YK Rough Outing

Yusei Kikuchi had another rough outing on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Angels. I was hoping he would turn things around for the sake of the Mariners who are having a terrible May. I figured to the Angels are one team the Mariners should be able to beat on a regular basis. It is showing the difficulty this team is having right now. 

Kikuchi was only able to go three and a third inning before the Mariners had to go to the bullpen. He started off giving up a run in the first inning followed by two in the second and another in the third. He didn't have any power on his fastball and his other pitches weren't doing well either. He gave a home run in both the second and third inning. The Angels scored two more in the 4th and 5th inning. Reliever Dave McKay gave up two runs in an inning. The first time he has been roughed up since being recalled from Tacoma. At that point, the Mariners were behind 8-0.

The Mariners scored three runs on a home run by Tim Beckham in the fifth inning. Mitch Haniger and Jay Bruce each had hits before Beckham's home run. They were three of the four hits the Mariners had in the game. Besides those three the only other hit was by Kyle Seager who is hitting .240 since being activated from the IL last Saturday. 

It is time that Kikuchi has his start of one inning before the Mariners go to the bullpen since he is struggling on the mound right now. I am sure many are wondering if he has an injury as well.

Mike Leake goes on the mound for the Mariners Friday night. He has not pitched well of late. For the Mariners to get out of their funk he needs to turn things around. The Angels should be the team to do it too. Go M's. 

Mariners Lose Series

The Seattle Mariners continue to struggle in May losing the final game and series to the Texas Rangers 8-7. The Mariners have only won six games this month. 

This game was a tough loss because they should have won the game but because of three errors by relief pitchers along with a mental error cost them three runs at least. We could say one of the relief pitcher's error was a mental one as well since he shouldn't have thrown the ball to first base after bobbling the ball. There was no way he was getting the runner at first base, and the throw allowed the runner to go to third.

The only positive thing coming out of the game was the Mariners continued to fight though in the 9th inning they were unable to tie or win the game with two runners on base. Kyle Seager hit a grounder to second to end the game.

Again it was a frustrating game because it was a  game they should have won. Not a game they could have won if they had made a hit in the 9th inning. Also, the Rangers were able to get a hit when counted in the top of the 9th inning to put the Rangers ahead.

I guess there was another positive thing coming out of the game Mallex Smith had two more hits. He seems to have righted the wrong track he had been on. We hope he continues to get better and now we have to see Mitch Haniger do better. He did have a home run that put the Mariners ahead though briefly. 

Now the Mariners take on the Los Angeles Angels in a four-game series in Seattle. The Angels are a beatable team so hopefully, the Mariners can take three out of the four games.  Go M's. 

Another Loss

The Seattle Mariners are having a hard time winning lately especially against the Texas Rangers, although they did win on Monday.  It is tough to keep on watching or listening to the game when the score gets lopsided early on. 

The Rangers scored two runs in the first inning off of Marco Gonzales though it really wasn't his fault.  The only part he played was allowing two runners on base. He had a zero and two count when the Rangers decided to pull off a double steal. Catcher Omar Navarez tried to gun down the lead runner at third base but the ball went off the glove of Kyle Seager so both runners scored. I almost knew it was going to be a long night.

The Rangers scored another two runs in the fourth inning so now the score was 4-0. The fifth inning was the real killer when the Rangers scored seven runs against the Mariners. Marco Gonzales left the game giving up eight runs. Brandon Brennan came in for Marco and surrendered a three-run homer making the score 11-0. The Marines scored their two runs in the bottom of the fifth.

I am not sure why the Mariners didn't take Marco Gonzales out before the fifth inning started. It may not have changed a thing when it came for them to win or lose but may have given them a better chance.  I have found that the fifth inning is often a bad inning for the starting pitcher if he survives the first four innings. In this case, Gonzales had already given up four runs. I guess we could say Servais was trying to save the bullpen one inning. Often when to take the starting pitcher out of a game is hard to decide.

The Mariners ended up scoring a single run in the sixth and eighth innings to make the final score 11-2. The sad news shortstop JP Crawford injured his ankle in a rundown between second and third base. No news how long he will be out but likely he will go on the injured list for ten days. More news will come forward sometime on Wednesday. The Mariners will probably call Dylan Moore up once again to take the role of utility player and we will see Tim Beckham back at playing shortstop most of the time until Crawford returns. 

The Mariners have moved Yusei Kikuchi back a day and they are starting Wade LeBlanc in the final game of the series against the Rangers on Wednesday afternoon. Hopefully, LeBlanc and the Mariners will be able to bounce back for a victory. Go M's. 

Mariners Win

First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day! Oh yes, the skid is over and the Mariners won. I hope this is a good start to a great homestand. 

The game was tight for a while. The Mariners scored first with two runs in the bottom of the third scoring two runs. The Rangers responded with a run in the top of the fourth and then the Mariners came back with a run in the fourth as well. The Rangers had another run in the fifth making the score 3-2. Anyone's game at that point.

In the bottom of the seventh inning hit a massive home run in the upper deck of right field with a runner on base. The Rangers asked for instant replay but not enough to overturn the play. The Mariners scored another run in the eighth making the final 6-2.

Besides the output of Vogelbach, Mallex  Smith had a fine day at the plate getting two hits while driving in a run. He scored two runs as well. He stole four bases in the game as well including home plate. He stole home plate when the pitcher threw over to first base. Something I learned knew that I had never heard of before he stole for the cycle. Not an easy task stealing second, third, and home. 

At this point don't know how long Dee Gordon is going to be out. So Mallex Smith is right now the only player in the Mariner's lineup that can do some small. A needed task when home runs are not falling.

Tommy Milone had another good start, his second for the Mariners going five and two-thirds innings. He gave up two runs on four hits, walked a batter, and struck out seven. 

I am wondering if Milone will be the Wade LeBlanc of this year. His pitching style is similar as well. 

The bullpen did a very good job as well; not giving up a run in three and third innings. Cody Gearrin finished off the sixth inning striking out the one batter he faced. Lefty specialist newly acquired Jesse Biddle went one and third innings giving up one hit. 

Austin Adams came in and finished off the eighth inning giving up no hits and getting both batters he faced. Anthony Bass pitched the ninth inning giving up one hit but struck out three batters to end the game. Bass is showing he could end up being the Mariners closer at least until Hunter Strickland returns.

Marco Gonzales goes Tuesday Night for the Mariners. Everyone is hoping that he can win his first game of May. It would be a good way to end the month for him. He came into May with five wins but has lost three times this month. We want to see the April Marco return. 

The Rangers will be going with Jesse Chavez primarily a reliever starting for them. His last start was against the Mariners but he only went one and two-thirds innings giving up one hit. He probably be doing the same Tuesday. So M's get to him early. 

Mariners Coming Home

There wasn't much positive on this last road trip since the Mariners lost all six games. They will be home for the next eleven games so hopefully, some good signs will come about.

I wouldn't be surprised if Jerry Dipoto will make some changes to the roster including making at least one trade.  Edwin Encarnacion is the likely one to be traded because the Mariners might be able to get the most for him. It would be good to get a starting pitcher back for him along with a prospect or two. 

I was hoping to see this last road trip where the Mariners would go at least 3-3 instead of losing each one. They were doing so well against other teams with losing records, however, the Rangers and A's are on an upswing. Of course, in part by playing the Mariners. The Rangers are 7-3 in their last ten games while the A's are 9-1. Last year the A's made their move around this time and once again are doing so. 

It would be nice if the Mariners can beat the Rangers at home well as the Los Angeles Angels. Outside of the Mariners the Angels are the other team with a losing record in the past ten games going 4-6. The only other American League team to go 1-9 like the Mariners is the Detroit Tigers.

Mike Leake continues to struggle on Sunday in the Mariners loss to the A's 7-1. He pitched six and two-thirds innings. He only gave up three hits but two of them were home runs that gave the A's three of the five runs against him. Wasn't normal for Leake he walked three batters. For the Mariners to get back on track Leake along with Marco Gonzales who hasn't won in May and Kikuchi who had a bad outing after pitching well before the Mariners need these three. 

It is hard though for the starters to do well when they have the pressure of having to be perfect when the offense isn't working. The Mariners scored only eight runs in the three games. They have shown unless they score six runs or more in a game they probably won't win and they haven't done that often as of late.

It isn't as though the Mariners haven't hit the ball because they had 25 hits in the Oakland series just they left a lot of batters on base. Whether it is changing the lineup or not is the answer the point is they do need to score runs. 

It does come down to the pitching overall though. The position players Dipoto decides to trade they need to have pitching come back in return. I expect the hitting will come back even with the trading of some of the position players. I can see Jay Bruce and Tim Beckham both leaving before the trading deadline too. 

Tommy Milone will be going against the Texas Rangers Monday night. He had a good game against the Rangers last Tuesday in Arlington though the Mariners lost 5-3. A similar outing by Milone should nest a Mariner victory.  This week will be interesting for sure. Go M's. 

The Drought Is Still Here

The Seattle Mariners continue to lose with the offense struggling. They are now 5-17 for the month of May. They are dead last in the AL West while being in second place when May started. I know we expected the Mariners not to be very good this season but going from a team who had offensive power to one that is non-existence right now is hard to bare. 

Yusei Kikuchi who had been pitching well had an off-day going only three and third innings.  He gave up ten hits and the A's scored five runs with four being earned. I am not sure why Servais continues putting Domingo Santana in left field where he had another error. Since Jay Bruce was in the game why not switch spots and have Bruce in left while Santana plays in right field. 

Austin Adams and Anthony Bass each pitched well in the game. Brandon Brennan who has done well most of the season gave up a run in the 9th inning which gave the A's 6-5 win.

The Mariners scored two runs in the 9th inning to make it interesting. Domingo Santana had his second home run of the game then JP Crawford drove in Kyle Seager in his return to the Mariner line. Both Seager and Crawford along with Santana got to A's closer Blake Treinen scoring two runs.  Rookie Shed Long wasn't able to bring in Crawford to tie the game. The game ended there. 

The one question I had was why the Mariners didn't use Tim Beckham as a pinch hitter for Long. It was the second time this week that Servais didn't use Beckham. 

Now we have to see whether the Mariners can get out of the funk before returning to T-Mobile Park. It would be nice to end the road trip with at least one win. 

The Mariners will face the Texas Rangers on Monday in a three-game series before going against the Los Angeles Angels at home too. It would be nice to have a good homestand this week. 

It is nice to see Kyle Seager back, however, Jerry Dipoto needs to make some changes to the roster. Can't continue losing in the manner they are. 

Mariners Continue to Falter

Going into Friday night the Mariners had beaten the Oakland A's in all four meetings, however, the A's are on the upswing while the Mariners continue to falter. 

Wade LeBlanc started the game going five innings giving up four runs. Not a good sign and three of the four runs happened on a three-run homer by Matt Olson in the fourth inning. Oakland hadn't even scored a run going into that inning. 

Cory Gearrin who has been pitching well after getting off a poor start pitched the sixth inning up one hit, however, struck out three batters. Connor Sadzeck took over the seventh inning. He gave up a run in the seventh and eighth inning. He had to leave the game in the eighth inning because of an injured finger. Have to see whether he has to go on the IL or not. Dave McKay finished off the eighth without giving up a hit and got the last two outs on eight pitches.

Saturday the Mariners will be activating Kyle Seager from the IL after taking a rehab assignment most recently with the Tacoma Rainiers. This means the Mariners defense should improve and hopefully the offense as well. 

It is anyone's question who will be taken off the roster with Seager's return. Whomever it is should only be a short term solution. Why I say that is the Mariners are struggling on the offense side well as the defense. 

Mallex Smith continues struggling at the plate getting no hits in four at-bats.  He left six runners stranded in scoring position. Had he even got one hit the Mariners would have had a good chance in winning the game. He is struggling in the field as well.  He should return to Tacoma again to get things straighten out.


Other moves should be taken as well. I expect Dylan Moore will be the player sent down to Tacoma but I am sure we will know sometime Saturday. 

It was good news that Narvaez started Friday night after leaving Wednesday's game early.  It is time that Dipoto makes move with the offense in the same manner as he did with the relief pitching. I am sure he isn't done there either along with the starting pitching. Go M's. 

Mariners Swept in Texas

The Mariners continued in there hitting slump on Wednesday afternoon losing 2-1. The problem wasn't only the hitting but the defense still is a problem with the Mariners having two more errors in the game and only one of the runs was earned off Marco Gonzales who pitched a good game that he deserves to win. He is now 0-4 in the month of May. He should have one more shot to get a win in May.

Gonzales was able to go seven innings in the game giving up seven hits, one walk and striking out three. This allowed the Mariners to save the bullpen though they do have Thursday off before facing the A's in Oakland on Friday.

The two newcomers to the Mariners bullpen faired well in this game. Jesse Biddle the lefty came first in the eighth inning. He gave up a hit, however, struck out a batter as well. Anthony Bass was able to get the final two outs of the eighth inning. Actually, a line drive was hit to him on one pitch that he was able to catch the runner at first base to complete a double play. 

The Mariners scored there only run in the seventh inning with back to back hits by Jay Bruce and JP Crawford. Catcher Omar Narvaez the Mariners hottest hitter had to leave the game in the 3rd inning because of a bruised knee when he was hit by a foul tip. He is listed day to day though he plans to play on Friday. We will have to see.

I am not sure why but in the 9th inning the Mariners had Tim Beckham still available on the bench but manager Scott Servais decided not to use him to pinch hit for either Dylan Moore who was playing third base or second baseman Shed Long. I would have used him pinch hitting for Dylan Moore. I have to figure Moore just came off the injured list and he isn't hitting that well. I hope Servais does have an explanation for his action other than giving Beckham the whole game off. 

Yusei Kikuchi after his last spectacular start that happened to be the last game the Mariners won will take the mound on Friday in Oakland. Right now he is the Mariner's best pitcher since Gonzales has struggled in May. The Mariners are undefeated against the A's this season though a small sampling.  It would be nice if the Mariners could turn around and sweep the A's. This would leave a road trip of 3-3. 

The Mariners right now are in last place a full game behind the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West division standings. The Mariners are 3-7 in there last ten games while the A's are 7-3. So the series might be difficult in Oakland though the Mariners are undefeated on the season. 

The Oakland A's seem to make there move at some point of the season so this could end up being difficult for the Mariners. This week the Mariners shook up their bullpen but they may have to make other changes especially with the hitting slump to get winning once again. Go M's. 

Another Loss To Rangers

Jerry Dipoto had a busy day before the game on Tuesday Night against the Texas Rangers. He acquired another reliever then had put Dee Gordon and Ryon Healy on the ten-day injured list. Both should be available when the ten days are up. Kyle Seager should be activated in three days when is eligible to come off the injured list himself. Having Healy on the injured list this allows the Mariners to see if they can move Jay Bruce or Edwin Encarnacion. First base will be crowded if one of them isn't moved. They activated Dylan Moore off the injured list and brought Shed Long back up to play second base in place of Dee Gordon. 

The Mariners lost the game on Tuesday 5-3 to the Rangers. The Rangers seem to be the only losing team in the league the Mariners are having trouble beating. The Rangers now have won four of the six games they played against each other.

Veteran pitcher Tommy Milone started for the Mariners after being recalled from Tacoma. He went a solid five innings giving up two runs on three hits. Like what has been common for the Mariners both runs came on home runs. The difference again was the bullpen where they couldn't keep the Rangers from scoring more runs. Milone recorded the loss though it should have gone to the bullpen.

Again the Mariners were not able to score against a pitcher who came into the game with a high ERA at almost five per nine innings and averaged five innings per start. They seem to like to give these guys to look like Cy Young on the mound. Lance Lynn went seven innings giving up two runs on five hits. That wasn't just it he struck out eleven Mariner batters as well. Mitch Haniger and Tim Beckham each struck out three times.

Omar Narvaez continued having a hot hitting streak. He had three of the Mariner hits in the game. He drove in two of the three Mariner runs to including a solo home run in the 9th inning. 

Marco Gonzales will be going into Wednesday's day game trying to snap his three-game losing streak. For the Mariners not to be swept by the Rangers, it will be important that Gonzales rebounds to have a good game. The Mariners will have Thursday off before facing the A's in Oakland over the weekend. Positive not the Mariners are undefeated against the A's with a record of 4-0. 

It would be nice if the Mariners can split this road of six games or do even better. Kyle Seager might be activated to play on Saturday for the Mariners so another move has to be made on the roster that day. With the pitching moves Dipoto has made there will be probably at least a couple moves in the bullpen before Seager comes back on Saturday. We hope the Mariners can make the move to start winning more consistently. They are 10-26 in their last 36 games. Go M's. 

Jaden McDaniels Goes To Washington

Five-star recruit Jaden McDaniels out of Federal Way High School announced Tuesday night on his Twitter account he decided to go to play for his local university. The announced showed "Stay at Home".  

I am sure Washington Huskies Head Coach Mike Hopkins is jumping up with joy in snagging McDaniels. The Huskies were in a tight heat with Kentucky for getting a highly recruited player as McDaniels. This was after getting Isaiah Stewart another five-star recruit in April. 

McDaniels will have the flexibility of either playing down low on defense or at the top of the key depending on how Coach Hopkins wants to use him. He has the height to play down low but would have to add some pounds to his lean body while he could play the center at the top because of his long arms. 

Right now it is hard to know how long either McDaniels or Stewart will stick around since they are both projected high top draft picks to the NBA. Either or both could play only one season at UW. 

Anyway McDaniels thanks for making the decision to stay home. I know it wasn't an easy decision. Go Dawgs! 

Mariners Come Up Short

Mike Leake starting for the Mariners against the Texas Rangers in Arlington Texas got off to rough start giving up five runs. He did settle down after that. The Mariners offense came alive in the last couple innings of the game but came up short losing 10-9. 

Mike Leake was able to go five innings giving up seven runs in total. The Rangers got most of there hits against Leake on the first pitches. They didn't waste time getting to him. He gave up three home runs.  The Mariners bullpen didn't fare well either or the Mariners may have won.

The Mariners made it interesting when Tim Beckham who started at third base hit a grand slam home run in the eighth inning. Daniel Vogelbach hit a two-run homer in the 9th inning to come within one run; however, the Mariners were not able to tie the game or win it. 

Tuesday night veteran lefty Tommy Milone makes his Mariner debut. He was brought up from Tacoma to make a start in the place of Erik Swanson who was sent down to Tacoma after his last start. Milone is 4-2 with an era of 3.83 in eight starts for the Rainiers. If he can keep the game close when he is in there it will give the Mariners a chance to win. 

Jerry Dipoto made a trade earlier on Monday sending relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak to the Atlanta Braves for relievers lefty Jesse Biddle and righty Arodys Vizcaino. They sent cash along with Swarzak to even the trade monetarily. Biddle will see action coming out of the Mariner pen while Vizcaino is on the 60-day injured list and won't play at all for the Mariners this year. Also, he will be a free agent after the season so we will have to see whether the Mariners will decide to sign him up for the future. Go M's. 

Mariners Take Final Game Against the Twins

Besides losing the first three games to the Minnesota Twins we were not able to see Nelson Cruz return to town to play. By the way, I wasn't feeling well beyond watching the Mariners so why no post on Sunday in the loss 18-4.

Losing three of the four games the Mariners are now in last place in the AL West Division. Had they split the series or won three out of the four games they would be in second place. At least the good point they play the Texas Rangers and the Oakland As before returning home against the Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros. I am hoping they will win the majority games before facing the Astros. 

Most of the wins this season have been against the teams under .500 and losses to those who are winning so I am not totally surprised they lost three out of four to the Twins. It would have been nice on Saturday night to have a blow out game. I wonder how many of the 34,000 plus fans will return again this season. My recommendation is to go to a game when they are facing a lousy team if you want to see a win. If you don't care than any team is good to see in Seattle. 

I see coming up in June the Mariners play the Astros seven times. A four-game series in Seattle at the beginning of the month and end with three in Houston. I figure if the Mariners can win three games it will be good. They play the Twins in Minnesota in the middle of the month. Also, play the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles so they should be at least even for the month of June.  So they might be back in second place rolling into July.

Sunday Yusei Kikuchi pitched a good game against the Twins. The Mariners needed him to go six innings at least and that is what he did. Kikuchi hardest inning was the fifth when he gave up three runs. Only one of them was earned primarily of a throw he makes that was not on the mark.  He picked up a slow grounder and rushed the throw to try to get the batter at first.

Kikuchi is now 3-1 with an era of 3.43. Good for a starting pitcher. It means that he is getting quality starts most of the time he is pitching. Also, this is his first year in the league. I am looking forward to even better things from him. 

After Kikuchi three runs were given up in the fifth inning, Haniger and Vogelbach each responded with a home run. Edwin Encarnacion hit a home run in the 7th inning.

I hope that Mallex Smith can start hitting to go along with Dee Gordon so the Mariners can score some runs playing small ball too. Can't win on the long ball only.

Mike Leake will be going on Monday in Texas while Tuesday the starter hasn't announced as of yet and Wednesday Gonzales will go. I am hoping the Mariners can win at least two of those games.  

I am sure Dipoto will stay busy trying to make the Mariners bullpen better than it has been. On Sunday they used the two best relievers in Brennan and Elias to conserve the win. Unfortunately, they can't pitch every day. Go M's. 

Mariners Lose To Twins Again

The Seattle Mariners lost again primarily in all areas pitching, hitting, and defense. The final score Twins 7 Mariners 1.

I just hope the Mariners can win at least one of the two final games of this series against the Minnesota Twins. I hope on Saturday because there is a good chance of a sweep if they lose again on Saturday. 

Marco Gonzales continues struggling on the mound losing three of four starts in the month of May. Going into May Gonzales had a record of 5-0. 

Gonzales was able to go five innings, however, three of the six runs he gave up were in the fifth inning. I find that the fifth inning is a key inning for a starting pitching. If he can get through well in the first inning the challenge is the 5th. The only run the Mariners scored was in the fifth inning as well. 

The Mariners were only able to get five hits off of Twin's starter Martin Perez in six and two-thirds innings. He walked four batters which the Mariners were unable to take advantage of. He struck seven Mariner batters as well. Perez now has a record of 6-1.

Far as Perez goes he has reinvented himself. Going into this season he was a losing pitcher. So you would think this could give Felix Hernandez hope about reinvented himself too. A thought anyway.

The Mariners made a few moves before Friday night's game in the bullpen. One of the pitchers they added to the bullpen was Matt Festa who pitched the last two innings of the game. He gave up three hits and the Twins scored their final run in the ninth inning. The Mariners will have to activate Wade LeBlanc before Saturday nights game which he is starting in so most likely means Festa will return back down to Tacoma. This still leaves nine pitchers in the Mariners bullpen.

With the activation of LeBlanc, the Mariners will have four starting pitchers. When it comes to Felix Hernandez turn the Mariners could bring up a starter up from Tacoma or go with an all-bullpen game. The choice isn't much there going either way. 

I wonder if Jerry Dipoto has any more moves as far as making a trade in the near future. Will he make one soon or wait until the trading deadline?

Mariners Lose Big Time Again

The Seattle Mariners lost another game to a team with a winning record. I hope they can win at least one game or split this series against the Minnesota Twins. The final score was 11-6.

The game was lost in the fourth inning when the Twins scored seven runs to break open the game. The Twins were leading 2-1 at the end of three.

Erik Swanson who started the game gave up eight runs total in the game and six of those were in the fourth inning. Parker Merkel gave up the final run of the inning but was not earned because of an error.  Swanson is a fastball pitcher and the Twins showed why they are a fastball hitting team. 

If manager Scott Servais is expecting to win any games that Swanson is starting at this point he should have someone coming in the game at the beginning of the fourth inning. As of now, Swanson is a three-inning pitcher. He would be best suited in relief but the Mariners don't have anyone else to take his spot at this time. The Tampa Bay Rays are starting at least one reliever a game in their five-man rotation. Another idea would be to start a reliever than bring in Swanson in either the second or third inning. This would depend on how much the relievers are pitching in the other four games before Swanson takes the mound. 

Daniel Vogelbach hit his 12th homer of the season in the bottom of the 8th inning to make the game sort of interesting. It was a three-run homer kind. 

Friday night Marco Gonzales will be taking the mound for the Mariners. Being an off-speed pitcher primarily we are hoping he can beat the Twins to even the series. If not, it will probably be a long weekend.  Wade LeBlanc is expected to make his return to the starting rotation on Saturday. Go M's. 

Mariners Take Two From A's

The Seattle Mariners continue to do well against teams with losing records. A good start at home after having a terrible road trip going 2-8.  The final Tuesday Mariners 4 A's 3.

The Mariners scored all four runs via the long ball. The scoring started in the 2nd inning with Daniel Vogelbach hitting his 11 home run of the season then Tim Beckham hit his 8th. 

The Oakland A's tied the game in the top of the fifth on what was charged an error on a throw by Tim Beckham in the dirt. In my opinion, Edwin Encarnacion should have made the play. The Mariners took the lead for good in the bottom of the 5th when Mitch Haniger hit a two-run homer. The A's scored their third run in the top of the 7th inning.

Mike Leake pitched a good game going six and two-thirds innings. He gave up only one earned run. The other two were on the throw from Beckham to Encarnacion. Leake walked one batter while striking out six. 

Roenis Elias recorded the save going two and one-third innings. He recorded his fifth save on the season. He struck out five of the eight batters he faced. Had one walk and no hits. Good job being in the game with a one-run lead. Elias is showing he can be the guy to pitch in closing situations especially when pitching more than one inning. 

The Mariners have Wednesday off before facing the Minnesota Twins at home in a four-game series Thursday thru Sunday. 

Erik Swanson is scheduled to pitch on Thursday against the Twins. Hopefully he will rebound after a poor performance in his last outing. The rest of the starting pitchers haven't been determined for the series against the Twins. With the off-day Wednesday, I would go with Marco Gonzales because it is his regular days having four days of rest. Manager Scott Servais may decide to go with someone else to give Gonzales and the rest of the starters an extra day off.

Wade LeBlanc is expected to return to the rotation with Felix out. He is eligible to come off the injured list. He made a start with Tacoma on a rehab assignment on Monday so with normal days of rest he could start on Saturday.  I am not sure whether the Mariners will wait until Sunday to pitch LeBlanc because if Gonzales does pitch on Friday then Kikuchi on Saturday the Mariners would pitch three lefties in a row. 

The news came out that Felix Hernandez will be out between four and six weeks because of his shoulder. It could have been worse so OK sign. 

No news yet when Mallex Smith will return to the Mariners. He didn't play on Tuesday for the Tacoma Rainiers. The Mariners right now have three outfielders with Domingo Santana, Mitch Haniger, and Jay Bruce.  Right now they would have to use either or both Tim Beckham or Shed Long in the outfield. 

Jay Bruce continues to struggle at the plate. He struck out all four appearances in the game on Tuesday night. He seems to only hit home runs these days. The Mariners have liability in the outfield so far as defense goes. Santana is OK at best in left field. Haniger is OK in center though he is best in right field and Bruce is OK at best in right field as well. Not a good sign at all. 

Kyle Seager made his first appearance with the Tacoma Rainiers Tuesday being designated hitter on a rehab assignment. He is scheduled to come off the injured list on May 25. It will be interesting to see what the Mariners do on his return. Who will go and what happens at first base. Will Ryon Healy be sent to the minors or will he be back at first regular or coming off the bench. Interesting to follow this story. Go M's. 

Mariner Turn Makes Win

After a 2-8 road trip, the Mariners were hoping something would happen Monday night against the Oakland A's at T-Mobile Park. For most of the game, it didn't look like it would happen. 

The Mariners actually scored first with a leadoff home run by Mitch Haniger in the bottom of the first inning. The A's tied the game when left fielder Mark Canha who was activated from the injured list before the game hit a home run tie. 

The game stayed that way until the 6th inning when A's designated hitter Khris Davis hit a home run. The A's had another home run in the 7th inning and then Davis cracked another homer in the 8th. I am not sure why they even pitch to Davis in the same manner as Mike Trout. They both always seem to get a home run whenever they face the Mariners. I can understand pitching to Davis if the team is ahead and no one on base but otherwise stop it!  LOL. 

So going into the bottom of the eighth inning looked like not much hope with the A's leading the Mariners 4-1 then Dan Vogelbach came up to the plate with two runners on base, and he smashed a home run to tie the score 4-4. Gave the Mariners life again. Neither team scored in the 9th inning so went into extra innings.

In the top of the 10th inning, A's center fielder Ramon Laureano hit a solo home run to make the score 5-4. The bottom of the 10th didn't look so good with two outs with Dan Vogelbach up at the plate walked. Dee Gordon pinch run for Vogelbach stole second base. Domingo Santana hit a double down the left field line to score Gordon with ease. Omar Narvaez hit a walk-off single to score Santana with the winning run 6-5.

Wouldn't it be nice if this could be the turnaround the Mariners need the rest of May. They have sixteen games remaining in the month. All except four against Minnesota this coming weekend are against losing teams and within the AL West. If the Mariners can have a successful time this would help them get back into the race. Of course, someone will have to beat the Houston Astros. The Astros are the only team the Mariners don't play the rest of May. 

The next series against the Astros will be at home in early June with a four-game series and then they end the month of June with three in Houston.  Mariners are now 21-23 in third place a half-game behind the Los Angeles Angels. Go M's. 

The Mariners play Oakland again Tuesday night in a two-game series then have Wednesday off before facing the Minnesota Twins. Mike Leake will be pitching for the Mariners. 

Doug Baldwin Retires and Other Seahawk Moves

Doug Baldwin wrote a letter to his younger self that sounds like he is retiring after the Seahawks terminated his contract and Kam Chancellor's earlier last week. We can all agree it is an end to an era and these two players were an important part of that era. They are among the Seahawks greats. I am sure we will see both of you around.

The Seahawks signed free agent defensive end Ezekiel Ansah who will help with the absence of Frank Clark. This will help in the development of this years number one pick L.J. Collier as well. 

We could see Collier moving inside on passing downs while Ansah is on the outside. This will help add depth to the defensive line where players can go in and out. A lot in the same way when Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril came to Seattle being backups in the beginning. This will allow fresh players throughout the season.

The Seahawks signed three names not as familiar in cornerback Jamar Taylor, fullback Nick Bellore and guard Marcus Martin. They add depth to the Seahawks as well. 

We thank you Doug Baldwin and Kam Chancellor for a great job well done. The 12th man salutes you.  

Mariners Finally Gets To Go Home

Sunday was another tough afternoon for the Mariners losing again and being swept by the Boston Red Sox 11-2. In the three-game series, the Mariners were outscored 34-8. It was no wonder they had to have more help in the bullpen which didn't help at all really. 

Marco Gonzales started going four innings giving up four runs on four hits. Only two runs were earned which isn't much more impressive. It rained the whole game so giving him some slack walking three batters. It was a good idea to get him out of the game with the weather conditions. All the Mariners needed was having Gonzales getting hurt.

Parker Markel called up on Saturday having to travel from Sea-Tac airport to Las Vegas then Atlanta then Boston arriving after 2 am along with being nervous on his major league debut gave up three hits and two runs in one inning replacing Gonzales. 

Dan Altavilla who returned to Seattle from double-A Arkansas didn't do as well as Markel. Altavilla threw 31 pitches in a third of an inning giving up three runs on one hit. What made it worse he walked four batters. 

Monday I expect at least one transaction by the Mariners. Braden Bishop was optioned back to Tacoma so the Mariners don't have a fourth outfielder though they could put Shed Long or Tim Beckham in the outfield if necessary so I expect Mallex Smith will return and Altavilla returning to the minor leagues.  I expect Markel will be around for a few more days anyway.

The Mariners will need to make a move when Felix Hernandez turn comes up again on Thursday. Since Felix went on the IL the Mariners will have to bring in another starter. The choice likely will be Wade LeBlanc coming off the injured list.

The Mariners are now 20-23, third place in the AL West a half-game behind the Los Angeles Angels and seven games behind division-leading Houston Astros. Amazing a change can happen after going 2-8 on the road trip.

The Mariners have had good success against teams with losing records. It may be a good thing they play 13 of their next 17 games against losing teams. All 13 games are against division foes so this could be good for them. 

The only team with a winning record is Minnesota Twins who they play four games against this coming Thursday thru Sunday. The Mariners first face Oakland for two then has Wednesday off which is what they need. 

I hope the Mariners can win at least ten of the next seventeen games. It will take the offense to come alive again and the pitching is decent if not spectacular. The starters will need to go at least six innings each so the bullpen doesn't have to go too many innings.

We hope to see some good baseball for the rest of May. Go M's. 

One More To Go On the Road

Most fans expected this would be a rough road trip and it has turned out to be. The problem mainly has been on their own way.

The Mariners could have at least split the series with the Yankees if not won it instead they made mistakes that allowed the Yankees to take three out of four. 

Saturday afternoon the Mariners started out good against the Red Sox by scoring four runs in the first inning. Felix (no more the King) Hernandez wasn't able to hold the lead. In fact, he was only able to go two and a thirds innings before being replaced by Roenis Elias who gave up a home run to backup catcher Sandy Leon with two runners on base. In total eight runs were scored in the third inning for the Red Sox. 

The home run by Leon was his first of the season. I am sure a good reason Elias was traded back to the Mariners by Boston because he can't pitch in Fenway Park. 

I wonder the fans who believed Manny Acta should replace Servais as manager are saying now after these two games. Servais returns today for the final game of the season. 

The Mariners will have Marco Gonzales on the mound Sunday. We hope he can pitch well in Fenway Park as he did in Yankee Stadium. The Mariners need him to go far in this one so the bullpen doesn't have to be used much. Outside of Elias Saturday, the bullpen did fine.

Catcher Omar Narvaez hit a solo home run to make the final score 9-5. Now we hope the Mariners will have a successful homestand coming up. This week they face Oakland and Minnesota. It will be good to see Nelson Cruz once again. We just hope he doesn't beat the Mariners.

I wonder how many more times the Mariners will have Felix starting or at the very least have someone ready early. Things get bad early on when he is on the mound and when he does pitch well the Mariners don't score runs. 

News this morning though Felix is going on the 10-day injured list with Braden Bishop being optioned to Tacoma. Mitch Haniger the center fielder for now it looks. Long will be the extra outfielder too. They called up Dan Altavilla from double-A. I hope it means he is over his wildness and brought up Parker Markel from Tacoma who has been pitching well. I hope it means the bullpen is in better shape. 

Until next time at least enjoy the game even though can be frustrating. Go M's. 

Mariners Lose Big Again

For the first time on the season, the Mariners have a losing record. I am sure most of us expected this would happen but in the fashion it has. The Mariners got off to a good start that now having a losing record seems more disappointing than if they had started in a way most fans thought they would.

Friday night the Mariners lost big again 14-1. Erik Swanson had a hard time starting. The Red Sox were able to start scoring runs against him in the third inning. When the inning ended the Sox were up 4-0. The first two innings it looked like it would a close game and possibly the Mariners had a chance to win but wasn't meant to be. 

The big hit in the third inning was a Mitch Moreland home run with two runners on base. Had Swanson been able to get out of the third without giving up the home run it may have been a lot different game. Giving up a home run to Moreland in my mind is like giving one up to Mike Zunino. Moreland doesn't hit well except for home runs. Swanson should have pitched in a manner that Moreland wouldn't have had the hit. He could have walked Moreland to load the bases too. In the end, it wasn't meant to be.

Swanson gave up a run in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth inning before his night ended. The Red Sox led 7-0 heading into the sixth inning. The relief pitchers didn't do any better giving up seven runs as well.

Before Swanson left the game I thought it would be Ok that Swanson was giving up so many runs if the Mariners were scoring ten themselves. In this game, though ten runs wouldn't have been enough but more exciting for sure. 

The Mariners scored their only run in the eighth inning with Domingo Santana hitting a triple with Edwin Encarnacion following with a single. Santana had three of the Mariners eight hits in the game. 

JP Crawford making his Mariner debut starting at shortstop because of the injury to Dee Gordon had a hit in his first at-bat of the game. He later had a second hit as well. 

Shed Long who came up as well is expected to start this afternoon for the Mariners. I expect he will play at second base. I wouldn't be surprised JP Crawford starts at shortstop once again.

With Dee Gordon possibly out for a few days, we may see a lot of Long and Crawford. Gordon was not put on the injured list like Dylan Moore was. The Mariners could decide to Gordon on the injured list if he doesn't respond and the Mariners need another reliever. The way the bullpen has been pitching who needs a reliever unless it is someone who can get a batter out. Go M's. 

another Loss To Yankees

Mike Leake had another good outing for the Mariners against the Yankees, however, they still lost because of lack of offense. Leake pitched seven innings giving up just one run on six hits. Also, he didn't walk a batter while striking out two. 

When Leake left the game the Mariners were losing 1-0. Connor Sadzeck pitched the eighth inning giving up two runs on three hits making it 3-0. Domingo Santana hit is 8th on the season. Final score Yankees 3 Mariners 1.

The Mariners ended up losing three out of the four games. Outside of Felix Hernandez, the other starters pitched wonderfully. The Mariners you could say should have or could have won three of the four games instead. The bullpen kept the Mariners from winning three games besides the offense in a couple of games.

The Mariners lost Dee Gordon who has been playing well all season especially recently had to leave the game after being hit in the wrist. He will have an MRI to see how bad the injury is. Dylan Moore took Gordon's spot at second base, however, we found out after the game he to had an injured wrist as well. Jay Bruce pinch hit for Moore in the 8th inning. The bottom of the inning Bruce went to first base, and Edwin Encarnacion was moved to 2nd base. On a hard-hitting grounder to his right, Encarnacion hurt his wrist as well. 

JP Crawford was scratched from the Tacoma Rainiers game. He is likely headed to Boston for the series against the Red Sox this weekend. Not sure how Gordon will be but it sounds likely Crawford will take the spot of Moore. We will know later on Friday. Gordon or Moore will probably have to go on the injured list. I am sure we will see Crawford at shortstop with Tim Beckham moving to second base. If both players go out the Mariners will have to make another move as well so another player might be on the way to Boston too. Have to find out the status of Encarnacion too.

In other local sports news, the Seattle Seahawks announced that they terminated Doug Baldwin's contract. There was talk recently that he might retire because of injuries. Sounds like the Seahawks forced his hand. Also, the Seahawks announced signing three players on Thursday. 

Have more updates on the Mariners and the Seahawks. 

Updated on the Mariners now. Both JP Crawford and Shed Long were added to the 25-man roster. Moore was put on the 10-day injured list. The Mariners optioned reliever Chasen Bradford to Tacoma. So right now Dee Gordon is on the roster though Crawford is starting at shortstop today and Beckham has been moved to second base. Encarnacion is at dh tonight with Jay Bruce at first base. This gives time to see how things go with Dee Gordon. The Mariners can bring Bradford back up if Gordon has to go on the disabled list. 

Mariners Look to Split Series Wit Yankees

Wednesday night the Seattle Mariners beat the Yankees big time 10-1. This was good after blowing Tuesday's game. 

Yusei Kikuchi pitched his second great game after only pitching one inning. It sounds like this is a good formula for Kikuchi.  He pitched into the 6th inning before the Yankees were able to get a hit. It would have been exciting if he had pitched a no-hitter since it was the anniversary of James Paxton's when he threw one last year in Toronto. Paxton to was supposed to pitch Wednesday night against the Mariners however went on the ten-day injured list. 

The Mariners were able to score five runs before the Yankees got to Kikuchi in the sixth inning. Kikuchi went seven and two-thirds innings giving up just three hits. He walked one batter and struck out three. Reliever Cory Gearrin finished the eighth inning giving up a hit and then striking the final batter. Connor Sadzeck pitched the 9th inning for the Mariners giving up just one hit.

The Mariners had three home runs in the game. Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo homer in the 5th inning, Ryon Healy a two-run homer in the 6th inning and Mitch Haniger a solo home run in the 9th inning. Healy had a great game hitting three doubles besides the home run. He is the second Mariner player ever to do so. The other was Ken Griffey Jr.

Mike Leake will be facing former Mariner J.A. Happ in the final game of the series Thursday night. Lineup not shown yet. Something unusual will update. 

Mariners Blow Game

The Seattle Mariners got an outstanding game out of starter Marco Gonzales. He went six innings giving up three hits and one run. Likely he would have gone further except rain came and it was delayed for an hour and a half. Edwin Encarnacion hit a home run in the top of the sixth inning to put the Mariners ahead 2-1.

Too bad the game resumed action after the one and a half hour delay. The Mariners would have won if the game ended then or at least before the ninth inning happened.

The Mariners were able to score two runs in the top of the 8th giving the Mariners the lead at the time 4-1. Brandon Brennan had some trouble in the bottom of the 8th, however, he escaped giving up only one run which happened on a wild pitch with two outs. 

So things still looked good going into the 9th inning with a 4-2 Mariner lead. The Mariners had the opportunity to score at least another run, however, Mitch Haniger hit a ball to the third baseman who threw home to get Dylan Moore pinch running for Ryon Healy at the plate. Moore went on the contact with the ball and was out easily. All Haniger had to do was get the ball into the deep outfield to score at least Moore. Dee Gordon was on second base so the Mariners could have had two runs with a single. 

Still the Mariners were up by two runs going into the bottom of the 9th inning however, the Yankees with two outs were able to tie the game with a two-run homer. The game could have gone into extra innings but no the Yankees got a walk-off hit as well.

So frustrating when your team is struggling to get wins recently and goes out blows it. This turns the whole series around and in favor of the Yankees. The question now will the Mariners be able to win a game the rest of the Yankee series or the road trip.

I know we were not expecting the Mariners to do well when the season began instead they got off to a tremendous start before showing their true colors. This game was not only winnable but it should have been a win. 

I don't know the trouble is with the pitching or hitting or poor coaching. Whatever the case things need to change or we will see a lot of bad baseball ahead. I don't know about you but I want to see some good baseball even if it isn't all the time. All I expect is for them to do the fundamentals of baseball and see where things go. 

Felix Hernandez Gives Up Bombs

I am sure we were hoping for a good pitching duel between Felix Hernandez and CC Sabathia on Monday Night in New York, however, it didn't turn out that way. Felix's fastball along with his secondary pitches didn't work well at all. He gave up a two-run homer in the first inning to Luke Voit the Yankee's first baseman. He batted second so you can see it didn't take long at all.

Had the home runs just ended in the first inning things would have been alright and the Mariners would have had a good chance in winning; however, Felix gave up two more home runs in the second giving the Yankees three more runs plus they added another run as well. In the third inning, the Yankees scored another run so before the Mariners could do anything to Sabathia they were down 7-0.

Domingo Santana who had been struggling lately hit a two-home run in the fourth inning with Edwin Encarnacion on base to make it a little interesting. Dee Gordon who doesn't hit many homers added a solo shot in the fifth inning. This is where the scoring ended in the game making the final 7-3.

The Mariners did have a chance to score additional runs in the second half of the game getting the bases loaded in two different innings but couldn't find a way to score even one run. Mitch Haniger hit a fly ball to left field which you would hope could score a run but he didn't hit it deep enough to score Ryon Healy from third. 

These days the Mariners can't score runs it seems unless it is a home run. These instances with the bases loaded it would have put them tied in the game with a grand slam but a sacrifice or a single would have scored one or two runs making the game more interesting. 

Right now this team is looking like some of the Mariner teams of the past. When they get good pitching they get little hitting and they have problems scoring when getting behind as well. Most of the runs produced in games this year have been in the first five innings of the game. Unable to score late whether to come back like in this one or adding on. 

We hope that Marco Gonzales can pitch well today and the Mariners can even this series. Go M's. 

Mariners Losing Streak Over

The Seattle Mariners ended their six-game losing streak in fine fashion beating the Cleveland Indians 10-0 on Sunday now to New York to face the Yankees for four games beginning Monday with Felix Hernandez on the mound. 

The Mariners scored four runs in the first inning with Jay Bruce hitting a grand slam with Mitch Haniger, Dan Vogelbach, and Edwin Encarnacion on base. Both Hinger and Encarnacion had home runs in the game as well. 

The only problem I saw was that the Mariners didn't score a run after the fifth inning. They haven't added on very well during the season. What I hope for is that they saved runs to go forward against the Yankees on Monday. 

 I am sure it isn't easy to pitch when you have a big lead like that but the Mariner pitchers were able to do so. Erik Swanson who started was able to get his first major league win went six innings. He gave up his only hit after throwing a no-hitter for five and two-third innings. It would have been nice if he could have gone another inning or more but he had already pitched more than one hundred pitches.

The bullpen did a fine job as well. Zach Rosscup gave up the only other hit in the game by a Mariner pitcher in the 9th inning. He struck out three batters as well. Fine job.

Braden Bishop starting in centerfield had his first major league hit then drove in his first two runs later with another hit. With CC Sabathia on the mound Monday I am sure he will be in the starting lineup once again. 

The Mariners are now 19-17; they are a game and a half behind the Houston Astros. The Texas Rangers are in third place 16-16 a game behind the Mariners. The Angels and the A's are fourth and fifth place. 

Try to Win Final Game In Cleveland

When the Mariners were on there long winning streak it was hard to know what to write next without repeating what I had already said. Now that they have lost six in a row losing by one-run two times in a row to the Cleveland Indians. 

The Mariners did get out of the slump hitting wise in a way. They hit four home runs on Saturday, however, they were all solo shots or they may have won big otherwise.

The final score was 5-4. The game went back and forth a little bit. It looked like the Mariners may end the five-game losing streak but Carlos Santana played a different tune and hit a two-run homer off of reliever Connor Sadzeck.  This was after Roenis Elias was relieved after giving up a hit. Two games in a row the bullpen didn't do their job.

The Mariners acquired right-handed reliever Austin Adams from the Washington Nationals. He is reporting to triple-A Tacoma to begin with. He only has nine games in three years pitching in the major leagues. He seems to be another of the relievers Dipoto has picked up recently like Connor Sadzeck with possible upside. I wish he would find a way to pick up someone with major league experience. 

I know the Mariners are in a re-imaging where they don't expect to compete though they have so far I certainly like to get some competent relievers though. I don't want to spend the whole season losing games by one run. 

Erik Swanson will go for the Mariners Sunday to see if he can end this six-game losing streak for the Mariners. It would be good to see him record his first career win. I see him being a good part of the Mariners rotation or in the bullpen if it is better for him and the Mariners.

I came up with a thought yesterday that the Mariners should not only have five starting pitchers but they should have five of the eight relievers backing up the starters on specific days. For example, they would have someone going in pitching two or three innings after Erik Swanson comes out of the game today. The pitcher would no this is the day he is going to pitch for sure.  The three remaining relievers would pitch twice during the five games going one inning or two max. Everyone would be on the same schedule. 

Dylan Moore will be playing third base again today in place of Ryon Healy. It looks like Healy will be available in New York tomorrow. He took fielding practice today. 

Braden Bishop is going to start in center field after not starting the first two games in Cleveland.  The Mariners are giving Domingo Santana the day-off so Jay Bruce will be starting in left while Mitch Haniger will be back in right field. Speaking of Haniger he got out of his mini-slump Saturday getting two hits. One of the hits a double hadn't bounced back to the left fielder Haniger might have had an inside the park home run.  Something to think about can make a difference in the game when losing by a run. 

Felix Hernandez will be taking the ball on Monday in New York after having a couple outstanding games his last two times out. Unfortunately, the Mariners didn't win either game. He will be facing veteran lefty CC Sabathia. Should be another good matchup. We just hope the bullpen does their job this time.

We hope Marco Gonzales will be able to rebound on Tuesday for the Mariners after having his worst outing against the Cubs. Go M's. 

Losses Up To Five In A Row

Yusei Kikuchi pitched a fantastic game giving up one run on three hits. The Mariners took the lead in the top of the fourth inning when Jay Bruce hit a home run for the only run of the game for the Mariners. The Cleveland came back to even the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth with a couple hits. It was the only scare on Kikuchi game. He struck out ten batters in seven innings. Kikuchi was strong after only pitching one inning which was planned in his previous outing.

Shane Bieber the starter for the Cleveland Indians pitched a good game as well but was not as great as Kikuchi. The Mariners were able to get six hits off Bieber in seven and two-thirds innings. three different times the Mariners had runners in scoring position where they could have scored at least one run or more. 

The problem the Mariners are having at the plate in these five games is scoring runs without hitting a home run. Actually the problem has gone back further than that. In almost every eighteen games the Mariners have won they have hit the long ball. In now the sixteen losses most of them they haven't. 

Not only haven't they hit too many home runs in this stretch Mitch Haniger had only one hit. In fact, in his last seven games, he has only two hits batting .080. Dee Gordon started the game back in the lead-off spot. He had two hits in the game. One of the hits was a single up the middle that moved shortstop Tim Beckham from second to third. It was hit too hard for Beckham to score. Gordon was able to steal second base but Haniger who was batting second couldn't drive him in. 

The Mariners need to find a way to score runs without depending on the home run or hit more home runs that is for sure. After getting off to the historic proportions hitting a home run in 20 games the Mariners haven't done much in that regard since. 

The Mariners put us in a place getting off to a tremendous start I am sure we expected this to continue. Of course, Jerry Dipoto told us this was a year of re-imagining or re-tooling so we shouldn't have expected a team that would be up at the top of the standings all year long. 

The Mariners have been beating teams with losing records while losing to those with winning records. It does make sense to a degree but they need to be able to beat the good teams as well at least some of the time anyway.

This road trip will say a lot with the team playing the Indians, the Red Sox, and the Yankees. I was hoping for a split of games going 5-5 but I guess 4-6 wouldn't be so bad either. Anything worse would not be a good sign. 

Right now this team is looking like the one that played the second half of last season instead of the one in the first half. Servais will need to find a way to get the players all together again. Unlike the team in the second half of last year, I am sure they haven't given up yet. The pressure should not be on them since no one expected them to be this good anyway.  I guess we could say they are showing their true colors. I hope not though.

Ryon Healy left the game early with a groin strain. Not sure yet whether he has to go on the injured list or not. The Tacoma Rainiers took Shed Long out of their game shortly after Healy's injury. So it looks like if Healy isn't available for several days Long will take his spot on the roster. Not sure whether Dylan Moore will see most of the action at third base or Long. Moore will likely be in the game Saturday afternoon even if Healy doesn't go on the IL. 

All interesting since Kyle Seager is about ready to go on a rehab assignment. He wouldn't be eligible to come off the injured list for three weeks at the earliest though. This means time for Moore, Long and or Healy for three more weeks.  

Mike Leake pitches for the Mariners Saturday. We need to see a better performance out of Leake than his last outing along with scoring runs to end this losing streak. Go M's.