the second hit of the game. Nelson Cruz hitting for pitcher Casey Lawrence had a single but wasn't able to score Herrmann who did go to the third base. Dee Gordon hit a dinky ball that the shortstop picked up and was able to get Herrmann at home. Not Herrmann's fault  running on contact. If Gordon had done anything else but the terrible swing Herrmann would have scored easy and the Mariners could have been in shape to at least tie the game instead of going down in defeat 4-1.

Wade LeBlanc who started the game gave up a two-run homer in the second inning that went out in a hurry over center field fence. He gave up two more runs in the fifth inning and left with one out. Reliever Matt Festa who was brought up before the game from double A Arkansas  made his major league debut. He is considered the Mariners number nine prospect gave up two hits but no runs in two-thirds of an inning on ten strikes. Not a great outing but alright at the same time. Elias, Lawrence, and Nicasio finished off the game pitching one inning each without giving up a run.  Now we have to see how Mike Leake does Sunday afternoon. We hope that he can do better than his last outing and the Mariners can go into all-star break with a win. Go M's. 

No Surprise in Colorado

 

The Mariners brought up Christian Bergman to start the game Friday night against the Colorado Rockies. He didn't fair too well going four and a third innings. It isn't easy for pitchers in Coors Field so giving up six hits, five runs and two walks without a strike out. Three of the runs were on two home runs by the Rockies. A solo in the first and a two-run blast in the third. At that point the Rockies were leading 4-2 lead.

 

The Rockies started Jeff Hoffman who was a replacement for the initial starter however he only went three and a third innings despite Colorado's lead. I wonder why the Mariners didn't do the same with Bergman because they did bring up two other pitchers Mike Morin and Casey Lawrence who actually pitched in the game but why not sooner is my question. The Mariners brought in lefty James Pazos who replaced Bergman because the Rockies had a left handed batter coming to the plate however Pazos didn't fair too well in the game. He pitched two-thirds of an inning giving up three runs on four hits. Mike Morin came in the sixth inning pitching two innings giving up three hits and two runs. Casey Lawrence finished the game pitching the bottom of the eighth. He gave up a hit, a walk and struck out a batter without yielding a run.  I question why Servais didn't have Mike Morin go in the fourth inning for Bergman. He could have gone two or three innings and the same for Lawrence. The Mariners may have used Pazos still somewhere in the mix as well.

 

The Mariners were behind 10-3 going into the seventh when they scored four runs to make it a possibility to win however weren't able to score any runs in the eighth or ninth inning. So the final score was 10-7.

 

The Rockies scored most of their runs with two outs along with having contact behind on the count. Several of their hits they hit the ball the other way with two strikes. Saturday the Mariners will have Wade LeBlanc going for them and then Mike Leake on Sunday to head into the all-star break. With the use of Bergman, Morin, and Lawrence on Friday I wonder if the Mariners will make any other changes in the bullpen before the series is over. Lawrence should be still around since he did pitch only one inning. The Mariners do have the rest of the bullpen ready to go since they didn't go Friday night. I am sure Sunday many will be available since most will have a break for four days excluding Diaz who will likely appear in the all-star game.

 

The Mariners at least has a good chance to take one or both of the remaining games in Denver. Next Friday they will start a three game series against the Chicago White Sox. James Paxton who was added to the disabled list after being taken out in the first inning with a stiff lower back is expected to start  a week from Tuesday. Go M's. 

Surprise Happens Thursday Night

 

I was at friends for dinner than getting into my card turning on the radio I heard that James Paxton had left the game because he had a stiff lower back. I am sure it came as a surprise to everyone. We were hoping with Paxton on the mound that the Mariners had a fighting chance to win the game however things went from bad to worse. The Angels were winning at the time 3-1 with the Mariners coming to the plate in the top of the second. While driving home the Mariners didn't score at all. The Angels scored a single run in the second off of Chasen Bradford who pitched two and one-third innings.

 

The Mariners still looked like they had a chance only being down 4-1 however the Angels scored another run in the fifth inning. What really put the game away was two home runs first by Justin Upton and then Luis Pujols had his second home run of the game. His first home run was the one that was the last pitch by Paxton in the first inning. The two home runs were off of reliever Nick Rumbelow who likely will be sent back down with Christian Bergman to be activated to start the first game of the series against the Colorado Rockies. Utility player Andrew Romine pitched the eight inning giving up two runs that made the victory for the Angels at 11-2.

 

Since the weekend series is in Colorado Nelson Cruz will likely sit the weekend except pitch hitting at some point. I am sure the Mariners will look at the right opportunity to use him. This will be good to give him rest for the stretch run after the all-star break especially since he will make an appearance in the all-star game. It will be important that he be as healthy as possible.

 

The Mariners pitching hasn't been very good recently outside the start by Marco Gonzales on Wednesday. I am sure most fans are figuring that it could do with the loss of Mike Zunino. The other two catchers are doing fine however the pitchers have full confidence in Zunino. It is hard to know whether the pitching be this way if Zunino was catching as well. Zunino is ahead of schedule from his ankle injury so we hope that he will be able to go when the all-star break is over. He could be activated on Sunday however I am sure the Mariners won't to give him the extra four days available. Go M's. 

Marco Gonzales Evens Angels Series

 

Marco Gonzales is like the Mariners teams when we think he maybe down he responds with a great outing. On Wednesday night Marco pitched seven inning giving up only two hits, walking no batters and striking out four. The Mariners are trying to limit Gonzales innings so I am sure the reason they took him out after seven innings with a 3-0 lead.

 

The Mariners got their scoring with catcher David Freitas hitting his first home run in the major leagues in the third inning. The Mariners scored two additional runs in the fourth inning when Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger each got on then Nelson Cruz hit them both in with a single after Segura and Haniger moved up a base because of a wild pitch. It was all the scoring the Mariners needed though it would be nice if the Mariners offense could start scoring more runs.

 

James Paxton is scheduled to go for the Mariners Thursday night in the final game of the series against the Angels. No one is listed yet to start the opening game series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday. Likely the Mariners will bring a pitcher up from Tacoma to do so. Wade LeBlanc and Mike Leake are scheduled to pitch on Saturday and Sunday to close the series before the All-Star break.

 

Although it seems that the Mariners have been struggling as of late in the last ten games they are 6-4 while the Astros and A's are 7-3. The Angels are at 5-5 and the Rangers in dead last are 2-8. The Mariners and the A's have sixty-nine wins remaining. If the Mariners win 92 wins for the season which would be going 34-35 in those games the A's would have to  40-29 to tie them. The Angels would have to 45-24 to tie the Mariners.  The Astros would have to go 30-39 to have a tie as well. So not easy for the A's and Angels to catch the Mariners while at the same time it will be hard for the Mariners to catch the Astros although they are only three games behind them. It would be important for the Mariners to win the majority of their remaining games against the Astros to overtake them.

 

So the Mariners do have a good chance to make the playoffs however they can't tank it by losing a lot of games in these sixty-nine remaining games. Twenty-four of these remaining games are against teams that have losing records.  They have eight games remaining against the Angels including Thursday night however they play twenty-six games between the Astros and the A's so very important for them to at least split those games. The last place Rangers they have ten remaining games. The Mariners end the season at home with three games against the A's and four against the Rangers. Those could come down to being very important. Go M's. 

Rough Start to Angels

 

The Seattle Mariners want to be able to nail the Angels so that they can't make a run to the playoffs which will be start to do. The Oakland A's lost to the Houston Astros Tuesday Night in extra innings while the Mariners lost to the Angels 9-3. The A's have won 17 out of the last 22 games so they are now six games behind the Mariners and the Angels are nine games behind.

 

Everything looked good starting out because Dee Gordon and Jean Segura hit singles then Mitch Haniger hit a three run homer to put the Mariners up 3-0 however it was down hill from then on. They were able to hit off well in the first couple innings off of starting pitcher Garrett Richards of the Angels even for the outs. For example Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seagers hit a couple good ones but they went for outs. Richards had to leave the game in the third inning because of an injury. Unfortunately Mike Leake didn't do any better than Richards and then the Mariners couldn't get to Noe Ramirez who relieved Richards or any of the other  relievers of the Angels.

 

The Angels got one run off of Leake in the first inning and then tied the Mariners in the second.  The Angels took the lead in the fourth inning scoring four runs including a two-run homer from Luis Pujols. Nick Rumbelow who was brought up again to replace Felix Hernandez who was added to the disabled list. We should see Felix again when he comes back after the All-Star break. Rumbelow pitched two innings including giving up a home run to right fielder Calhoun. Roenis Elias pitched the last two innings for the Mariners giving up two hits and gave up a run in the eighth. At that point the game was already decided.

 

We do hope the Mariners can get off to the same start Wednesday against the Angels however Marco Gonzales will be able to pitch better and longer than Leake did in the game. It is OK if the Mariners have their starting pitches struggle long as it is not at the same time. The offense has been having a hard time recently scoring runs.  We hope that Gonzales will be able to go six plus innings leading ahead. Having the day off on Monday the Mariners should not have to skip anyone in the starting rotation and replace Felix either.

 

Just over an hour the voting for Jean Segura should be over. He is leading right now and we hope that he gets in. Keep on voting up until then. Go M's.

Seahawks Training Camp Coming Soon

 

I know that there are some that are Seahawk fans only and don't root for the Mariners. I have to say it is too bad for you. I like that there are more than one team we can be fans for though I have to admit many years it is hard to do so. This year the Mariners are doing well that I am not checking up on the Seahawks as much as normal. I am glad to that on the radio I hear about the Mariners during the off-season of the Seahawks instead of about their team.  I know that there are those fans that enjoy the news of the off-season but I am glad that I can watch a sport instead of hearing about the sport. I wish the Sonics were around so I could watch some NBA as well but I don't watch any of that. Soon though we will be able to watch some hockey as well. I am not a big hockey fan but I look forward to see Seattle getting a team and I am not much of a soccer fan though I did watch some of the World Cup. A primary reason is that my nephews Danny and Robbie went to Russia to see the quarterfinals.  I believe it is the first time for both of them to visit Russia. What was funny though at least to me anyway my niece Leslie their sister went to Sweden with her husband for a week after spending a week in France. While Danny and Robbie were watching the game live between Sweden and Switzerland her husband watched the match in a pub in Sweden. Look forward to more sports that can be successful as well in Seattle. I hope both the Huskies and Cougars have a great season coming up along with the Seahawks.

 

The Seahawks will start the training camp in just over two weeks on July 26. I am now going to look at the wide receivers. Doug Baldwin is still expected to be the number one wide receiver on the team while the number two receiver is up for grabs after Paul Richardson became a free agent and signed with the Washington Redskins. The main candidates likely are free agent signing Brandon Marshall who played last season with the New York Giants. He played in only five games with eighteen receptions and averaged over eight yards per reception with no touchdowns. I am sure the Seahawks hope he will be healthy.  He is thirty-four years old with thirteen years in the NFL so hard to know whether he will make the team or released by the Seahawks. Tyler Lockett is the other receiver who maybe the second receiver. If Marshall is the second receiver then Lockett will be the third receiver. We will probably see him on kickoff and punt returns as well. The kick-off returns will be different this year with the change of rules so the Seahawks could have  three guys back for returns.

 

Another candidate for the second receiver spot is Amara Darboh who was the Seahawks third round draft pick last year out of Michigan. He showed some signs in his rookie year that he could be an outstanding receiver. This coming season will show where he will fit on the Seahawks roster for the future. He played in all sixteen games however had only eight receptions getting 71 yards and no touchdowns. It would be nice if he could get two to three times as many receptions this coming season with an average over ten with several touchdowns. It will be important that he stays healthy as well.

 

Other receivers will be the following Jaron Brown the Seahawks signed who played for the Arizona Cardinals. He played in all sixteen games but started only eight. He is a tall receiver at 6-3 so that will help now that the Seahawks don't have tight end Jimmy Graham. He caught thirty-one passes with the longest being fifty-two yards and scored four touchdowns. He played five seasons for the Cardinals. Signed as a free agent rookie Cyril Grayson Jr out of Louisiana State is listed between five feet nine and five feet eleven inches tall. He has a lot of speed what his chances to make the team is questionable. Marcus Johnson a six feet one receiver the Seahawks picked up in the trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for Michael Bennett and a fifth round draft pick. Another receiver is David Moore who has shown promise, spent most of the year on the practice squad but got into the last game of the season. J.D. McKissic who was a receiver in college however played running back for the Seahawks could see some action at wide receiver or spread out. The same could go for C.J. Prosise who also played receiver in college. Long as he is healthy Prosise should get the nod as the third down back. If he doesn't than McKissic should. Depending on how many receivers the Seahawks keep both should be on the squad.

In other local sports news the Seattle Mariners put Felix Hernandez on the disabled list. Probably not much wrong with his back however they wanted to give him rest to go through the All-Star break, The Mariners brought back up Rumbelow who likely work out of the bullpen. Not sure who will pitch in Felix's spot however with six games remaining before the break the Mariners probably don't need a fifth starter after having Monday off.  They also brought up infielder Gordon Beckham who has been hitting well as of late and sent outfielder Andreoli back to Tacoma.  Go Seahawks and M's.



Mariners Win Final Game of Series

 

On Sunday afternoon the Mariners rebounded to win the final game of the series though it wasn't easy early on.  Wade LeBlanc didn't have one of his better games though he was able to go six innings anyway.  He gave up five hits in six innings however three of them were home runs that allowed the Rockies to score four runs that gave them a temporary lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning. Charlie Blackmon who was designated hitter for the game it a solo home run in the first inning. It was his only hit of the game however the Mariners were able to score three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead. It stayed that way until the fifth inning when Carlos Gonzales hit a home run to narrow the lead to 3-2 and then in the top of the sixth inning shortstop Trevor Story hit a two-run homer off LeBlanc to put the Rockies ahead 4-3 but in the bottom of the same inning Ryon Healy hit a three-run homer to make the score 6-4 that turned out to be the final score. Healy had driven in two runs in the first inning with a double so all together he had one of those career days driving in five of the Mariners six runs.  James Pazos, Alex Colome and Edwin Diaz each pitched the game to close. None of the three game up a hit, Colome and Diaz each struck out three batters in each of their one inning. Diaz recorded his thirty-fifth save of the season.

 

 

The Mariners now have Monday off then play three against the Angels in Anaheim and then three against the Rockies in Colorado. It would be nice if the Mariners can beat the Angels at least two out of the three and then the Mariners reverse what happened in Seattle by beating the Rockies two out of the three on their home field.

 

News came out after the game that three players made the All-Star game for the Mariners. As expected was Edwin Diaz along with Nelson Cruz and Mitch Haniger. Neither James Paxton or Jean Segura made the roster. Segura does have a chance to make the squad if voted in as the last player on the roster. He was very upset that he didn't make the initial roster which I can't blame him. He could make it as a replacement for an injured player if he isn't voted in. I don't blame him for being upset he should have made the roster. Hard to keep someone off that has the second best batting average in the American League.  Paxton wasn't as big of a surprise since he did lose his last outing giving him a record of 8-3. If he had won the game likely would have been named to the roster.

Anyway look forward to see what happens this week. It would be nice if the Mariners can go 3-3 or 4-2 against the Angels and Rockies. I am sure the guys are looking forward to a little time off as well to get some healing in and rest to go into the drive for the remaining games of the season. I am sure Dipoto will be busy to see what he can do to bolster the roster whether it has to do with another bat or a pitcher or two. Go M's. 

Rockies Take Down Paxton

It looked good until the seventh inning when the Rockies scored a run in the fourth  inning and then Jean Segura hit a home run  in the fifth inning to tie the game. In the seventh inning with two runs on base James Paxton threw a slider that Noel Cuevas hit that brought in three runs to make the score 4-1 that pretty well ended the chance for the Mariners to win the game. The Rockies scored another run in the top of the ninth to end it at 5-1.

 

Today (Sunday) the name of who will be on the All-Star team will be named. Until this game Paxton had a pretty good chance of making the team however with losing and a record of 8-3 it will be less likely he will be named to the team. Jean Segura and Edwin Diaz have the best chance of making the team. Actually Diaz should be a shoe-in.

 

Today Wade LeBlanc pitches to see if the Mariners can win one game in this series before going on the road to Los Angeles and Colorado. We hope that the Mariners can bounce back now. Go M's.



Mariners Lose Friday

After taking two games from the Los Angeles Angels the Mariners had trouble Friday Night losing 7-1 in the first game of the series against the Colorado Rockies. The game started out like a number of them with Felix Hernandez giving up a solo  home run to center fielder Charlie Blackmon. The Rockies scored two more runs in the second inning that included a triple by catcher Tony Wolters who should have been thrown out by ten feet however the ball thrown by Ben Gamel from right field. Felix was able to make it through the five inning however the Mariners were behind 3-0.

 

In the sixth inning Roenis Elias relieved Felix going three  innings however he gave up three runs with two being earned. Nick Rumbelow pitched the ninth inning giving up a run on three hits. The Mariners lone run came on a home run by Denard Span in the bottom of the sixth inning. News came out the Mariners brought up outfielder John Andreoli  from Tacoma for his second stint of the season. He is penciled in the lineup to start in left fielder and Mitch Haniger who was out of the lineup the last two games will be back in the lineup Saturday afternoon so the Mariners will go with all right handed hitting outfield to start the game. At some point could see Span and Gamel pitch hit in the game. The Rockies have a lefty starting for them against the Mariners while they go with their own lefty James Paxton.  Rumbelow was sent down to Tacoma with the activation of Andreoli. Right now not sure how long he will be around but since the Mariners haven't used a lot of relief pitching recently another position player is a good thing.

 

Now that Jerry Dipoto has signed an extension wouldn't be surprised if the Mariners make a trade real soon either to the rotation or the bullpen. I believe it will depend who is available to them to pick up. Another announcement that catcher Mike Marjama who was at Tacoma however started the season as the Mariners backup catcher decided to retire. It came as a big surprise to me anyway. Dee Gordon who left Friday's game will be replaced by Andrew Romine at second base and batting ninth. The lineup moves up with Jean Segura leading off. Kyle Seager who is the only left handed hitting in the starting lineup will bat fourth. Andreoli will bat seventh followed by catcher David Freitas then Romine. I am sure manager Servais is hoping this primary right handed lineup will spark the offense.  News came out that Robinson Cano apologized

Dispoto Signed Friday

It was announced today that the Mariners have signed general manager Jerry Dipoto to multi-year extension. A press conference will happen Friday afternoon to go into details. I am sure most are not surprised because Dipoto in two and half years has done much as expected when he came to the team two and half years ago. He has turned the Mariners into a team this season who is second in the American League West behind the Houston Astros by a game and a half along with having the fourth best record in the major leagues. The Mariners stay on course they will make the playoffs for the first time in seventeen years.

 

The next thing for the Mariners to announce is an extension for manager Scott Servais. That may occur in the next few days well. What could happen though the Mariners could make another trade before that announced. Also another announced would be to sign designated hitter Nelson Cruz to an extension. It makes sense that Dipoto would be signed to an extension before either Servais or Cruz. He is the guy who would do those signings.

 

It is so nice that the new regime of the Mariners are doing so much to make the Mariners into a winning ball club. Dipoto next work will be to improve the farm system that has been considered the worst in the major leagues. Recently the Mariners have had high draft picks getting hurt during their early development. We just hope this won't happen to any of the top picks of this year's draft. Improving the farm system will help Dipoto make more trades that he has been unable to make because he doesn't have the pieces to make them. We hope in the next couple years this will be apple to happen along with bring up young players that can go along with the young nucleus the Mariners have traded for like Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, Ben Gamel and Marco Gonzales to name a few. Go M's.  

Mariners Take Series

 

After the eighth game winning ended on Wednesday the question would be can the Mariners win the series against the Angels and the answer was yes. The Mariners seem to be a better team when they are down and not expected to succeed.

 

A few hours before game time we learned that Mike Zunino hurt his ankle in Wednesday's game. Not sure whether it happened when he walked or got a hit in the game. We did see that he ran slowly home in the ninth inning when he was tagged out. I am sure none of us thought of it. Shortly before Thursday's game Zunino was put on the disabled list and David Freitas was brought up from Tacoma.  Chris Herrmann who started Wednesday's game started again on Thursday Night. I expect that he will get the bulk of the catching duties while Zunino is out. I am sure he will catch against righties while Freitas will catch against lefties. Zunino is expected to be out until the Sunday before the All-Star game when he is eligible to come off the disabled list. Wouldn't surprise me if the Mariners don't activate him until after the all-star break. They may send him down for a rehab assignment as well since his hitting has been off prior to his injury. He did get a walk and a single in the last game however he had been struggling at the plate in the last thirty games batting under one hundred.

 

The Mariners scored first in the bottom of the third however the Angels came back to tie 1-1 in the top of the fourth. The Mariners scored in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 2-1 lead. The game looked like it could go either way though as we know the Mariners have done well in one run games however in the seventh inning catcher Chris Herrmann hit a solo home run and then Guillermo Heredia who wasn't in the original lineup but started when Mitch Haniger was scratched because of an injury hit a double and then scored on a hit by Dee Gordon to make it 4-1 which turned out to be the final score.

 

Marco Gonzales who struggled with his control was able to make it through six innings walking only two batters and striking out seven batters. I believe he grew up more being able to get out of tight situations. He is now showing that he can go six innings or longer since the previous outing he pitched a complete game. James Pazos pitched the seventh inning followed by Colome and Diaz who recorded his thirty-four save of the season.  Right now it seems the Mariners might alternate the seventh and eighth innings between Pazos, Colome, Vincent and Nicasio. It would be nice to have Colome or Nicasio be used in the ninth inning as well. A lead like Thursday Night the Mariners could have used Colome or Nicasio instead. It would be nice to give Diaz some rest before the All-Star break.

 

Now the Mariners will be at home against the Colorado Rockies in interleague play. It will be success again if the Mariners win at least two out of the three games. A lot better if they can win the first two games however we will take what we can. The Mariners will have Felix Hernandez on Friday Night followed by James Paxton and Wade LeBlanc. Winning the series looks pretty good with that trio. Next week the Mariners will be on the road going against the Angels and the Rockies once again. That takes the Mariners into the All-Star Break. After the break they will be home against the Chicago White Sox for three games and then two against the San Francisco Giants. They will finish July by facing the Angels for three games in Los Angeles followed by the Houston Astros in Seattle.  Go M's. 

Eight Game Streak Over

 

Wednesday Afternoon in front of a large Independence Day crowd the Seattle Mariners winning streak came to an end of eight games. The Angels scored a single run in the top of the second inning that included catcher's interference with Japanese sensation Ohtani then the Mariners scored two in the bottom of the same inning  with solo home runs by Kyle Seager and Ryon Healy. It was the only time that the Mariners lead in the game.

 

The Angels took the lead for good scoring two runs in fourth inning then another in the fifth and a two-run homer in the sixth inning. Mike Leake who had been pitching well the last several games left the game without any outs in the fifth inning so he gave up nine hits along with four runs with three being earned. Nick Rumbelow who came in for Leake gave up the two-runner homer. He pitched two innings for the Mariners. The Mariners scored again in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 6-3. Both teams scored a run in the eighth inning to make the final 7-4. The Mariners did have opportunity to score more runs having the bases loaded twice but were not able to deliver either time.

 

I figure it is hard to keep going after winning eight games in a row. I am sure everyone is hoping that the Mariners will start another win streak. Thursday night Marco Gonzales goes for his ninth win. In his last outing he was able to pitch a complete game against the Kansas City Royals. He only gave up one run in the top of the ninth inning in a 4-1 victory.

 

News came out that lefty Ariel Miranda who had one start this season early on was released so he could pursue pitching in Japan. I am sure he saw the writing on the wall. I hope that we will see him again in the major leagues. Erasmo Ramirez is expected to go on a rehab assignment soon. When he is ready he probably will find his way into the Mariners bullpen however he could become the sixth starter in the second half of the season. Both Dipoto and Servais have mentioned that a sixth starter is most likely going to happen especially when Marco Gonzales and Wade LeBlanc reach one hundred and fifty innings. The Mariners could have other candidates but Ramirez is a good option if he is able to stay healthy. At least we know he is capable to pitch in relief well as a starter.

 

We may see more of Gamel, Haniger and Span in the starting lineup depending on who is starting for the other team since Guillermo Heredia has been struggling at the plate. I am sure that Heredia will start against all lefties however he may get some days off against right handers depending who it is. The Mariners may sacrifice some defense earlier in the game if the runs seem to be limited. How much Zunino will play depends on his hitting as well and how Chris Herrmann does at the plate. Wednesday morning Zunino was working on his hitting and did have a hit and walk in two plate appearances when he pitched hit later in the game for Herrmann. Likely Zunino will see more duties than Heredia but this could happen. The Mariners could be shopping for another catcher as well.

 

I am sure before the end of the month we will probably see a trade that could involve getting a pitcher whether it is a starter or reliever. Who that will be is anyone's guess at this point. It will be good to have Cano back in the middle of August though he won't be eligible for the playoffs. At times the Mariners are missing his offense output. At this point it is hard to say how it will work out. Dee Gordon could return to center field until the last couple weeks in September. Go M's.

 



Eight Wins in a Row

The Seattle Mariners started a series Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Angels going for their eighth win in a row and they do so 4-1 behind the pitching of Wade LeBlanc who now is 4-0.

 

Earlier in the day LeBlanc signed a contract extension that goes through 2019 with options on the side of the Mariners for the next three years after that. At the end of spring training LeBlanc signed a minor league contract with the Mariners after being let go by the New York Yankees. Wouldn't it be ironic if he beats the Yankees in the playoffs. I am not sure if I have ever heard of a player signing an extension during the season where  they started out on a minor league contract. It is really good for LeBlanc since he has done a good job for the Mariners and he is rewarded for his efforts.

 

The Mariner's scored three runs in the first inning when Jean Segura hit a double then Mitch Haniger and Nelson Cruz both walked. Segura and Haniger both scored on a single by Kyle Seager that went into left-center. Cruz scored on a wild pitch that Ryon Healy struck out on but reached first base as well. That score kept up until the fourth inning when Andrelton Simmons hit a home run for the Angels. It was only one of three hits that LeBlanc gave up. Nelson Cruz sealed the victory when he hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth. LeBlanc went seven innings giving up the three hits and one run along with one walk and four strike outs. Alex Colome pitched the eighth inning  where he struggled once again giving up a single and a walk however he got out of it without yielding a run. Edwin Diaz pitched the ninth striking out one and getting his thirty-third save.

 

Mike Leake will go for his ninth win Wednesday night followed by Marco Gonzales who will do so as well. There is a possibility that the Mariners could have four starters with ten victories by the All-Star break in a couple weeks.  Felix Hernandez will pitch the first game in the weekend series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday followed by James Paxton and Wade LeBlanc. The Mariners then will go on the road to play both the Angels and Rockies once again. Go M's. 

Mariners 2018 Half Season Report Card Part 2

Now my look at the position players for the Mariners during first half season; the catching position is first and my grade is a B. Mike Zunino has been playing great defense by the showing of the starting rotation. His hitting has been low par though he has hit twelve home runs but driving in runs he has only twenty-nine. Also he continues striking out a lot having eighty-four in one hundred ninety-seven at bats. The three players who have been his back up during the season haven’t done any better and they don’t have the power he does possess. Chris Herrmann who is his current backup has only fourteen at bats so can’t really judge his performance. I hope that he is able to get into more games especially if Zunino continues to struggle at the plate. In his last seven games Zunino is batting below one hundred. Hopefully he will be able to relax and rest during the upcoming all-star break. Chris Herrmann can play first base and the outfield as well if necessary.

Speaking of first base Ryon Healy has been a good surprise. Last year he hit twenty-five home runs for the Oakland A’s; right now he has sixteen for the Mariners. His batting average is .252 which is twenty points below last year’s but with a good second half he could bring that up though the power along with driving in runs what is important. The biggest surprise has been his defense. He has done a better job than most expected especially stretching out on throws to him by the other infielders. I give him a grade of B plus at this point.

Now looking at second base position for the Mariners which is interesting to say the least; Robinson Cano started the season playing almost every day until he fractured his right hand in May and then a couple days later was suspended 80 games for PED. He is currently rehabbing in Seattle to be ready to be reactivated on August 14. At the time of his injury he was batting .287 and his on base percentage was almost one hundred points higher because he was taking a lot of walks. Dee Gordon who moved to play second base when Cano went down has been playing stellar defense. He played second base with the Miami Marlins however the Mariners converted him to center field when they for him last December. He currently is batting .280 and leads the major leagues in stolen bases with twenty-one. He has struggled at the plate since returning from the disabled list because of a toe fracture at the end of May. Although he isn’t hitting as well he still has been dangerous on the base paths. Recently he scored from first base on a hit. Rest during the all-star break should help him out as well. When Cano returns in mid-August it is hard to know right now how much he will play at second base. He isn’t eligible for the playoffs so the Mariners will have to use Gordon the last couple weeks of September to be ready to go. Right now the coaching staff has no idea how much Cano will play. There is suggestions that Cano play some first base to give Healy some rest and dh as well to help give Cruz rest as well. Although he hasn’t played third base he does have experience at the position but the Mariners would have to give him opportunity to take grounders there. The purpose would be to give Seager some rest and allow Cano playing time. Of course we have no  idea how Cano will do at first base though being a good fielder he should do fine at first base as well. Gordon could be the super utility player when Cano returns. I give the position a grade of B plus.

Kyle Seager continues to be the everyday third baseman for the Mariners. He hasn’t had a good batting average this year so far being at .232. His power continues though where he has fifteen home runs and he has driven in forty-nine runs so he could still hit thirty home runs for the season and drive in or near one hundred runs. The value of Seager this year is he looks like he has been playing the best defense of his career including the year he won the gold glove. It is hard to calculate but he has looked like he has saved a lot of runs with his glove. Since his batting is below average I give him a grade of B because of his defense.

Jean Segura at shortstop has been doing a great job both hitting and fielding. His fielding hasn’t been stellar at times but still solid and he is number two hitter in the American League with an average of .335. He is second on the Mariners in stolen bases with fourteen and has driven in forty-five runs which is pretty good for a guy who has batted second in the limit most of the season or lead-off when Gordon was on the disabled list. Also he has had multiple hits in more than thirty games which lead the league. He has been one of the leader’s on the ball club as well. He should be playing in the All-Star game though he doesn’t have enough votes to start. I give him a solid A.

Now looking at the outfield; Ben Gamel who started the season on the disabled list is batting .300. Before he was activated Ichiro and Guillermo Heredia were sharing left field. Ichiro I would give an incomplete since he was deactivated a short time after Gamel returned. He isn’t officially retired so he could come back to play in spring training for the Mariners next year. The Mariners are starting next season in Japan and can have twenty-eight players activated instead of twenty-five so Ichiro will likely be activated for those two games. After that unless he is ready to go he will probably be deactivated but no one knows right now whether he would retire then. Gamel right now shares left field with Denard Span who they acquired on May 25 along with reliever Alex Colome from the Tampa Bay Rays has been hitting .292 in twenty-seven games. So those two have been a very good duo and Gamel has been playing a little right field when the have given Guillermo Heredia a day off in center field and Mitch Haniger has moved over. Haniger has had a day off as well during this time as well. Give left field a solid B especially with Gamel and Span playing.

Center Field belonged to Dee Gordon until Robinson Cano was injured then suspended and Gordon returned to his old position. Gordon was playing a solid center field before going back to second base. Guillermo Heredia who is the Mariners best defensive outfielder has been playing well there since becoming the regular center fielder in mid-May. His offense has been inconsistent batting .230 after being around three hundred when he was playing part time. When Cano returns in mid-August it will be hard to know how much Heredia will play since Gordon will play some center field once again. I like Heredia in center field not only for his defense but he is willing to take walks, do the little things like bunting and is in the middle of many Mariner rallies. We will have to see whether he will be an everyday player in the future. He is only in his second season in the major leagues so can’t answer that at this point. I give a grade of B plus in center field.

Right Field belongs Mitch Haniger who has played almost every game there except a few in center field. He not only has been a force at the plate he has thrown out several runs from right field. He is second on the Mariners in home runs with seventeen and leads them in runs batted in with sixty-two and has a batting average of .272. If he has a down fall he has struck out eighty times which is second to Mike Zunino. He does look like a super star in the making. He could be there in a couple years if not before. I give him a grade of A.

The last position is designated hitter. Nelson Cruz has been the primary designated hitter only not playing when he was on the disabled list. Dan Vogelbach was the dh early on along with playing first base. Looking at his defense he is more likely to be a designated hitter in the future but with the Mariners that is not likely. Though he did hit a few home runs he did struggle at the plate. He has been hitting very well at triple A so right now he is more than a triple A player but not a major league player. Cruz is batting .273 with twenty-one home runs. If he can stay healthy the rest of the season he could hit forty home runs once again. In the last thirty games Cruz has batted .345 with thirteen of his twenty-one home runs. That is sold effort for sure. I give him a grade of A minus. If he had been healthy all season than he would have an A or A plus.

The Mariners continue what they have done all season they should easily be over the ninety game winning mark and make the playoffs. It will be nice to see what the report card at the end of the season. As we hope for the Mariners will make the way into the playoffs and into the World Series for the first time. Go M’s.