Austin Nola In Multi-Player Deal

Sunday night after my report on the Mariners
win and the possibility Austin Nola would be
traded to the San Diego Padres the trade turned
out to be a seven-player deal.

Besides trading Nola to the Padres the Mariners

sent talented never materialized reliever Dan

Altavilla and fellow reliever currently injured

Austin Adams for four young prospects of the

Padres.

The Mariners got in return outfielder Taylor

Trammell, righthanded pitcher Andres Munoz,

catcher Luis Torrens, and third baseman Ty France.

A wonder whether one or more of these players

would be traded before the Monday deadline

at 1pm. Taylor Trammell is the Padres number

five ranked prospect. He was working out at their 

alternate training site. The Padres have one of the

top farm systems so number five with them he could

be higher on the Mariners. 

The Mariners do have Jarred Kelenic along with

Julio Rodrigues as their two top prospects. They

have rookie Kyle Lewis being their best player

right now in center field. You wonder if they have

any room for Trammell. The Mariners could rotate

with one of the four being at designated hitter.

What this means the Mariners could trade Trammell

today or outfielders Jake Fraley and Braden Bishop.

It is hard to know who will play the bulk at catcher 

now that Nola has been traded. Joe Odom and Joe 

Hudson are familiar with the pitching staff while 

newcomer Luis Torrens is a better hitter it looks like

Torrens was the Padres backup catcher though not

getting a lot of hits he was batting .273. 

Last year Torrens hit .300 with 15 home runs at double

A. General manager Jerry Dipoto says he is a good 

defensive catcher so the question can he hit consistently

as his .273 numbers show this year. The Mariners still

have Cal Raleigh to take in consideration over the next

year or so. The Mariners should have Tom Murphy back

next season. So Murphy should be the starter with Torrens

as his back up. Only change will Raleigh be ready to

play at the major league level.

Right-handed pitcher Andres Munoz is like Austin Adams

on the injured list, however, he is only 21 years old. He is

a reliever who throws hard. Last year he pitched in 22 games

for the Padres with an era of 3.91. He struck out 30 batters

in 23 innings. He might be the Mariners closer of the future.

The last but not least is third baseman Ty France. He was 

a backup on the Padres roster. Does this mean the Mariners

might trade Kyle Seager today or in the off-season we will

see. In twenty games this season France is batting .309

with two home runs and 10 rbi's. 

France was a 34th round pick by the Padres in 2015 so

he has gone further than the Padres and anyone else I

suspect. He had pretty good power last year at triple-A

with 27 home runs and 89 rbi's. He certainly dominated

triple-A with a .399 batting average. Now we see if

he is the real thing. 

France is a right handed hitter while Seager is left. If

Seager doesn't go anywhere we could see France at

dh well as spelling Seager at third. 

We will have more answers ahead to see whether Seager

or anyone else gets traded before the deadline.  I am sure

Jerry Dipoto has more ideas in his head. Go M's. 

Mariners Win In Extra Innings

Justin Dunn had his second consecutive good
outing this time against the Los Angeles Angels.
He is showing he might be the pitcher the Mariners
thought when they traded Edwin Diaz and Robinson
Cano after the 2018 season.

Dunn gave up only one hit in the afternoon over

six innings. He walked over hitters while striking 

out six. The reason he wasn't able to go any further

throwing almost one hundred pitches. 

Dunn was able to stop Mike Trout and Anthon Rendon

to get any hits on the day. The Mariners played smart

on Sunday Trout three times on the day so he wouldn't

hurt them at the plate.

The Mariners scored in the top of the seventh inning

with Kyle Lewis hitting a home run then the Angels 

tied it in the bottom of the seventh inning when Pujols

hit a double then Andrelton Simmons hit a single to

bring him in to tie.

The Mariners looked like they had a chance to lose 

when in the bottom of the ninth closer Taylor Williams

threw a couple of wild pitches bur was able to get out

of it after all.

The Mariners scored in the top of the tenth inning. The

new ruler putting a runner at second to lead off the inning

allowed  the Mariners to score first. Kyle Lewis was

the runner and he scored on a hit by Tim Lopes  to put

the Mariners ahead. Lopes hit a ball to shallow left field

Lewis didn't stop kept on coming to score easily. I expect

had there been no outs instead of one Lewis would have

stopped at third.

The Angels had their runner on second, walked Trout

however Rendon and Brian Goodwin were not able to bring

either runners. 

Yohan Ramirez pitched the tenth inning for the Mariners.

He struck out two batters besides walking Trout. He 

recorded his first save while Williams got the win.

Marco Gonzales will be on the mound Monday to face

the Angels in the final game of the season.  We will see

whether the Mariners will have made a trade as the deadline

is at 1 pm Monday.

There was news out to the Oakland A's had a player

who tested positive for covid-19 so right now don't

have any idea whether the team will the series against

the A's. We may have more details on Monday. If the

player is positive the series could be cancelled. The 

series could not be made up depending on where the

standings for the division title or the playoffs for that

matter will make a difference so stay tuned. 

There is news out the Seattle Mariners may trade 

catcher Austin Nola to the San Diego for a high

prospect. We will have more news on the story

on Monday along with any other trades that might

happen. This might be the reason Nola didn't play

on Sunday besides it was an afternoon game after

a night game. 

Mariners Take It On The Chin Again

The Seattle Mariners after beating the Texas
Rangers three times then the San Diego Padres
two out of three they are having a rough time
with the Angels.

When a team is rebuilding as the Mariners 

are you will have bright spots as well as not

so bright.

Saturday night the Mariners lost by a big margin.

The Angels took it to them 16-3. Justus Sheffield

having a few good games didn't have on Saturday.

He gave up a two-run homer to the Angels top

prospect right fielder Jo Adell his first career

home run. Adell had his second homer a few 

innings later 

Sheffield ended up going only four and two-third

innings giving up six runs. What didn't help was

walking four batters. Now we hope Sheffield got

it out of his system and get back to pitching well.

Joey Gerber finished the fifth inning getting the

final out. Aaron Fletcher came in gave up four

runs in two-thirds of an inning. He was replaced

by Zac Grotz who gave up four more runs including

a three-run homer to no other than Mike Trout.

The Mariners still haven't learned not to pitch to

Trout. I continue shaking my head when I see they

aren't walking him. Trout ended up going 3 for 4,

scoring four runs and driving in six.

I guess we can say we have only two more games

to face Trout and the Angels. Maybe the sixteen runs

will see the Angels score not so many runs in the

last two games of the series. 

Anyway rebuilding can bring sour notes at times

and Saturday night was another one. Growing pains

we hope lead to a World Series in a few years. 

Go M's. 

I almost forgot Taijuan Walker made his debut

with the Blue Jays beating the Orioles 5-0 on

Saturday. Walker went six innings in the game.

Right now the fans of the Blue Jays like him 

around.  Vogelbach on the other hand has had

one plate appearance and he struck out. 

Mike Trout Beats Mariners

I am not sure why the Mariners ever pitch to

centerfielder Mike Trout. He has hit like 45
home runs against the Mariners. I guess we
should stop counting or at least the Mariners
shouldn't let him hit home runs unless they
have a large lead and it is meaningless.

Nick Margevicius pitched another good game
for the Mariners going six innings giving up 

two runs before leaving the game. The Mariners

were behind 2-1 at the time. 

Mike Trout hit his home run in the bottom of the

eighth inning. He had been struggling at the plate

but it doesn't matter when he faces the Mariners

we all know that except manager Scott Servais.

Trout's home run was on a 0-2. Brady Lail was

pitching the eighth inning for the Mariners. Why

he didn't throw the ball in the dirt amazes me.

Also, Lail hadn't pitched in eleven days either.

I don't understand why Servais hadn't pitched 

him in sooner games and why pitch him late

in the game when the Mariners still have a 

chance to win.

I like Scott Servais but the way he manages 

the pitching especially relief it is no wonder

the Mariners bullpen does a poor job.

Now the Mariners will be playing game two

Saturday night against the Angels. It will be

the second of four games. I just hope not to

hear Trout's name again but I am sure I won't

be so lucky. Go M's. 

Mariners-Padres Split Double-Header

The first game of the Mariners double-header
Tuesday afternoon turned out to be a wild game.

LJay Newsome made his first start for the Mariners.

He was pressed into duty because Taijuan Walker 

expect to start the game was traded to the Toronto

Blue Jays for a player named later. The player

is expected to be one of the Blue Jays top 30

prospects. I expect whoever it ends up will 

in large to do with how Walker does the rest

of the season for Toronto and whether they

make it into the playoffs or  not. Right now

they are listed as the eighth best record in

the American League and it is how many

teams go to the playoffs this year is eight.

LJay Newsome pitched a very good game

for his first outing going four innings giving

up three hits and a run which happened to

be a home run to Manny Machado. The

Mariners were leading 3-1 at the time.

The Padres tied the game scoring two runs

in the bottom of the sixth inning off of usually

dependable Matt Magill. The Mariners scored

four runs in the top of the seventh inning so

it looked like the Mariners would win, however,

closer Taylor Williams had a bad game not

able to get the ball over the plate and when

he did was hit hard. 

The Padres were able to tie the score all with

two outs at 7-7. I turned off the tv because 

I couldn't see anymore. A good thing right

field Will Myers hit a three-run walk home

run off Dan Altavilla. It reminded me of

other games the Mariners bullpen has 

collapsed over the years.

Game Two the Mariners got off to a bang

up job. First baseman Jose Marmolejos 

hit a grand slam home run in the first inning

followed by a solo home run by Shed Long.

So the Mariners were up 6-0. 

The only reason Marmolejos was in the game

was Evan White was hurt in the first game and 

he was added to the roster as the 29th player

because they were playing a double-header.

After the first game I wasn't sure I trusted

the pitching and I am sure many fans didn't

either. Yusei Kikuchi ended up going five

innings giving up three hits 

The Mariners scored two more runs in the 

top of  the seventh inning but what happened

in game one didn't me a lot of insurance

except they used different relievers.

Aaron Fletcher making his third appearance

since being called up last week had a little

trouble giving up a hit, and walking two,

He did strike out a batter for his only out.

The signs were all there to see another 

blown game, however, Joey Gerber came

in was able to have the batter hit into a

double play to end the sixth inning.

Veteran Yoshihisa Hirano pitched the seventh

giving up a hit while striking out one so 

the Mariners won 8-3,

It would have been nice to sweep the Padres

like they did the Rangers but taking two out

of three was nice to.

The Mariners are now in Anaheim to take

on the Angels Friday thru Monday before

returning home. 

The Mariners have a record of 13-20. Still

not real impressive though they have won

five out of their last six games. They are in

third place half a game ahead of the Rangers.

The Angels are last place with a record of

10-22. It would be nice if the Mariners 

can dig putting the Angels in a bigger hole.

The trading deadline ends on Monday so 

we will see if Jerry Dipoto be able to make

any other trades or acquisitions. Go M's. 

Seattle Mariners Play Double-Header

The Seattle Mariner players decided not to play
Wednesday night against the San Diego Padres
as a protest for the shooting of Jacob Blake in
Kenosha Wisconsin.

The Mariners have eight players who are black

so another shooting of a black by a police officer

is close to their hearts. 

Even if the case finds the policeman of no wrong

doing it still not going to change the mind of so

many. I am not into the politics or social justice

I just giving a short reason why the Mariners and

Padres didn't play Wednesday night.

The two teams are making up the game by playing

a double-header Both games are scheduled to go

seven innings.

Taijuan Walker who pitched well in his last outing

after getting off to a rough start will be starting the

first game which is scheduled right past noon.

Yusei Kikuchi will be starting the second game for

the Mariners. The schedule time isn't mentioned.

It may take place a half hour after the first game is

completed.

With two games scheduled we will see Austin Nola

at catcher in one of the games and Joe Odom in the

other. I expect whichever game Nola doesn't start

we will see him pinch hit at some point. 

I believe the rules state each team can add a player

or two to the roster. They will be players off the 

taxi squad. One likely will be a catcher while the

other a relief pitcher. 

The Mariners will head after the game for a short 

flight to Anaheim to take on the LA Angels. It is

sort of fitting as Friday is  Jackie Robinson Day.

The trading deadline is close ending on Monday

August 31 so see if the Mariners will make any

trades. There is a possibility the first game today

with Taijuan Walker on the mound could be the

last we see him in a Mariner uniform this season.

Walker will be a free agent after the season so 

the Mariners may see what they can get for him.

The Mariners return home for the beginning of

September facing the Oakland A's  and Texas 

Rangers. After those series they play two weeks

of inter-league play. It will be the last of it for

the season.  

When the Mariners return home for September 

there is a possibility of some change on the roster

depending on the trading deadline and players 

they may want to see coming out of camp. Go M's. 

Seahawk Wednesday

The biggest news probably this week was the
release of ex-Seahawk Earl Thomas by the
Baltimore Ravens. Not sure what has happened
to Thomas but he isn't the same guy he was
a few years ago. The Ravens released Thomas
for being a disruption in their locker room. It
is bad when your veteran teammates don't want
you around any longer. Will this be the end for
Thomas who had some great years for the Seahawks.

Last Saturday the Seahawks had their first mock

game. Since there are no pre-season games the

Seahawks are going a few mock games as though

they are playing pre-season game. With Covid-19

though they are not tackling taking the player

down they instead grab.

Near the end of the first half  Braden Jackson 

defensive end though was injured so for precaution

was sent to the hospital. He went home Saturday

night. He looks like he will be OK.

Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheiner said

in his press conference Tuesday he wants the ball

in Russell Wilson hands as often as possible. It

doesn't mean the Seahawks will pass the ball more

often but wants everything to go through him.

Russell Wilson according Brian is to have offense

get going earlier. A problem the Seahawks have 

had since Wilson has been on the team. The 

Seahawks often have scored late in games to pull

them out. 

The Seahawks defense is better than last year but

the offense needs to score earlier because the defense

isn't what it was several years ago.

Also according to Schottenheimer the offense line

isn't there yet. I guess we could say when has it 

been there. For most of his career Russell Wilson

has had to run for his life on passing downs so

it would be nice for that to change. With the 

Seahawks going with a new tackle, guard on the

right side and center it may take a little while

to settle in.

New week we will see where the wide receivers

and running backs are at and any other news

coming back.  The Seahawks first game will

be in two weeks from this Sunday at Atlanta

taking on the Falcons September 13. Go Hawks!

JP Crawford Has Matured

JP Crawford has matured into a pretty good
shortstop especially on the defensive side of
the ball. It helps when you have a first baseman
who maybe already the best in the major leagues
as a rookie.

JP Crawford got off to a hot start at the plate 

hitting .393 in July. He has tailed off a lot in

in August hitting .163. 

Manager Scott Servais isn't worried at least

right now in Crawford's hitting though his 

batting average is now at .222. Servais says

Crawford has still been hitting the ball hard

the fielders just catching the ball.

JP Crawford hit his first home run of the season

Tuesday night against the Padres in the second

inning with Dee Gordon on first.

Defensively Crawford has only three errors on

the season. Going into Tuesday's game he had

31 put outs with 74 assists I have to say he is

the player general manager Jerry Dipoto traded

for after the 2018 season. We look forward for

more out of Crawford as he continues to go on. 

Seattle Mariners Outfield

For the first time this season the Seattle Mariners
have three outfielders on their roster. It does seem
odd since you have three outfield positions.

When the shortened season started a month ago

the Mariners had Kyle Lewis and Mallex Smith

on the opening day roster as outfielders. The team

had utility players in Dee Gordon, Tim Lopes,

Jose Marmolejos, and Dylan Moore with one of

them playing in the outfield.

The lack of hitting eventually sent Jose Marmolejos

and Mallex Smith to the alternate training site.

Smith for the second year in a row with the lack

of spring training got off to a horrible start. I expect

we may see him again, however, with the trading 

deadline come up on August 31 the Mariners might

trade him. On his own likely won't get much, however,

he could be involved where the Mariners send two

players or more to another ball club. 

Dee Gordon who has played some left field well as

second base and shortstop would have been a good

candidate to be traded since the Mariners plan would

not have accepted his option year for next season.

Gordon is only hitting .130 so his playing time

has gone down and so has his value so like Smith

wouldn't get a lot on his own in a trade. The Mariners

may trade Gordon anyway since a little value is more

than no value.

Now today the Mariners have three natural outfielders

on their playing roster. They recently brought up

Jake Fraley and Braden Bishop both outfielders from

alternate training site. Right now they are being used

platooning in right field. Both are still needing to find

their way into hitting major league pitching.

Dylan Moore who was the Mariners primarily utility

player last season has found his hitting skills and power

as well. He looks to be someone who will be in the lineup

somewhere in almost every game. Right now he is on 

the ten day injured list with a sore wrist. He will be 

back playing regularly when he is able to come off

the injured list.

Sam Haggerty another utility player was recently recalled

from the alternate training site. With the injury to Moore

while at the same time hitting well he has made himself

into the lineup primarily playing left field. In five games

he is hitting .300 while playing solid defense.

The recent trade of designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach

to the Toronto Blue Jays after being designated for assignment

this leaves room for more appearances from these outfielders

primarily though could see an infielder or catcher Austin Nola

being the designated hitter on occasion. 

With the recent moves the bottom of the batting order should

be a lot better than it has been during the first half of the season.

The Mariners record is 11-19. I see an improvement coming up

in the final 30 games whether they have a record of winning 30

games is unlikely they may be closer than what it looks right now.

Go M's. 

Seattle Mariners Sweep Texas Rangers

It was so nice to see the Mariners beat the
Texas Rangers 4-1 Sunday afternoon to sweep
the series.

The Mariners got their best outing from Justin
Dunn on the season. He only gave up one hit
in six innings. A big improvement was only
walking one batter while striking out six.

If this is the kind of pitching we will get out

of Dunn in the future the Mariners will be 

in good shape.

The Mariners scored the four runs all by the

long ball. It started with Kyle Lewis solo 

home run in the first inning. Catcher Austin

Nola had a solo home run  in the second inning

and left fielder Sam Haggerty who has started

out well this week had a two-run homer in

the fifth inning with Braden Bishop on base.

Bishop started in right field as the Rangers 

started lefty Mike Minor who hasn't gotten

off to a good start now being 0-5 with an

era 6.75.

The Mariners showed in the series the 

Rangers have weakness in their starting

pitching. The Mariners scored 21 runs

on the Rangers. 16 of the runs were off

of the Rangers starters.

The Mariners are in 4th place in the 

American League West a half game

behind the Rangers while they are

a game and a half ahead of the Angels.

The Oakland A's continue to be in

first place with a 20-9 record. The 

Mariners are nine and a half games 

behind the A's. The Mariners are 

at the half way point of this shorten

season at 11-19.

The Mariners have Monday off,

they start a three game series against

the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday.

They finish the month of August 

playing the LA Angels four games

in Anaheim. 

The Mariners start September with

three games at home against the

 Oakland A's followed by four

 against the Rangers once 

again. This will be the last series

on the season against the Rangers.

Mariners Bats Stay Alive

It looks like the Seattle Mariners are liking
home cooking and the Texas Rangers pitching.

Unfortunately they have to go back on the road

after Sunday's game. 

Before forgetting anything else Justus Sheffield

pitched another outstanding game giving up one  

run in six innings, six hits, one walk and  striking

out five. 

Sheffield could have gone another inning easily

however the Mariners were leading 8-1 at the 

time so why not give others a chance. The Mariners

ended up with final score 10-1.

Evan White was back after a couple days off 

because of an injury caused by being hit on his

body at the plate. The time off certainly did him

good as he hit a double and a home run while

driving a major league career six home runs.

We learned before the game Dylan Moore will

miss a little time going on the injured list with 

a sore wrist. The Mariners brought up outfielder

Jake Fraley from extended training camp. 

Fraley started in right field. It looks like he and

Braden Bishop will share the spot for a while 

though could see both in the lineup at times.

He had a double in the game.

Kyle Lewis who looks like he will win rookie

of the year continued to hit and get on base.

He had three hits, walked twice and scored three

times. 

Austin Nola continues to hit well too. He had three

hits on the night. He was back at catcher after spending

a couple days at first base.

Joey Gerber came in the seventh inning for Sheffield.

He gave a hit but no runs. Aaron Fletcher made his

major league debut giving up no hits in an inning.

He was followed by veteran pitcher Yoshihisa Hirano

making his Mariner and season debut. He finished off

the Rangers in the ninth inning giving up a hit but 

struck out two.

Sunday afternoon Justin Dunn will be pitching for 

the Mariners against the Rangers. Dunn has struggled

keeping pitches over the plate so we hope he can do

a better job this time. It would be nice if the Mariners 

can sweep the Rangers before heading back out of 

town.  Go M's. 

Opening Win Against Rangers

Friday night the Seattle Mariners had a nice win
over the Texas Rangers in the opening game of
the series winning 7-4.

The Mariners got off to a good start scoring four

runs off of Rangers starter Kolby Allard in the

first inning. In fact, they chased him where Allard

left the game with two outs. 

Nick Margevicius pitched well for the Marines for

the first four innings He got into some trouble giving

up two runs in the fifth inning plus two more in the

sixth when he left the game with one out when Joey

Gerber took his spot and didn't surrender a run 

The Mariners scored a single run in the second on

Kyle Lewis 6th home run of the season. They scored

a single run in the third inning followed by another one

in the seventh inning for the Mariners to win 7-4. It was

the Rangers sixth loss in a row. Hopefully, the Mariners

can take advantage the rest of the series.

The win was Margevicius first win as a Mariner. Also,

he struck out seven hitters a high for the season. He has

pitched well in the starting role in place of Kendall Graveman.

The Mariners are not sure when Graveman will be back. He

is working out at extended training camp. There is a good

possibility when he does return he will work out of the bullpen.

He is working through having a benign tumor in his spine. 

Manager Scott Servais thinks on Graveman's return he will

only be able to pitch an inning or two now and then.

Saturday night Justus Sheffield will make another start for

the Mariners. His last outing on August 16 he pitched well

against the Houston Astros unfortunately the Mariners lost

3-2 on a walk-off home run by Kyle Tucker off of Erik

Swanson. Sheffield will try to get his second win on the 

season. Go M's. 

Welcome to New Mariner LJay Newsome

I expect most Seattle Mariner fans
didn't think the team would win
Thursday afternoon against the
Dodgers with Clayton Kershaw.

Yusei Kikuchi returned after 

missing his last start because

of neck spasms. The first couple

of innings he looked like he might

compete with Kershaw however

it wasn't meant to be. He gave up

four runs in the third inning which

turned out to be enough for Kershaw

to win.

So the introduction to LJay Newsome.

He came into the Mariners game in

the sixth inning. He was recently called

up from the alternate training site in

Tacoma on August 15.

Thursday was his major league debut.

He made a good showing giving up a

run on three hits in three innings. His

only blemish was giving up a home run

to center fielder Cody Bellinger. As

analyst Mike Blowers said on the 

broadcast if you are going to give up

a home run to Bellinger is a good thing.

What I liked about Newsome he is able 

to throw strikes. We can't say that about

many of the Mariner relievers. 

Newsome is a former starter in the Mariners

minor leagues. Last year he played at high

single-A, double-A Arkansas and made one

start at triple-A Tacoma. With a list of three

first rounders expected to be starters Newsome's

success will come out of the bullpen though

he could start if necessary.

I look forward to Newsome's next appearance

in a Mariner game. I hope next time it will be

with the Mariners ahead and they can actually 

win.

The Mariners are at home against the Texas

Rangers for the weekend series before heading

off on the road again. The Rangers are 10-14 

in third place while the Mariners are 8-19.

It would be nice if the Mariners could take

two out of the three games of the series.

After the Rangers the Mariners will finish off

August against the Padres in San Diego for three

games followed by the Angels in Anaheim for 

four games. The Angels are only a half game

ahead of the Mariners right now so gives the

home team some hope. Just keep the ball away

from Mike Trout is all I have to say.

Enjoy your weekend and let's go M's. 

Taijuan Ends Losing Skid

At the beginning of Wednesday nights game
in Seattle against the LA Dodgers not only 

did it not look as though Taijuan Walker 

would win the game he would be lucky to

go four innings.

Before the second inning was over where

Walker had given up two runs on homers

he had thrown fifty pitches. I thought no

way he is going to stick around.to get the

victory, however, it was nice to know I

was wrong. 

On his post game conference he said he

wouldn't have stuck around either unless

changing the game plan of pitches to throw.

He and catcher Austin Nola realized the

Dodgers were looking and hitting his 

fastball so they decided to go the rest of

the way with off-speed pitches which 

turned out to be the answer.

Offensively Nola had the answer to hitting

a three-run homer in the bottom of the third.

This put the Mariners up never trailing again

with final score 6-4.

The only other scoring after that Dylan Moore

hit his fifth homer of the season to tie Kyle

Lewis for the team lead in homers.

Taijuan Walker ended up going seven innings 

giving up three runs on four hits, one walk 

and striking out eight.

The Dodgers took out their starter Julio  Urias

in the second inning. throwing 53 pitches, four

hits and one run. You could say the Dodgers

didn't want to see anymore of Urias. 

It wasn't a great decision as his replacement 

Dennis Santana gave up four runs including

the homer to Nola.  

The Mariners are expected to have Yusei

Kikuchi on the mound Thursday afternoon

in the final game against the Dodgers Kikuchi

missed his last outing because of neck spasms.

We are hoping he is healthy and learn from 

Walker's performance.

It wouldn't be easy for the Mariners offense

as the Dodgers will be starting Clayton Kershaw.

As you can imagine it could be a long day for

the Mariners offense.

News came out the Mariners decided to designate

Daniel Vogelbach for assignment. He was not

cutting it offensively hitting below .100. A good

guy in the clubhouse but the Mariners needed him

to hit.

The Mariners sent Art Warren back to training site.

Warren was on the taxi squad on the last road trip 

was activated in the last game when Mallex Smith

was optioned to the training site.

The Mariners brought up Braden Bishop who started

in right field and utility player Sam Haggerty who

played in left field got his first major league hit in

the game too.

First baseman Evan White was hurt when a ball hit

him after a swing. X-rays were negative however he

may miss the next couple games. Dylan Moore moved

from second base to first. He likely will be at first 

base while White is out.

Tim Lopes started at dh, however, with Vogelbach no

longer on the team the Mariners will use several players

there. Probably see Kyle Lewis and Kyle Seager at dh

when given the day off in the field. This will probably

go with some other players. Austin Nola will probably

dh when he isn't catching. 

The trading deadline ends on August 31 so we could

see a trade or two or more though the Mariners don't

have a lot of value to trade at this time. 

It would be interesting to see if Kyle Seager maybe 

moved since he has gotten off to a great start. It is

probably the best start since he has been a Mariner.

If Seager is traded I wouldn't be surprised if Dylan

Moore becomes the everyday third baseman. Stay tuned!

Seahawk Wednesday

This week the Seahawks began two a days In
nickel Bobbie Wagner and first round 

pick Jordyn Brooks were to be the two linebacker

spots with Marquise Blair as the extra defensive

back. Injuries though kept Brooks out so fellow

linebacker Cody Barton was instead. Brooks

though is expected back. It looks as though

KJ Wright won't be in during the nickel.

Newly acquired safety Jamal Adams is being

compared favorably with  ex-Seahawk greats

Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. He certainly 

will be an added plus to the defensive  which

wasn't good last year compared to other seasons.

Will Dissly is looking good at tight end. Greg

Olsen will be the starter when they go with 

one tight end  however both will be in when

going with two. 

The likelihood they will start with two tight 

ends and two wide receivers. The Seahawks

have three new starters on the offensive line

so going with Dissly and Olsen will help.

Both are good pass catchers as well. 

At times the Seahawks will go with three 

receivers or three tight ends. Jacob Hollister

though listed as a tight end  looks like a 

receiver so can be affective in the slot.

Bullpen and Offense Cost Mariners Game

When you are a team like the Seattle Mariners 

going through a rebuild you are going to have

games like Tuesday when the starting pitching

is great but the offense lacks run support and

the bullpen can't get the job done either.

Marco Gonzales showed why he is the ace

of the Mariners going seven innings giving

up one run on five hits while not walking a

batter and striking out nine.

It was his cutter fastball that made the difference

on Tuesday. His only mistake was giving up

a hit to Corey Seager younger brother of Kyle

in the sixth inning. 

The Mariners tied the game in the top of the

seventh when Tim Lopes pinch hitting for

Daniel Vogelbach hit a slow roller to score

Kyle Lewis to tie the game.

Speaking of Lewis he showed why he is 

doing a good job playing center field by

making a leaping catch  to rob Justin Turner

of a home run.

The Dodgers scored the winning run in the 

bottom of the eighth off of reliever Dan Altavilla

when Justin Turner drove in catcher Austin

Barnes this after another hit by Corey Seager.

Altavilla shows at times he can be dominating

on the mound but can be unreliable as well.

The problem the Mariners have is a reliever

who can shutdown the other team.

The Mariners announced before the game

they optioned outfielder Mallex Smith. This 

means for the time being we will be seeing

a lot of Dylan Moore playing in right field.

Moore has shown he might end up being

a starter for the Mariners for the long run

too. The position won't necessary and most

likely be right field.

The Mariners activated reliever Art Warren

in the place of Smith. He was on the taxi

squad traveling with the team. The Mariners 

likely will make a move possibly today

arriving back home to play the Dodgers

tonight in Seattle. I wouldn't be surprised

they bring up Jake Fraley, however, we

will see. 

The Mariners added catcher Tom Murphy

to the 45-day injured list so it looks like

we will not see him this season and Austin

Nola will be the starting catcher for the

remaining of the season unless they can

pick up another catcher. 

Seattle Mariners Bats Come Alive Still Lose

After taking a few days off the Seattle
Mariners bats came alive unfortunately
the pitching gave up too many runs.

The Mariners scored two runs in the
first inning then the LA Dodgers had
a run in the inning too.

Justin Dunn didn't have it Monday night

lasting only two innings. In the second

inning he gave up five runs including a

three-run homer to Corey Seager Kyle's 

brother.  

The lead didn't last long as the Mariners

scored five runs get the lead back 7-6.

Kyle Lewis and Kyle Seager had back to

back home runs then Evan White had his

first of two in the third as well.

The Mariners scored another run in the 4th

inning to increase the lead to 8-6. This lasted

until the bottom of the seventh when the

Dodgers scored five runs off of Seattle 

reliever Matt Magill. making it Dodger

lead 11-8.  Evan White hit his second 

homer of the evening for the final score

11-9.

The Mariners had opportunities to score

especially in the 9th inning to tie or win

the game unfortunately Daniel Vogelbach

popped up the last out of the game to

right field. To be honest I don't know why

the Mariners didn't pinch hit for Vogelbach.

He continues to struggle at the plate.

Until this game Matt Magill had been

pitching really well not giving up a single

run until this game. I would say most of

the time with Magill in the game the 

Mariners would have won.

The Mariners play a late afternoon game

on Tuesday against the Dodgers again

before coming home to play them twice

in Seattle. Marco Gonzales starts this

game for the Mariners we hope he can

end this six-game losing streak. Go M's. 

Covid-19 Affecting Local Sports

We know the Seattle Mariners are playing
right now along with the Sounders. The
Seahawks are expected to play as well.

We don't know what the delay in playing

or less games will cost both the Mariners

and Sounders. At this point we have no

idea of the Seahawks. It is possible there

season could be shut down at any time.

The Tacoma News Tribune reported on

Monday the Washington Huskies are going

to lose $70 million because of the virus at

this point anyway. There were no spring

sports and fall sports are cancelled to at

least spring. We have no idea of the winter

sports though they could be postponed until

January 2021.

We have no idea how much loss the Washington

State Cougars will have as well and then there

is Gonzaga along with the other colleges in

the area.

There is a good chance the Huskies along with

the Cougars and the other schools will have to

shut down some of the sport programs. The 

Huskies I am sure will have football, basketball

and women's softball.  At least I hope the softball

team will be around since they have had a lot

of national attention over the years.

This isn't only costing the colleges millions

of dollars it is costing the young people the

dreams they have had for a long time as well.

We just hope this virus will end soon but it

will cost some sports all together too. 

Seattle Mariners Lose Again In Houston

The Seattle Mariners had trouble once again
losing all three games to the Houston. This
game was like Saturday's where the offense
couldn't score runs.

Justus Sheffield showed he might turn out

to be a pretty good starting pitcher for the 

Mariners. He went six innings giving up 

two runs on six hits while walking one and

striking out four. One of the runs was not

earned so the Mariners may have one the

game if it weren't for an error by Dee Gordon

at second base giving Shed Long the day

off.

The Seattle Mariners scored both of their 

runs in the third inning. Catcher Joe Odom

drove in Evan White after he walked and

Gordon moved him along. Odom than 

scored himself on a hit by Kyle Lewis.

The Mariners only had four hits on the 

day with Lewis having two of them.

Dan Altavilla  had an outstanding seventh

inning striking out all three batters. He

certainly shows on occasion how dominating

he could be it would be nice if he could do

so on a regular.

Joey Gerber pitched an inning doing fine

as well. He is one of those guys who could

be around in the bullpen for some time. 

Going into the ninth inning with the game

tied 2-2 the Mariners brought in Erik Swanson

to pitch. I am wondering why in a tie game

Manager Scott Servais would bring in Swanson

when he struggled in his last out. It makes me

wonder how much he wants the Mariners to win.

I know the Mariners are in rebuilding mode but

wouldn't you think they would bring in someone

else instead to pitch. They may have lost anywayThe 

but having someone else having more success

would be the answer.

Now the Mariners will be going to LA to take

on the Dodgers which won't be an easy task 

in itself. The Mariners do seem to do well on 

the road except against the Astros. Justin Dunn

will start the opening game of the series. 

The Seattle Mariners are now 7-16 on the

season while the LA Dodgers are 15-7. The

Dodgers are 7-3 in their last ten games while

the Mariners are 2-8.

The Mariners and Dodgers will play two 

games in LA before coming to Seattle 

where both teams will play two more games.

The Mariners will face the Texas Rangers

next weekend before going on another

road trip.

Seattle Mariners Bats Still Missing

Nick Margevicius n his second starting game in
the place of Kendall Graveman pitched a wonderful
game. He made only a few mistakes and without
an offense to back him up recorded the loss.

 

Margevicius went six innings giving up two runs 

on four hits, no walks and striking out three.

The Mariners were only able to muster one run on 

three hits. Evan White had a home run in the eighth

inning to give the Mariners any hope in winning.

The other two hits were by Kyle Seager and Austin

Nola, unfortunately they weren't back to back.

Justus Sheffield will start Sunday afternoon to

see whether the Mariners can scratch out a win

in this series before heading to LA to face the

Dodgers which won't make life any easier on

this young ball club. 

The trading deadline is August 31 so you wonder

if Jerry Dipoto will be active in acquiring talent

or a player to help in September and beyond.

Dee Gordon would be one  player to trade but his

batting average is terrible so what will the Mariners

get for him. He will have an option year after this

one so the Mariners will likely pay him off.

Mallex Smith having another terrible season after

the Mariners acquired him from the Tampa Bay

Rays before the 2019 for Mike Zunino. It looks

like he needs to find another home. I won't think

the Mariners get much for him either.

The Mariners may try to trade some other players

who might have better value but we will have to

see. 

Seattle Mariners Kikuchi Misses Start

We thought Yusei Kikuchi was going to
start Friday night against the Astros in
Houston, however, he was scratched
about an hour before game time.

The Mariners pitching hasn't been able

to keep the Astros hitting down so far

on the season and Friday night wasn't

any different. It didn't take long at all.

Nestor Cortes started for the Mariners

in place of Kikuchi who had neck spasms.

Well he didn't last long going one-third 

of an inning giving up eight runs on five

hits, an error, two walks and two home 

runs. Mariners basically out of the game

in just a few minutes.

Bryan Shaw came in for Cortes. Again

he wasn't impressive giving up two runs

in one and two-thirds inning.

Rule 5 pitcher Yohan Ramirez ended up 

giving up one run, one hit, three walks,

and struck out four. Though a little bit

wild he certainly shows promise.

Brady Lail the Mariners picked up off

of waivers on August 10 from the Chicago

White Sox pitched the final three innings

for the Mariners. 

Lail looked excellent coming in on his

first outing for the Mariners. He didn't

give up a hit, one walk while striking out

three. He looked aggressive going after

the Houston hitters.  He certainly had

the best performance out of the pen so

far on the season for the Mariners.

I would have to say Lail to keep a job

with the Mariners continue doing what

he did on Friday night. I am sure going

three innings he won't pitch for several

days.

The Mariners scored their single run in

the top of the first inning so they actually

had a lead though short lived.

The final score was 11-1. The Mariners 

had only six hits with Tim Lopes having

two of the hits. It looks like he is starting

to hit again after going through a short

slump. 

Now we have to see whether the Mariners

can rebound against the Astros in game two

of the three game series Saturday. Go M's. 

Kikuchi Takes On Astros Friday Night

The Seattle Mariners take on the Astros in
second outing against them in Houston. Yusei

Kikuchi first time out he gave out up five runs

in three and two --third innings.

In second time out he gave up no runs against

the Oakland A's. He went six innings giving up

three hits, walking one and striking out nine.

It would be nice to see more of those games

out Kikuchi. He will be a big winner for

the Mariners if he can pitch more often than

that.

His third outing was more like his first run

he gave up for runs in five and two-third 

innings so hopefully he run off several gout

outings in a row. He certainly shows he is

capable of doing so. It is all in his head for

the most part.

In other local sports the Seahawks had their

first practice with the offense going against

the defense on Friday. Pete Carroll who is

always optimist will be ready to go when 

the season is ready. I guess we will see won't

we. 

I am sure we all hope there will be a season

but we don't know for sure.  A lot will depend

on how the players act over the next few weeks

as well. The Seahawks released a rookie player

who brought a girl into his hotel room. How 

stupid can you be. He wasn't a sure thing anyway.

Of course, maybe that was the point in his mind.

We will keep up to date with the Seahawks well

as how the Mariners continue to do the rest of the

way. The starting rotation has done well for the 

most part it is the bullpen having the trouble. It is

sort of like the top of the batting is doing well and

the bottom isn't  

Seattle Mariners Bullpen Fails Again

Taijuan Walker got back on track pitched
six wonderful innings giving up six hits,
one unearned run, walked one and struck
out five.

The Mariners scored four runs in the 2nd
inning including a home run from Austin

Nola and Daniel Vogelbach his second of

the season with a runner on base. 

It looked like it was going to stand after 

Walker left the game after the six innings.

The Mariners were leading 4-1.

The seventh inning Joey Gerber gave up

a run but it still looked good with a two-run

lead; however, Erik Swanson entered in the

eight inning. He struggled mightily giving 

up five runs on three hits all earned run.

The trouble included hitting two Ranger

batters as well. So a game looking like

Mariners would win the series turned out

to be the opposite losing 7-4.

The Mariners now have a day off the first

one on the season after twenty games. The 

Mariners have a record of 7-13. They have

complete one-third of the shorten season.

For the Mariners to do better for the remaining

forty games the bullpen will have to do a 

better job that is for sure. Manager Scott

Servais will have to figure the way to have

more success out of the bullpen whether it

is with different pitchers or getting in guys

like Matt Magill at the right time. 

Matt Magill has pitched outstanding ball giving

up one hit in seven innings in seven appearances

without giving up an earned run. Servais will

need to put him in the game at the right opportunities

Lefty Taylor Guilbeau has had success in his

opportunities as well. He has pitched in only

five games giving up six runs and one run.

He will have to pitch more frequently in the

right spots as well. 

Yohan Ramirez rule 5 pickup has done well

in three of his four opportunities. My opinion

they need to give him more chances in the 

remaining games of the season. Since the 

bullpen for the most part has failed and many

of the 13 losses are contributed to him.

Friday I will look at the bottom half of the

batting order. They are primarily the reason

the offense has sputtered for much of the season.

Since the Mariners are in rebuilding mode still

I don't think we can expect a winning season.

It would be nice to get in the range of 25 to

30 wins. Now that Servais knows what he has

especially in the bullpen time to use the best

ones  in the right opportunities.

When the Mariners are ahead like in Wednesday's

game I would like to see  one of the three

at least coming out of the bullpen in Matt Magill,

Yohan Ramirez and Taylor Guilbeau. Though I

didn't mention his  name here Taylor Williams

has done well too. He has been primarily used

as the closer. He has three saves in three opportunities.

In all he has pitched in eight games more than 

any other reliever.

Another pitcher I haven't mentioned is Carl Edwards.

He currently is on the injured list  He has given up 

only one run in four appearances with a 1.93 ERA.

I would like to see him in games  when the Mariners

have a chance to win when he returns.

I would leave most of the other relievers to pitch

only when the Mariners are behind by more than 

two runs or a large lead like five or six runs but

they would be on a short leash. They have to face

with the new rule three batters so I would have 

someone ready to go when the third batter is up

to the plate.

There it is I hope the Mariners enjoy their off day.

It would be nice to win at least one game in the 

three-game series in Houston starting Friday.

Go M's. 

Seahawk Wednesday

Here we are going to look at the offensive
line as the last installment of the positions
on the Seahawk roster. With college football
deciding not to play for the most part this
fall it will be interesting to see how things
go for the NFL. I know it will come down
to how many players end up testing positive
for Covid-19.

The Seahawks offensive line will look different
as they released center Justin Britt and right guard

DJ Fluker in April. At the end of July they released

backup center Joey Hunt. He could return at a 

lower cost but nothing has been said or determined.

Guard Chance Warmack who would have competed

for the right guard position decided to opt out because

of Covid-19. He was the only Seahawk to do so.

The Seahawks didn't resign free agent right tackle 

Germain Ifedi who ended up going to the Chicago

Bears on a one year deal. As fans would know Ifedi

was called a lot for holding. I am sure a major reason

not to resign him plus the cost to keep him too.

The Seahawks did sign a free agent right tackle in

Brandon Shell on  a two-year deal. I am sure he will

be the favorite to win the spot however he will have

competition.

Another candidate for right tackle is Cedric Ogbuehi

who the Seahawks signed as a free agent as well

during the off-season. Returning backup Jamarco 

Jones may compete for the right tackle spot along

with  right guard. He will be the backup at left

guard and tackle too. Those are the primary candidates

for right tackle.

This year's third round pick Damien Lewis should be

the starter at right guard with Jones being his backup.

The center position is open without Britt or Hunt. The

front runner is BJ Finney the Seahawks signed as a

free agent during the off-season  after playing four 

seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  

Veteran Ethan Pocic second round pick by the Seahawks

in 2017 will be competing for the center position as well.

He will be a backup at the two guard positions as well.

Kyle Fuller who was on the practice squad last year

could be the third choice at center well as guard. 

Depending how many offensive lineman are on the 

opening roster  It will be tough the rosters are expected

to be lower this year because of Covid-19.

Mike Iupati will return as the starting left guard and

Duane Brown at left tackle. Both have been around

for quite a long time being on the other side of 30

the Seahawks will have to keep an eye on both when

it comes to injuries. Phil Haynes one of the Seahawks

fourth round picks will be Iupati's backup and heir

apparent. Jamarco Jones will be Brown's backup 

though he is competing for the right tackle and guard

positions as well.

There we go for the Seahawk roster. Next week will

see about any new news or roster moves. We hope to

the Seahawks will have a season though likely no fans

in the stands. Go Hawks!

Mariner Loss Tuesday

The Seattle Mariners Lost Tuesday night in the
middle game of the series against the Rangers in
Arlington Texas.

After having fifteen hits while scoring ten runs

on Monday in win over the Rangers on Tuesday

the Mariners were only able to muster two runs

on four hits.

A young team though talented this is going to

happen more frequently than we would like.

Marco Gonzales struggled on the mound giving

up runs in both the second and fourth inning,

however, didn't give up any home runs 

Center fielder Nick Solak was the hitting hero

for the Rangers driving in three of their four

runs. He had three hits raising his average to

..288.

The Mariner scored their two runs in the

fifth inning with a walk to Dee Gordon,

a hit by designated hitter Tim Lopes. and

hit by JP Crawford.  A throwing error 

allowed Lopes to score the second run.

Kyle Seager continues to hit well in 

Texas having two of the four hits

unfortunately he wasn't able to drive

in any runs. The Mariners didn't have

an extra base hit on the night.

The bullpen had a fine night which has

been hard to find on a regular basis.

Matt Magill, Dan Altavilla and Bryan

Shaw each pitched an inning without

giving up a hit. At least they gave them

a chance to win. Magill was outstanding

striking out all three batters he faced.

All three relievers  could pitch on Wednesday

night if needed since Thursday the Mariners

have an off day before having a weekend

series in Houston.

The Mariners need to find answers for the

bottom of the batting order with Lopes 

being the only one with a hit and the only

one batting over two hundred. The hitting

coaches will have to find a way to get

those guys going. It is keeping the offense

stale for the most part. 

Taijuan Walker will be starting Wednesday

night's game. See if he can rebound after 

having a poor performance in his last outing.

The outing before that he pitched outstanding.

We hope to see that Walker.

 

Mariners Positive Opener On Road Trip

Justin Dunn got off to a rough start
Monday night, however, he was able

to weather the storm.

He led  off walking former Mariner

Shin-Soo Choo, designated hitter

Will Calhoun hit a triple to score

Choo. The Mariners tied it in the

top of the third with Dan Vogelbach

hitting a double then scored on a

hit by Dylan Moore. The Rangers

took the lead with another rbi by

Calhoun making it 2-1.

Kyle Lewis decided not to mess

around by hitting a three-run

homer in the fifth inning. Thought

this might be enough but we know

can't count on the bullpen so Kyle

Seager hit a grand slam home run

in the sixth inning. Dylan Moore

who had three hits on the night

hit a home run himself to finalize

the score at 10-2.

Dunn ended up going six inning

giving up the two runs on seven

hits while walking three and striking

out two. He was able to go long

enough to record his first major

league victory.

The Mariners had fifteen hits on

the night with every batter getting

at least one hit. I was thinking 

wouldn't be nice to save some of

those hits and runs for another

day but we know it never works 

that way.

The Mariners are still in fourth

place five and a half games behind

the division leading Oakland A's.

With a win Tuesday night the 

Mariners would move into third

place ahead of the Rangers. 

Marco Gonzales will make his 

fourth start of the season. He has

a 2-1 record with 3.06 era. We 

hope the Mariners can continue

their hot hitting in Texas. Certainly

the Rangers new ball park shows

favor to the Mariner hitters for sure.

Go M's. 

Pac-12 and Big Ten To Cancel Football

It looks like I won't be doing any reporting on
the Washington Huskies and Washington State
Cougars right here this fall. The word out is the
season is going to be cancelled.

We will know more tomorrow after the Presidents

of the schools meet. Last week a group of Pac-12

spoke their concerns about playing this season

wanting to have protocals set before even have

practice. I am sure the Pac-12 decided it wasn't

worth it to go further.

At this point I will continue on the Mariners and

the Seahawks. We don't really know whether the

NFL will play as well. I read to with college 

football likely not to play the NFL could move

some games to Saturday which makes sense.

The Seattle Mariners made a move where 

Carl Edwards Jr was placed on the injured 

list. Infielder Patrick Wisdom was designated

for assignment. He could be picked up by 

another team or placed back at the alternate

site. To be honest I thought he may have been

the player added to the taxi-squad. 

The Mariners wanted to take Wisdom off the

40-man roster. During the offseason the Mariners

signed him to a major contract. 

The Mariners acquired pitcher Brady Lail a right

handed reliever from the Chicago White Sox

on waivers. The reason Wisdom is off the 40-man

roster. They recalled pitcher Bryan Shaw from

alternate training camp. I hope he doesn't make

any appearances on this eight game road trip.

The Seahawks made a couple moves on their 

80 man roster. I will mention it on Wednesday

if there is any other moves made. Also, I will

go over the offensive line. 

 

Mariners Win Final Game of Series

The Seattle Mariners beat the Colorado
Rockies in the final game of the series
after losing the first two games.

Justus Sheffield pitched a good game 

going six innings  giving up four hits,

no walks, no runs and seven strike outs.

It was his first win in the major leagues

along with his best game so far.

The Mariners got off with JP Crawford

having a hit followed by a two run homer

by Dylan Moore to leadoff the game in

the first inning.

The game stayed that way until the bottom

of the seventh inning when the Mariners 

scored three more runs. Kyle Lewis got on

with a single followed by a walk to Kyle Seager.

They moved along going to third and second

base then Evan White hit a sacrifice fly to

score Lewis then Seager scored on a Tim

Lopes hit. 

The top of the eighth inning things got interesting

when the Rockies scored three runs all earned

off of reliever Dan Altavilla. Taylor Williams

came in to finish off the eighth and recorded

the save in the ninth. It was Williams third

save on the season. 

Altavilla has the talent to be a good reliever 

however he isn't able to pitch well in consecutive

games it looks like. Williams though he hasn't

pitched well all the time he seems to be one of

the best on the Mariners. 

Now the Mariners head to Arlington to take on

the Texas Rangers. The Rangers have played well

at home with a record of 5-3 but has had trouble 

on the road at 1-5. With a total record of 6-8 they

are second place behind the Oakland A's who have

a record of 12-4. The A's lead the Rangers by five

games.

The Houston Astros are 6-9 one game ahead of the

Mariners despite they beat the  Mariners 3 out of 4

in  the first series in Houston on the season. The

Mariners are in fourth place while the Angels are

5-11 a half game behind the Mariners. Amazing to

think for sure.

Mariners Offense Continues To Struggle

Saturday night the Seattle Mariners were able

get one hit on the night by shortstop JP Crawford.

It was a single and he didn't stay on the base paths

long. The Mariners ended up losing 5-0.

Nick Margevicius made his first start for the

Mariners taking the spot of Kendall Graveman

who is on the injured with a bad neck. Nick

actually pitched well going three and a third

innings giving up no runs on three hits, one

walk and three strike outs.

The trouble happened when Anthony Misiewicz

came in. He was able to get out of the fourth inning. 

In the fifth inning he gave up a couple runs. At

that point the Mariners were okay but Joey

Gerber in his third outing since being called up

when Graveman went on the injured list gave

up two runs in the fifth inning well as another

in the sixth inning. 

The Mariners were able to shut out the Colorado

Rockies the rest of the way however they couldn't

get a single hit themselves.

Veteran right fielder Charlie Blackmon was the

big culprit having three hits and driving in three

runs Two of the hits were doubles. It was the

second straight game Blackmon did a number

on the Mariners. 

The Mariners will have Justus Sheffield on the 

mound Sunday afternoon. We have to see whether

he can stop the bleeding and go five or six innings.

The Mariners will be going on the road this coming

week to Arlington Texas to take on the Rangers in

a three game series in their new stadium which has

a retrackable  roof like T-Mobile Park. 

The Mariners will have a day off finally on Thursday

then play the Houston Astros Friday thru Sunday then

move on to LA to take on the Dodgers. See if the

Mariners offense can turn around along with their

bullpen. A lot to ask for. Go M's. 

Mariners Continue To Struggle At Home

It seems the Mariners continue to struggle at

home especially at the beginning of the season.

The Seattle Mariners lost Friday night to the

Colorado Rockies in the first game of the series

8-4 making the homestand 2-6.

Like many of the games the Mariners were in

it for some time. Yusei Kikuchi was pitching

well early than got into trouble in the third

inning giving up a couple runs. He rebounded

pitching well in the fourth  and fifth inning but

ran out of steam. 

The Mariners were behind 2-1 going into the

sixth inning then Kikuchi gave up a couple

more runs. The Mariners were able to get 

close again when Austin Nola hit a two-run

home run in the bottom of the sixth inning

with the Rockies ahead 4-3.

Erik Swanson gave up a soo home run in the

seventh inning then Yohan Ramirez gave up 

two home runs for the Rockies to score three

more to put the game out of reach pretty much.

The bullpen continues to struggle especially 

giving up home runs. It isn't only the relievers

giving up home runs the starters seem to do so

as well although Kikuchi didn't on Friday night.

I am not sure why but Ramirez hasn't pitched in

a while so not a big surprise he give up two home

runs. I think they need to pitch him more often

especially when they are behind. He had pitched

well in previous outings.

The Mariners had nine hits on the night. Besides

Nola's home run Kyle Seager continues to hit well

having two hits and Kyle Lewis had a hit to continue

his current hitting streak to three. 

At the bottom of the order Dee Gordon had a hit

and Mallex Smith had two. Both of them had been

struggling at the plate being way below .200. We 

hope last night's game will get them both going.

Saturday night Nick Margevicius will be making

his first start of the season for the Mariners in 

place of Kendall Graveman who went on the 

injured list having a neck problem. Right now

not sure when he will return. 

Margevicius the Mariners acquired from the

San Diego Padres during the off-season. He has

been in the Mariners bullpen this season, however,

has appeared in only three games going five innings

with an era of 5.40.

With the Padres he started 12 out of 17 games last

year after being called up from double-A. I don't

expect Margevicius will go long in this game. 

So the bullpen will get some action too.

The Mariners are 5-10 five and a half games by

Western division leader Oakland.  They are only

a half game behind the LA Angels and the Texas

Rangers. We see them on the next road trip.

As we know this is a rebuilding year for the Mariners.

The importance they get better as the season

goes along. Right now they lack in the bullpen

and the offense is struggling a lot as well especially

in the bottom of the order. We will see how things

continue to go. 

 

The Kraken and Seahawks Make News Today

The Seattle Kraken the new NHL hockey team

announced Friday who will be their broadcaster

for the first season next year. Also, a couple of

guys to the team as well.

Everett Fitzhugh has been around the sport for

a few years, however, he is going to be the 

Kraken first play by play broadcaster. What 

really amazing he will be the first black man

to broadcast in NHL. What a great thing for

him and the team.

The Kraken announced two other guys as 

well in Jonny Greco and Lamont Buford in

game presentation. Not sure what that really

entails however they will be part of what

Fitzhugh will do.

Not sure whether Fitzhugh will be on radio

or television but we will see. This means 

in the near future we will find out what

station will have the broadcasting rights

as well. 

News came out Seahawk cornerback 

Quinton Dunbar the robbery charges

in Florida were dropped. He should be 

back on the Seahawks squad soon.

This means the Seahawks defensive

backfield will be stronger than it has

been.  

The Seahawks Nickel on defensive is

coming back to after the linebackers

played  over ninety percent of the time.

We will see whether Dunbar will have

a spot where Marquise Blair was 

considered a favorite in the nickel.

All we know the defensive backfield

will be stronger than last year. Not

where Richard Sherman, Thomas and

Kam Chancellor were the big three 

with the legion of doom but better still.

Angels Take Series

Thursday afternoon the Mariners played the

final game against the LA Angels at home.

Taijuan Walker pitched for the home team

Mariners. Unfortunately he didn't have the

same outing as his previous one.

The Angels took the series two games to one

so they are tied 3-3 on the series. The Mariners

will have a final series later on in Anaheim.

For some reason the Mariners play the Angels

better on the road than at home.  They aren't

the only team that works out that way.

The final score was 6-1. Amazing thing Mike

Trout had only one hit on the day. Japanese

sensation Ohtani hit a three run homer in the

fourth inning to break open the game.

The Mariners only run was a home run by

dh Daniel Vogelbach his first of the season

in the fourth inning. By the way, it was his

only hit of the game. He is batting .125 on

the season so far.

The rosters were reduced to 28 on Thursday 

so the Mariners sent Bryan Shaw and Jose

Marmolejos back to alternate training camp.

At least we know the opposition won't hit a

lot and score a lot against Shaw. It will allow

the Mariners to be in closer games though 

Thursday wasn't one of them. 

The Mariners finish off the home stand over

the weekend against the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies seem to have the Mariners number

in recent years. We hope the Mariners can turn

it around.

Next Monday they will start a three game series

in Texas against the Rangers followed by the final

time in Houston against the Astros next weekend.

The finish the road trip playing two against the

LA Dodgers before coming home to take on the 

Dodgers again for two.

Mariners End Losing Streak

Though the Seattle Mariners shouldn't have

been in a four game losing streak they were.

It had to do with poor relief pitching and lack

of offense which seems to be a trade mark

for the Mariners this season.

It didn't help Mike Trout was most of the

LA Angels offense on Tuesday night hitting

two runs with the second one being a three-

run homer in the eighth inning. 

Taylor Williams who gave up Trout's 

second homer of the night actually threw

him a pretty good pitch on the outside 

corner. How Trout was able to pull the

ball for a home run into the upper deck

in left field is hard to explain.

Marco Gonzales gave up three hits in 

seven innings. Unfortunately all three

were home runs including Trout's first

home run on the evening.

Besides winning the game 7-6 the highlight

of the game was Kyle Seager's 200th career

home run. It was a three-run homer helping

the Mariners to win the game.

After ending his hitting streak on Monday

Kyle Lewis is back to hitting. Had two more

hits on Wednesday giving him now a two-game

hitting streak.

Thursday's game will be the last against the

Angels at home this season. It is a day game

to allow the Angels to travel. Taijuan Walker

will be pitching for the Mariners. We see he

can match his last outing.

It looks like Kendall Graveman will be out

longer than I thought with the problem of 

his neck. He may miss more than two starts.

It is too bad he was looking good on the mound

in his two starts. 

Mariners Heading Into Game 2 Against Angels

The Seattle Mariners lost their fourth game in

a row Tuesday night losing the first game of the

three game series against the LA Angels.

The Mariners are now at 4-8. Justin Dunn

struggled in the first inning walking a batter

besides giving up home runs to Mike Trout 

back from maternity leave and Luis Pujols.

Why they would pitch to either guy is beyond

me especially early on in the game. Trout has

77 career home runs in the first inning.

Dunn gave up only one more hit after the

first inning. He ended up going four innings

walking four batters and striking out four.

Carl Edwards Jr pitched one inning in the

fifth. One of the best choices to come in

for the starter over the last several games.

He didn't give up a hit in his one inning.  

Joey Gerber called up made his first 

appearance on the season going for

an inning as well.

The Mariners scored a run in each inning

the sixth, seventh, and eighth. The seventh

inning Dylan Moore hit a home run. He had

two hits on the night. He is the only hitter

in the bottom four of the order to get any

hits. They are killing the Mariners in that

order. 

Erik Swanson recently called up gave up

a two run home run in the seventh inning

to make difference in the game. All five

runs the Angels scored were because of

home runs. 

Marco Gonzales starts tonight against

the Angels as the Mariners begin their 

third time through the rotation. Kendall

Graveman will miss his turn as he went

on the injured list. It will be interesting 

to see whether the Mariners will replace

him in the rotation or they go to a five

man rotation until he comes back. He 

should only miss one turn though two

on the outside. 

My opinion I would go with the five

man rotation. Why interrupt the rotation

with someone who hasn't started a game

yet unless you want to give a pitcher

some experience starting. It wouldn't

hurt since the bullpen hasn't been doing

so well for the most part.

Speaking about the bullpen use four 

pitchers for the most part  with an occasion

on the other guys on the staff. Bryan Shaw

still on the team I have no idea other than

using him when the Mariners are down

four runs or more. 

Seahawk Wednesday

We will be going over the possibilities of

tight ends this week, however, first training

camp began on Monday. Right now training

camp is different than usual as we know 

because of Covid-19.

The Seahawks are going through strength

and conditioning for the most part over the

next couple weeks. 

Pete Carroll answered questions on his 

news conference opening up training camp

on Monday. 

Now the look at the tight ends. 

Will Dissly is back again after missing 

most of last season over an injury for 

the second straight season. He was 

mentioned in the press conference

where Pete Carroll said he was in

excellent condition.

The Seahawks signed veteran Greg 

Olsen during the off-season. It seemed

the Seahawks played against him and

Carolina every single season though 

not in the same division. He did quite

well against the Seahawks. I figure 

it should shave some points off when

playing Carolina. 

Olsen is expected to become an analyst

on TV when his career ends. This could

be his only year in Seattle unless he 

plays exceptional where another look nice.

There is a good possibility the Seahawks

may start both Dissly and Olsen  going with

a two tight end set. If not we will see them

on running downs for sure. 

Jake Hollister had a fine season last year

after the Seahawks lost Dissly. He was 

awarded with a new contract during the

off-season. Most likely we will see Hollister

on passing downs coming out of the slot.

Last season Hollister became one of Russell

Wilson's favorite receivers. We wish him

the best for sure.

Colby Parkinson rookie out of Stanford 

was drafted in the fourth round by the 

Seahawks. He had surgery during the 

off-season so he will miss the beginning

of the season. At his return he could come

in as a third tight end on running plays.

I am sure the Seahawks will bring him

along gently.

Luke Willson was brought back last season

when Will Dissly was hurt. He ended up

playing mainly special teams though did

play when they went to two tight ends.

The chances are likely he won't make the

team unless one or more of the Seahawks

tight ends are injured.

The thing about Willson though he is a 

fun guy to have around because of his

sense of humor.

The final tight end is Tyler Mabry a rookie

free agent out of Maryland signed by the

Seahawks in May. Most likely Mabry will

start the season on the practice squad. Without

any pre-season games seeing him on the

field during training camp won't happen 

a lot. I am sure he will get some reps but

likely with the group going to practice

squad with him.

Next week we will look at the final group

on the roster which is the offensive linemen.

After that the Seahawks will be in the middle

of training camp so we will see who have

been doing the best during camp. Go Hawks!

The Bullpen And Servais

Monday night the Mariners showed against

the Oakland A's the bullpen isn't very good

or the choice manager Scott Servais is making

not good or both.

Justus Sheffield pitched well for four innings

then struggled in the fifth inning. He ha a one

hitter going into the fifth inning. He ended up

loading the bases after a couple runs had scored.

The Mariners still had a chance, however, 

Servais brought in Bryan Shaw who hasn't

shown anything so far. In fact why is he on

the team still. By the time the fifth inning was

over the A's were leading 8-1.

The final score ended up being 11-1. Nestor

Cortes pitched the last two innings giving up

the final run. Though he hasn't done well why

not have him come in for Sheffield. At least

the Mariners acquired him in a trade instead

of someone they picked up off the waiver wire

whose best days are behind him.

The way the bullpen has been working so far

there seems to me no reason to have setup relievers

you might as well use them when taking out the

starter.

The Mariners could have used the choices of 

Matt Magill, Erik Swanson, Taylor Williams,

Yohan Ramirez instead of Shaw. If Shaw is

going to be on the team use him when they are

down 8-1 not making it 8-1. For us the fans and

media let's just release Shaw he doesn't have any

thing left. 

Vogelbach In Or Out

It has been a while since Dan Vogelbach

has been hitting. The Mariners need to 

get some home runs out of him or at least

more than two hits.

Obviously Vogelbach is struggling at the

plate. The Mariners gave him a few days

off but he has only two hits in seventeen

at bats. 

He has been a fan favorite but how long

should the Mariners hold onto him? I don't

really see him being part of the rebuilding

process.

At this point he is the Mariners designated

hitter. Evan White is the everyday first 

baseman. It would be nice  to put Vogelbach

on the field once in a while when White

needs a day off.

I don't think it helps when you are struggling

at the plate have to sit on the bench until

your next at bat. Some time on the field

would help.

We hope he gets back into it so the Mariners

have another player with power.

The days maybe numbered. What do you think?

Another Good Mariners Still Lose

Kendall Graveman pitched well not as good

as his other starting pitchers in the second 

time around. 

Graveman pitched into the fifth inning when

he got in some trouble. He gave up two runs

on three hits.

Dan Vogelbach was able to get a hit in the 

first inning to drive in Dylan Moore to take

early lead.

The difference in the game was rookie Anthony

Misiewicz giving up a three run homer when

he relieved Graveman.  Second three run homer

in consecutive game he pitched.  I wonder how

long he is going to stick around.

Kyle Lewis extended his hitting streak with

a home run to get the Mariners within reach

in the 8th inning. 

Kyle Seager who didn't start the game pinch

hit with two outs with a runner on first base

was able to produce and ended the game.

Monday the Mariners will face the A's in the

final game of the season. The Mariners will

see if they equal the series. Justus Sheffield 

will be on the mound.

The Mariners need the offense to wake up

again after being a sleep for two games. 

Mariners Lose Despite Kikuchi's Performance

Yusei Kikuchi in his second outing of the season

followed up what with a good performance unfortunately

the Mariners bullpen and lack of offense didn't help.

The Mariners ended losing 3-2 in ten innings after

leading 2-0.  Kikuchi went six innings giving up 

only three hits, a walk while striking out nine. 

This took place after Gonzales and Walker each

pitched outstanding games to. Fortunately Gonzales

and Walker the Mariners won those games.

The Mariners scored the two runs in the third inning.

Kyle Seager drove in both runs with JP Crawford

and Austin Nola. Seager now has ten rbi's on the

season while Nola was the only hitter for the Mariners

with more than one hit. Kyle Lewis was able to 

extend his hitting streak with a single.

Kyle Seager was the cleanup hitter on the night, 

however, none of the hitters after him were able

to get a hit on the night.  Only Evan White got on

base with a walk.

Kendall Graveman starts Sunday afternoon for

the Mariners. We are hoping to see him have

an outing like the other three starters as well.

Chad Pinder A's second baseman tied the game

in the seventh inning hitting a two-run homer

off of rookie reliever Nick Margevicius. 

For the first time able to see the new rule for

extra innings where the first batter goes to

2nd. Dan Altavilla pitching gave up a double

to pinch hitter Robbie Grossman scoring 

pinch runner Tony Kemp.

Unfortunately the Mariners were unable to

duplicate the feat in the bottom of the 10th.

So there goes a game the Mariners should 

have won.