The Seattle Mariners continue to do
well over the last ten days beating the Toronto Blue Jays Friday night 7-4.
Justus Sheffield making his first
start in the major leagues struggled in the game, especially in the first
inning. He ended up allowing two runs; however, it could have been a lot worse.
He did settle down after the first inning although he did give up another run
in the third. He went for a total of four innings.
We hope Sheffield will do better in
his next outing after getting over his nerves. Not sure when the next start
will be, however, we do know he will make another start at some point. The Mariners
had to make a move to add Sheffield to the roster. They ended up putting Corey
Gearrin on waivers where he was picked up by the New York Yankees. So we may
see facing him next week. Gearrin was the last member of the bullpen who had
pitched all season for the Mariners. Not a big surprise he was put on waivers
though he had done well for the Mariners as of late.
The Mariners tied the score in the
second inning which included a solo home run by catcher Omar Narvaez. The Blue
Jays took the lead briefly scoring a run in the top of the third, however, the
Mariners responded with a run of their own making it 3-3.
JP Crawford hit a home run in the fifth inning to take the lead once again temporarily; the Blue Jays responded
with a run the top of the sixth inning to tie once again 4-4. It didn’t last
long once again when the Mariners scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth
inning the last time either team scored.
Dee Gordon had three hits in the game
including a double and a triple. He has been hitting .295 since coming off the
injured list. Kyle Seager continued his fantastic hitting as well as getting two
hits including a double driving in two runs.
The Mariners had other opportunities
to put this game away. Daniel Vogelbach had the bases loaded facing a lefty
when he hit a lazy pop up to the Rays third baseman. Vogelbach has had a terrible
time in August hitting only .140. Of his eight hits for the month three of them
have been home runs.
The Mariners ended up using five
relievers over five innings. Rookie Zach who came in for Sheffield in the fifth
inning was the only one giving up a run in the sixth inning, but an error by
Mallex Smith caused the run to score. He pitched one and one-third innings
giving up two hits while striking out one. Matt Wisler came in to finish off
the sixth inning giving up a hit and striking out one.
Sam Tuivailala, Anthony Bass, and
Matt Magill finished off the last three innings without surrendering a
run. Magill who gave up the winning run
on Wednesday in Tampa responded back getting his third save on the season.
Jake Fraley making his second start
in center field had his first hit in the major leagues. Also, he scored a run
as well.
Felix Hernandez takes the mound on
Saturday night against the Jays. I am sure the Jays will have plenty of fans in
the stands once again. Last year he pitched well against the Jays. When he left
the game he shouted: “not in our house”. I hope we get the same feeling
Saturday. How long Felix will go we will have to see. It would not surprise me
if he goes about the same distance as Sheffield went on Friday night.
Felix will want to show Seattle and
the Mariners how he is doing so he may have an exceptional game, on the other
hand, he could look not so good as well. It will be interesting to see how many
starts Felix will make the rest of the season and whether he can stay healthy
at the same time.
The Mariners will have to make
another move with Felix making the start. It will be interesting to see who
goes this time. There is a good possibility Sheffield is sent back to Arkansas.
The Mariners gave Yusei Kikuchi time off in this rotation so the Mariners will
throw him against the Yankees. He is scheduled to start on Tuesday against New
York. Go M’s.
No comments:
Post a Comment