Mariners Lose Opener To Jays

 Blue Jays 9 Mariners 3

Key Takeaway

The Blue Jays hit two three-run
homers in the sixth and seventh
inning right after Ty France hit
a three-run homer to tie the game
at three in the top of the sixth.

We know the Blue Jays have 

power throughout their lineup

so for the Mariners to have any

chance to win the remaining two

games in the series they must 

keep hitters off the bases before

any home runs happen to get a 

chance to win.

Relief pitching: for the most part

the bullpen has done a better job

then we expected before the season

began. In fact, they were near the

top going into May then injuries 

happened.  Rafael Montero and 

Will Vest gave up the two three-run

homers. Both have era's over eleven

for the month of June. Vest the

Mariners picked up in the rule 5

draft so he is easy to say thanks

and move on. Montero on the other

hand the Mariners traded with the

Texas Rangers to get him. The

Mariners didn't give up much for

him. So let's say it was a bad trade

which the team is going to have

at times so time to let loose as

well. Montero originally the closer

but Kendall Graveman is in the 

role now. Since the Mariners are

in rebuild status what is the point

to keep Montero. 

The Mariners recently sent down

Keynan Middleton to Tacoma. He

was a bigger acquisition then Montero

since he was signed as a free agent.

Not sure if Montero has options or 

not in any case if they think they

can salvage something out of him

they can send him down. If he 

has to go through waivers so be it.

Maybe working on what is his

trouble in Tacoma will get him

back on board. Whatever the

case he doesn't deserve to be

on the roster at this time. One

man's opinion anyway.

Justus Sheffield starts Wednesday

for the Mariners. Oh by the way 

the game will be on You Tube and

not on Roots. Sheffield has been

struggling all season however in

June in four starts he is 1-3 with an

era of 7.58. Also, he has pitched 

only 19 innings so he is averaging

just under five innings per start.

What do the Mariners do with

Sheffield if he struggles again

in this start. Quite a dilemma 

since who pitches in his place. 

You look at triple-A Tacoma 

there really isn't anyone. 

The Hector Santiago saga he 

suspended by major league

baseball for using an illegal

substance. He is appealing the

suspension. We will see what

happens since he is the first

pitcher to be tossed out of a

game and being suspended.

I suppose this means he can 

still pitch I guess for the time

being. He said he was using

rosin which is legal and it was

a hot day so sweat was involved

as well. Anyway stay tuned.  

 

Mariner News and More

News came out on Monday Julio Rodriguez is
moving up in the Mariner system. The Mariners
number two prospect has spent this minor league
season so far at high level Everett where he has
been hitting in the three hundreds.

Before the season general manager Jerry Dipoto

said that Rodriguez wouldn't be in Everett all

year and he is right. Rodriguez is being promoted

to double-A Arkansas. It will be interesting to 

see how he does there as well. Also, Rodriguez

is on the Dominican Republic Olympic team 

so in July he likely will spending time playing

baseball in Tokyo Japan. I do hope we will

get a chance to Rodriguez play. 

There is a possibility we may see Rodriguez

in a Mariner uniform in September. How much

he plays I expect will depend on how the Mariners

are playing at the time. Other words, will they

be in playoff contention or eliminated. 

I have heard talk Jarred Kelenic may be called

up again after the all-star break. It will be 

interesting to see how he does the second 

time around. Whose spot he takes is anyone's

guess right now.

News came out by the NHL the Kraken's 

expansion draft on June 21 will be televised

on ESPN. It will be interesting to see who

maybe some of the faces on the first season

of the Kraken. 

Back to Mariners they will have three game

series starting on Tuesday in Buffalo New

York taking on the Toronto Blue Jays. They 

will return for a three-game series against

the Texas Rangers who have been struggling

and dead last in the American League West

by a good margin.

After the Rangers series they have next Monday

off before taking on the New York Yankees in

a three game series followed by the Los Angeles

Angels before having all-star break. It will be

interesting to see who the Mariners representative

for the all-star team. JP Crawford having a great

June could be the representative or right fielder

Mitch Haniger. As far as pitching goes Yusei

Kikuchi could be a representative or at least

he will be considered anyway. 

Other news on the Mariner front Robert Dugger

who started the second game on Sunday is being

sent back to Tacoma. Also, reliever Erik Swanson

will be doing a rehab assignment in Tacoma as

well. Depending on the bullpen we could see

Swanson right after the all-star break or before 

if circumstances permit it. 

News On the Kraken

The expansion draft and the NHL draft
are almost three weeks away the Kraken
made another announcement according
to the Seattle Times.

Shortly after announcing they were applying

for an expansion franchise in the NHL the

Kraken said  they would have a minor league

team in Palm Springs, California in the 

American Hockey League. The team is now

being delayed for a year because the construction

of a hockey arena in Palm Spring has been 

delayed. So won't be ready until next year.

So they are going to share an affiliate with

the Florida Panthers in the American Hockey

League. The team is the Charlotte Checkers.

General manager Ron Francis and other 

members of the Kraken staff are familiar

with the Checkers in the past. The Kraken

will have about 12 players going to play for

the Checkers. Some of the players in the

expansion draft the Kraken choose from will

be there along with many of those from the

NHL draft will be on the team as well.

The expansion draft the Kraken will take one

player from each of the other 31 teams.  Every

team in the NHL has 20 roster spot not counting

those on the injured list. So could see like 

ten players from the expansion draft possibly.

The Kraken will be able to sign free agents as

well. How many that will be have no idea at 

this time. 

It will be interesting to see the Kraken how they

build their team. I am sure they want to be a 

success as fast as possible. Go Kraken!

Washington Huskies Football team camp starts

in almost a month on July 27. See how the 

competition will go there. Exciting times coming

for sure. 

The Mariners Outfield

With the Mariners having a day off
decided to write about their outfield.
With Kyle Lewis on the injured list
they have three outfielders listed on
the roster in Jake Fraley, Taylor
Trammell, and Mitch Haniger.

Currently the Mariners have to use

infielders like Jake Bauers, Shed Long

Jr. and Dylan Moore in the outfield

when Haniger or Fraley are dhing.

Again in the first game on Sunday

Taylor Trammell showed his talent

by hitting two homers to win the 

game for the Mariners along with

a great catch in the bottom of the

ninth inning which could have been

disaster if he hadn't caught it.

The nice thing is all three of the

outfielders can play centerfield 

well as left and right. Haniger for

the most part is in right field.

The reason I say that is when Kyle

Lewis returns should he be back

in center field. Is his value too much

to take a risk? I guess we will find

out on his return. With Haniger in

right field the logic would be to put

Lewis in left field while Fraley and

Trammell can play center field.

This all comes down to when Jarred

Kelenic is recalled. Sounds like the

Mariners would put him in center

field. 

In the next couple years we will see

Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez in the

outfield as long as they can hit major

league pitching that is. I think most

experts would say yes.

So should the Mariners sign Haniger

to extension or not? Should he be

traded. A hard question for sure. This

would mean Haniger or Rodriguez in

right field while Kelenic is in center field

and Kyle Lewis in left. One of the four

would dh on a given day. 

This would mean Trammell and Fraley

both would be traded. This is a good 

dilemma to have. On the other hand do

they trade Haniger before or after signing

a new contract. He could have a no-trade

clause as well.

To trade Trammell and Fraley they would

have to show they have been able to hit

major league pitching or no value would

happen. 

The Mariners could use a second baseman.

At this point in the rebuilding they don't

have a second baseman in the horizon unlike

the outfield. Also, this likely the last season

of Kyle Seager the Mariners will have the

option of having Ty France playing third

base unless they go out trade or sign a

third baseman. 

The Mariners do have Dylan Moore and

Shed Long Jr who can play second base

but neither have shown they can be at the

position on a regular basis. 

At least we can see the outfield should be

in good hands as long as guys beyond 

Haniger and Lewis can hit major league

pitching. We know they can all play good

defense which the outfield didn't show 

back in 2019.  Go M's. 

Mariners-White Sox split double-header

 Game 1

Mariners 3 White Sox 2

Player of the game: Taylor Trammell no
doubt he hit two home runs including the
winning run in the 9th inning. Also, Taylor
caught a ball deep that could have cost
the Mariners the game too in the bottom

of the ninth.

Mariner pitcher: Hector Santiago came in

to take over the suspended game in the

third game. Santiago left in the fifth inning

with one out. With the new rules checking

to see whether he had any substance he 

became the first pitcher to be caught. 

Santiago looked chocked to say the least.

More news will come out likely on Monday

whether he will be suspended or not. If so

he will miss ten games and the Mariners

won't be able to use another pitcher in his

spot. 

Though he didn't score any runs Mitch Haniger

had a could hits in the game as well.

Game 2 

White Sox 7 Mariners 5

Robert Dugger opener in place of Marco

Gonzales who came back to Seattle to take

care of his wife. Dugger brought up from

Tacoma gave up three runs in two and two-thirds

innings. 

Will Vest and Rafael Montero both continued

to struggle on the mound each giving up two

runs coming in after Dugger.

The Mariners rebound scoring three runs on a

homer by Mitch Haniger in the seventh inning.

Since the game was only going seven innings 

the Mariners came up short. At least they took

two out of three games from the White Sox.

The Mariners only had four hits in the second

game. Besides Haniger's two hits, Dylan Moore

and Jake Fraley had the other two hits.

The Mariner now head to Buffalo New York

to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. They play a

three game series. Chris Flexen who has pitched

outstanding in his last two starts will pitch on

Tuesday after the Mariners have a day off on

Monday. Justus Sheffield who has struggled

recently will take the mound on Wednesday. 

Yusei Kikuchi finishes the season Thursday

so hopefully the Mariners will be able to take

two from Toronto as well.

The Blue Jays are in third place of the American

League East with a 40-36 just ahead of the Yankees

and behind the Red Sox and the Rays. We hope the

Mariners can make a mess in that division. Go M's. 

Mariners-White Sox Middle Game Suspended

The game Saturday between the Mariners
and White Sox was suspended in bottom of
third inning at 0-0 so action action will
resume on Sunday at that point.

Hard to know whether both pitchers 

starting Saturday will resume on Sunday.

The Mariners are trying to limit Gilbert's

pitch count so he likely won't pick up

where he left off. Marco Gonzales who

was scheduled for Sunday's game the

Mariners could have take over in the

suspended game. It will not happen now

as he has returned to Seattle for the birth

of his first child. Congratulations! Now

hard to know who will pitch in either 

game at this point. 

The second game the original one 

scheduled for Sunday is now supposed 

to go seven innings. The Mariners and 

White Sox may decide to go with relievers 

in that game. Each team could decide 

to go with three or four relievers depending

 how things go.

The lineups will likely stay the same in

the first game then change slightly in the

second one. Mitch Haniger who started

the game Saturday in right field will

probably dh in the second game since

the Mariners will not want him to overdue

himself. Tom Murphy will probably catch

the second game as Luis Torrens was 

behind the plate on Saturday's game. 

Since Ty France who is still having issues

since coming off the injured list and Jake

Fraley as well we could see neither one in

the second game except as pinch hitters. 

Taylor Trammell who started in center field

may play the same place in the second game

too since the Mariners have limited regular

outfielders since the roster only shows

Trammell, Fraley and Haniger as outfielders.

Shed Long Jr who started at second base 

on Saturday could play left field in the

second game. Donovan Walton could start

at second and Dylan Moore in right field

in the second game. It will be interesting

the match ups manager Scott Servais 

decides to do.

We have heard from general manager Jerry

Dipoto about bringing up prize catching

prospect Cal Raleigh who has been well

in Tacoma. Recently he snapped a 23-game

hitting streak. Though he has done well

Dipoto likes the job the two catchers ahead

of him have been doing recently as well in

Tom Murphy and Luis Torrens. Murphy 

has hit well against lefties and on Friday

night Torrens hit two home runs though

he was dhing in the game. Most likely at

this time they will share the catching duties.

Murphy as I have said hits lefties well so

he will catch against them while Torrens

will against some righties at least. Both

can be in the lineup against lefties.

At some point this summer and it could be

after the all-star game which comes up in

about two weeks. If Raleigh is still hitting

well which looks like will happen the Mariners

probably won't have any choice but to bring 

him up. If either Torrens or Murphy do falter

the chances are even greater. The Mariners 

could go with three catchers as they had 

done earlier on. 

It doesn't look like Evan White will be back

anytime soon. Recently first base has been

occupied by Ty France and sometimes Jake

Bauers who has played some outfield as well.

If the Mariners decide to bring up Raleigh

keeping Murphy and Torrens as well it will

be interesting on how it will all work out.

Raleigh has played a little first base and so

has Torrens so one or both could play there

at some point to. Again Murphy will play

catcher against lefties. Raleigh is a switch

hitter so doesn't matter whether he faces

righties or lefties. It could come down to

how well he does face them in the majors.

The Mariners could trade either Murphy or

Torrens as well before the trading deadline.

Stay tuned. One thing we do know Raleigh

will be on the roster in 2022. 

Mariners Win Series Opener

 Mariners 9 White Sox 3

Take Away: The best thing a ball club
can do is win the first game of a series
especially on the road and the Mariners
did so in Chicago. The offense came
alive for sure.

Player of the game: Luis Torrens who 

has hit well since being recalled to

Seattle hit two home runs both being

the two-run variety. He put the Mariners

up 2-0 in the second inning though

Yasmini Grandal hit a solo in the bottom

of the second. The closest the White Sox

got for the game.

The Mariners got a run in the third then

in the sixth inning Jake Fraley hit a two-

run homer himself. Torrens second homer

was in the seventh inning. The Mariners

added on a run in both the eighth and ninth

as well. Neither was by the home run variety.

Pitcher of the game: Yusei Kikuchi pitched

well like he has in recent games going five

and two-thirds giving up two hits, one run

the homer in the second, four walks while

striking out six. Kikuchi left partly by being

tired but also the strike zone by the home

plate umpire.  

JT Chargois came in with two runners on

base with Jose Abreu coming up to bat.

Chargois was able to get Abreu on three

pitches. Drew Steckenrider pitched a good

seventh inning. Rafael Montero continued

to struggle giving up two runs. Saving grace

was able to get the Sox on a double play

and striking out the last hitter of the inning.

Paul Sewald who has been pitching well

of late struck out the side in the ninth.

Luis Torrens since being recalled on June

15th is hitting .375 for the month with

five home runs and nine rbi's. Pretty good

for someone who got off to a poor start 

and had to be sent down to Tacoma. 

Besides Torrens the Mariners had four other

hitters to have two hits in the game. JP

Crawford, Mitch Haniger, Jake Bauer and

Dylan Moore. 

Logan Gilbert will be going for the Mariners

in Saturday's afternoon game against Lance

Lynn who is having a good season and did

a fine job against the Mariners the first time

out. We hope the Mariners can get to Lynn

this time out. Lynn has a 7-3 record with 

ERA of 2.14. Pretty good for a starter. 

The Mariners have nine relievers to go along

with five starters as Justin Dunn is on the 

injured list. The Mariners haven't announced

yet who will pitch in the series against the

Toronto Blue Jays. Since Monday is off-day

they can go with a five-man rotation.  Don't

really have to change until Justin Dunn is

back or after the all-star break. 

Seattle Kraken Name Head Coach

The Seattle Kraken becoming a member
of the NHL this coming season announced
their first head coach on Thursday in Dave
Hakstol.

The Kraken are about a month away in 

getting their players with the expansion

draft along with the regular draft. The

Kraken will pick one player from each 

of the existing teams in the NHL. Each

team will have a list of players they can

protect so the Kraken will be able to pick

among the rest of the players. They will

have the second pick in the NHL draft.

Also, they will be able to sign any free

agent players as well.

I am sure just like me you may never 

heard of Dave Hakstol. I did a search

and found a story on ESPN. Hakstol

spent the last two years as an assistant

coach with Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Before that he was the head coach of

the Philadelphia Flyers for three and

a half years when he was fired. It will

be nice to see a coach that has head

coaching experience to bring this team

alive right away. 

ESPN noted Hakstol and general 

manager Ron Francis have had

experience with one another both

being part of Hockey Canada. 

Hakstol had a winning record with

the Flyers though he was fired by

them. His record during the three

and a half years was 134-101-42.

He took the Flyers to the playoffs

twice.

The Kraken did interview several

candidates for the position, however,

felt Hakstol was the best fit. Welcome

to Seattle and may we see success

right away. Go Kraken!

Mariners Five-Game Win Streak Ends

 Colorado 5 Seattle 2

The Seattle Mariners five game winning streak
ended Wednesday afternoon. One good question
will they be able to get back on winning track
when they have three-game series in Chicago
or go back to being inconsistent. We will see
won't we.

Justus Sheffield pitched another poor game. I 

expect he was the last starter who lost before

this winning streak. Sheffield hasn't figured 

things out lately and isn't pitching anything

close to last year. The question is whether 

he will recover or not. Sheffield has been

working on the sidelines between starts

the thing is can he get back to where he

was at the very least. If not what will his

future look like in Seattle. Is he a starter

or have to go into the bullpen? We will

see I guess.

Mariners offense continues to struggle.

The team only had four hits in the game.

JP Crawford hitting well this month got

the first hit of the game in the sixth inning.

Taylor Trammell hit a home run to put the 

Mariners within two at 3-1 in the seventh

inning. 

Pitcher of the game: German Marquez 

went eight innings for the Rockies 

giving up two hits on the day including

the home run by Trammell.

The 9th inning Crawford hit a double with

one out. He went to third because the 

Rockies had a shift on with Kyle Seager

on base after Mitch Haniger went out.

Seager got the fourth hit by bunting down

third base since the pitcher was the only

one had a change to reach it and Crawford 

scored. 

The game did become interesting because 

Ty France was walked meaning Jake Bauers

was the tying run coming to the plate, however,

he ended the game. 

Yusei Kikuchi will start Friday's game against

the White Sox in Chicago. For the Mariners

to have success in the series Kikuchi will 

have to pitch the way he has been and the

offense to come alive. 

I am sure throughout the remainder of the

season things will only change if the 

Mariners can have more consistency on

the offense. The team can't depend on the

pitchers to do outstanding job to just 

win and the offense can't just what they 

did recently by scoring late in the games.

The team is bad state when Mitch Haniger

and Ty France are not hitting. I am not

mentioning Crawford because he has been

hitting all along or at least the last couple

months anyway. Whatever they get out of

Kyle Seager is a bonus. The series against

Tampa Bay and Rockies they got last 

innings heroics but can't expect that to

continue. The bottom of the batting order

needs to start stepping up on a regular

basis.  Go M's. 

Mariners Beat Rockies Tuesday

 Seattle 2 Colorado 1

Pitcher of the Game: Chris Flexen had another
fantastic game pitching for the Mariners on
Tuesday night. Flexen has done well on all
his pitches including the curve. Have to say

right now the Mariners number two starter

behind Yusei Kikuchi. Flexen went six and

two-thirds innings giving up four hits, a 

home run to CJ Cron in the seventh inning.

The bullpen again did a good job not giving

up a hit.

Player of the Game:  Shed Long Jr hit his

second home run in two games in the eighth

inning so it wasn't a walk-off but the next

best thing. 

The  Mariners had six hits on the night with

no players having more than one hit. 

Up next Wednesday afternoon the Mariners 

and Rockies play their second and last game

of the series. Justus  Sheffield will go for

the Mariners. We hope he does better than

he did in his last outing. A good thing the

Rockies have the worst record in the majors

on the road having only five wins while losing

28. A good sign for Sheffield. 

The Mariners will have Thursday off then have

a weekend series in Chicago against the White

Sox. Go M's. 

Sounders Undefeated

As the Seattle Mariners had a great
weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays
sweeping the series with three walk offs
wins and now being above .500 we
now look at the Sounders as the Mariners
had a Monday day off. The Mariners now
take Colorado Rockies for two-days 

before heading on the road.

The Sounders are undefeated early on

in the MLS season with a record of six

wins, three ties and no losses. 

Most seasons when they have won 

championships the Sounders get off

on a slow start but not this time.

Besides being undefeated and being

on top of the MLS Western Conference

they have scored 16 goals while only 

giving up 4 goals. It is the biggest

difference of goals for and against

in the whole MLS by a long shot.

The Sounders take on Real Salt

Lake on Wednesday in Utah followed

by Vancouver on the road as well

on Saturday. The Sounders win these

two games really puts them on the

map you may say. We wish them

the best. 

Mariners Sweep in 10th

 Mariners 6  Rays

Pitchers of the Day: Marco Gonzales 

went six and one-thirds innings giving

up five hits, walked three and striking 

out six. The bullpen did an outstanding

job not giving up a hit in three and 

two-thirds innings.  Gonzales was

behind 2-1 when he left the game in

the seventh inning, however, Ty France

the game with a home run. The Mariners

scored their first run in the third inning

making it 1-0 before Rays tied in sixth

inning before going ahead in the seventh.

Player of the game: Shed Long hit a 

grand slam in the bottom of the 10th

inning for a walk off win. Three of 

the four wins over the Rays were 

in walk off fashion. I am sure that

doesn't happen to often.  The Mariners

only had six games on the night. 

They are now 38-36 back in third

place of the American League West

after being in fourth for a short period

of time. 

This team: Outside of this being a

young team and in the process of

rebuilding right now it reminds me

of the 1995 team. We hope this 

continues the rest of the way. The

players are doing whatever it takes

to win and that is a good thing.

The Mariners have Monday off

before taking on the Colorado

Rockies for two in Seattle before

heading back on the road to Chicago

on Friday to take on the White Sox

then to Buffalo New York to face

the Toronto Blue Jays.

There were no transaction on Sunday

however it wouldn't surprise me

if the Mariners make one or two 

 before facing the Rockies. The 

nice thing the bullpen was not

over used in the Ray series and

with a day off on Monday I am 

sure all the top relievers will be

available on Tuesday. Go M's. 

Mariners Win in the 10th

The Seattle Mariners or the Steelhead for
the night beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-5.

Player of the game: JP Crawford who 

continues to be hot hit a grand slam 

home run in the second inning then 

scored the final run in the 10th inning

as the runner on second base when

Mitch Haniger hit the first pitch for

a single to win the game. The only

hit Haniger had on the night, however,

the perfect time.

Pitcher of the game: Logan Gilbert

went five and two-thirds innings. He

deserve the win though he didn't get 

it. He pitched well though giving up

six hits and four runs. Gilbert had no

walks and struck out seven. Two of

his hits went for a home run.

Mariners offense: It was too bad the

offense couldn't add on after the 2nd

inning, however, the team ended up 

winning in the 9th. Kyle Seager was

the only batter to have more than one

hit going 2 for 4 scoring a run. Since

being given a day off where he hit

in the winning run as a pinch hitter

in game one of the series Seager has

caught on fire after being in a slump.

This is usually when he starts hitting

better for a month or two. When he

is slumping either move him down

in the order or give him a day off

or do both. 

Sunday's starter: Marco Gonzales

Monday: Day off

Two Down and Two to Go

 Seattle 5 Tampa Bay 1

The Seattle Mariners got off
to a great start scoring four runs
in the first inning followed by
another run in the third which
was enough to beat the Rays.

The key in the game for the

second time in a row against

the Rays was hitting the ball

the other way. The Mariners

keep doing so it will be success

for them. One thing we know

the Mariners are not going to

hit a lot of home runs.

Pitcher of the game: Yusei Kikuchi

He continues to pitch well for the

Mariners. Kikuchi went seven innings

giving up four hits, one run, three

walks while striking out six.

It would be nice if he can cut down

on the walks but at least Kikuchi

didn't give up a home run in the

game. Kikuchi now has a 4-3 record.

It is nice to see the relievers were

able to keep the score at bay. It

helped Kikuchi the offense score

the four runs in the first inning as

well. It meant Kikuchi could go

after the Ray hitters without worry

to make mistakes.

Hitter of the game: Luis Torrens 

had two hits on the night driving

in two runs. The Mariners had 13

hits on the night. Ty France led

the team with three hits. Although

he didn't drive in any runs he did

score twice. JP Crawford continued

his hot hitting having two hits along

with Jake Bauers as well. It looks 

like Bauers is getting used to be in

a Mariner uniform.

Logan Gilbert will go for the Mariners

on Saturday night. Gilbert pitches like

he did in his last outing the Mariners

may win three in a row against the

Rays.

Transactions: It was a busy day for

the Mariners which has been happening

throughout the season. The Mariners 

sent catcher Jose Godoy back down 

to Tacoma after a good time in Seattle.

So the Mariners are back to Tom Murphy

and Luis Torrens as the two catchers.

Also, they placed Justin Dunn back on

the injured list after only lasting two

innings the day before. They called up

Yohan Ramirez from Tacoma along 

with Vinny Nittoli. 

What this means the Mariners will

likely go with an opener when Dunn's

spot comes up in the rotation. Nittoli

has experience in the minor leagues

to pitch multiple innings. This is some

thing the Mariners lack in the bullpen.

Depending what happens going into

Dunn's spot wouldn't be surprised if

Nittoli is the starter in the place of

Dunn since the Mariners are determined

to stay with a six-man rotation which

I don't think is necessary especially 

with several days off coming up. I

hope things change and we don't

see the six-man rotation until at

least after the all-star break. 

The Mariners will have a day off

this coming Monday before facing

the Colorado Rockies. The Mariners

will have Thursday off as well as they

go to Chicago to take on the White Sox.

They have Monday off after that before

going to Buffalo New York to take on

the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game

series. 

Walk Off Win For Mariners

 Mariners 6 Rays 5

Early Exit: Justin Dunn last only two
innings starting for the Mariners. He
had stiffness in his shoulder which  

landed him on the injury list before. 

Too bad Dunn was looking good. He
gave up one hit and no walks.

Bullpen: Not so good for the most

part though Paul Sewald and Hector

Santiago did a fine job to help the

Mariners gain the victory.

Walk off happen: Peter Fairbanks

Rays reliever trying to close the

game has had a good season but

Thursday night was not his for a

change. He walked Dylan Moore 

on four pitches then Jake Bauers

had a single up the middle. Luis

Torrens who was having a good

day with a home run and double

early tried to lay down a bunt. I

am not sure why he was asked

to bunt the way Fairbanks was 

pitching but the pitch was high

and he popped it up. Shed Long

hit the ball to left field scoring

Dylan Moore to tie the game.

Kyle Seager came in and pinch

hit for Taylor Trammel. Seager

had been given the day off for

the first time this season with

Ty France at third base. Seager

found a hole that drove in Bauers

for the win. Seager had been

struggling at the plate so I am 

sure be back in the lineup on

Friday however if he is not

hitting again maybe this is a

good time for him. 

Friday's game Yusei Kikuchi

will be starting for the Mariners.

Currently he is the ace so looks

good for opportunity to win 

another one.

Twins Avoid Sweep

 Minnesota 7 Seattle 2

Takeaways

Justus Sheffield: Rough outing for Justus.
He was working on his curve ball before
this outing after struggling most of the
season. Last year Justus had one of the
best curve balls in baseball. He gave up
all the runs the Twins had on the night.
Included a three-run homer from former
Mariner Nelson Cruz in the fifth inning.

Mitch Haniger: good news back in the

lineup after missing two games after 

being hit on the knee on Sunday's game.

Haniger was dh and hitting third in the

lineup. He was followed by Kyle Seager.

I am not sure why Seager is still batting

in the 4th spot or 3rd on occasion when

he is still struggling at the plate. The

Mariners had only five hits on the night

including one by Haniger. 

Ty France and Shed Long Jr: They each

drove in the Mariners two runs. France

drove in Haniger while Shed Long Jr

drove in France. France had a double

the only extra base hit in the game for

the Mariners.

New series: The Mariners now take on

the Tampa Bay Rays at home in a three

game series on Thursday. Justin Dunn

is expected to start Thursday against

Rich Hill. We hope better outing from

Dunn who went only three innings in

his last outing after missing a start and

going on the injured list.

Other local sports news: As the Seattle

Seahawks continue mandatory mini-camp

word came that left tackle Duane Brown

wants to extend his contract. Most likely

will happen though Brown is 36 years old

but still playing at a high level and the

Seahawks have no one to take his spot

at this time on the roster. 

Mariners Flexen Shuts Out Twins

 Seattle Mariners 10 Minnesota 0

Player of the Game: Chris Flexen
Flexen pitched his best game for
the Mariners and in his major
league career going eight innings
giving up only four hits, no walks
and striking out eight. Along the
way he saved the bullpen as well.

Other key players: JP Crawford 

hit a home run on the very first

pitch in the bottom of the first.

The Mariners added on four more

in the second. Crawford continues

hitting well having three hits on

the day.

Ty France had three hits on the 

day including a home run in the

8th inning to finish the Mariners

scoring on the night. Jake Bauers

had three hits as well as he continues

to hit well since being acquired by

the Mariners. Bauers again played

right field with Mitch Haniger on

the bench for the second straight

game after a hit off his knee took

him out of Sunday's game.

Luis Torrens and Shed Long both

had two hits on the night at the

bottom of the batting order. Torrens

dh in his first game back after being

called up on Monday. It included a

home run in the 7th inning. Long

had a triple that cleared the bases

in the second inning. He scored to

on a wild pitch. 

Transactions: The Mariner traded

righthanded reliever Yacksel Rios

who had made only a few appearances

for the Mariners after being traded

by the Tampa Bay Rays was shipped

to the Boston Red Sox for cash 

considerations. Also, traded international

player shortstop Andres Mesa to finish

the trade during the off-season for 

Rafael Montero with Texas Rangers.

I am sure some Mariner fans wouldn't

have minded if Montero had been 

traded back to Texas. lol

Other local sports news. Jamal Adams

is missing mandatory camp for personal

reasons. Adams will be going into his

last season on his contract so negotiations

will go forward to extend him. Won't be

easy since Adams will be asking for being

one of the top if not the top paying safety

in the NFL. I can't blame the guy for one

thing the Seahawks did trade three first

round draft picks for him. 

Mariners Win Opening Game of Series

 Seattle 4 Minnesota 3

Early on it looked like the Twins
would win. They were up 3-1
going into the bottom of the
5th when the Mariners scored
twice to tie.

Player of the Game: Jake Bauers

hit his first homer as a Mariner

the game winner in the bottom 

of the 8th inning. 

Starter: Marco Gonzales went

five innings giving up the three

runs two on solo home runs. 

Marco threw 91 pitches so he

should be able to go six innings

in his next outing hopefully.

Relievers: JT Chargois came in

for Marco went two innings for

the second time on the season.

He gave up two hits however

struck out three. The Twins hitters

couldn't handle his slider.

Paul Sewald followed giving up 

no hits. Had trouble fielding a

grounder going through his legs.

Fortunately it didn't hurt him or

the Mariners.

Drew Steckenrider pitched the

9th inning giving up no hits while

not striking out a batter. Recorded

his first save of the season. 

The rest of the bullpen should be

able to ready to go on Tuesday.

Tuesday's starter: Chris Flexen goes

for Mariners. He has had trouble

his last two outings, hopefully, 

will change things in this one.

Twins starter J Happ former 

Mariner. Has a 3-2 record with

an era of 5.75. Happ has been

struggling in June having an era

of 8.10 in his two starts. Actually

got off to a good start in April

but May and June terrible. Like

to see it continue at least for one

more game. 

Jake Fraley continues to do well.

Maybe he has finally has figured

out major league pitching.  I am

sure he will go through dry spell

at some point see how he handles

it. Monday he had two hits along

with two walks. He started the game

at dh but went in for defense purpose

late in game for Shed Long Jr. 

Transaction: The Mariners called up 

catcher Luis Torrens and optioned

pitcher Yohan Ramirez to Tacoma.

Ramirez didn't appear in a game

while in Tacoma for several games.

With Haniger possibly out for a few

games the Mariners need additional

help. The Mariners currently have

two outfielders listed in Jake Fraley

and Taylor Trammell. Bauers played

right field on Monday night. Torrens

listed as a catcher could play some

first base as he has done in Tacoma.

I am sure in the near future Jarred

Kelenic or Dillion Thomas will 

recalled even when Haniger returns

to have four outfielders. Kelenic 

had his second homer in two games

on Monday for the Tacoma Rainiers.

Other sports the Seattle Seahawks 

are in mandatory mini-camp. They

signed cornerback Will Sunderland

to add depth to the roster. Last season

he spent the season on the Indianapolis

Colts practice squad after being cut

by the Green Bay Packers where he

signed undrafted free agent contract.

Sunderland played his college career

at Troy. Wish the best for him. 

 

Mariners Win Final Game On Road

The Seattle Mariners began the road trip
splitting four games against the LA Angels,
however, had a terrible time in Detroit

losing two out of three to the Tigers then
losing the first two games against Cleveland.
Saturday's game should have been a win
before the bullpen blew it. Anyway they 

came back to win 6-2 on Sunday.

The Mariners for the second time were 

able to get to Shane Bieber while  Logan

Gilbert had another good outing. The 

way he is pitching his future is bright.

Gilbert has a fine fastball however he is

now able to throw the change up especially

against lefties while throwing the slider

and curve as well. 

Gilbert was able to go six and two-thirds

innings giving up one run on four hits,

one walk and six strikeouts. Gilbert didn't

give up a run until the sixth inning which

is a very good sign as well. The Mariners

were ahead 5-0 at the time.

Lefty Anthony Misiewicz came in to finish

the seventh inning. His best time on the

mound is getting one out in an inning.

Drew Steckenrider went in an inning

followed by Kendall Graveman who

gave up a run. Graveman just came off

the injured list so may give him a few

outings to get things back in order. 

The first inning the Mariners lost 

Mitch Haniger with a ball he hit off

a knee and had to leave the game.

Jake Fraley taking his spot hit a

two-run in the fourth inning. This

was the Mariners second home run

of the day with Kyle Seager having

one in the third inning. Haniger right

now is listed day to day so likely

won't see him in the lineup on Monday

but we hope back in on Tuesday.

I wouldn't be surprised when he

is back in the lineup he will be at

dh to begin with.

JP Crawford had three hits in the game

along with Kyle Seager. Crawford is

looking outstanding right now. The 

Mariners had 13 hits on the day. Only

Shed Long Jr didn't have a hit on the

day. 

Marco Gonzales will start the next 

homestand starting on Monday. We 

hope to see good things at home after

going 4-6 on the road.  They will

face the Minnesota Twins three times,

Tampa Bay four and two against the

Colorado at home. Go M's. 

Mariners Bullpen Gave Game Away

Yusei Kikuchi got off to a rough start.

It looked like his last outing gave lasting
effects when he was hit in the leg. Though
he struggled early Kikuchi was able to go
seven innings giving up three hits, no runs
three walks and striking out six.

Kikuchi going seven innings allowed the

bullpen some rest. Had he left early it would

have put more trouble on the bullpen. The

Mariners were leading 4-0 when Kikuchi

exited the game. It looked like the Mariners

would win. How much damage could the

bullpen do?

In the 8th inning Kendall Graveman made

his first appearance since being on the injured

list. He was activated off the injured list. 

Graveman went the full inning giving up two

hit including the home run making it 4-1.

Still the game was in the Mariners hands.

Rafael Montero who has been struggling on

the mound for some time. Walked two batters

then had two outs where it looked like the

Mariners would still win. However, former

Mariners Rene Rivera hit a ball that went 

for a double clearing the bases making it

4-4. Actually looked like it could have been

a walk-off grand slam.

The game went into extra innings. The Mariners

were unable to get the runner home from second.

Cleveland had a hit however the runner only went

as far as third. The Mariners intentionally loaded

the bases so they could get a double play including

at home. The ball was hit to reliever Paul Sewald

he threw the ball to catcher Tom Murphy but the

ball wasn't even close so the runner scored making

it a walk-off error I suppose you call it.

The Mariners scored first in the first inning when

Dylan Moore right off a rehab assignment in Tacoma

and the injured list hit a double scoring JP Crawford.

Later Moore hit a home run in the 7th inning. Earlier

Jake Fraley hit a two-run homer in the third inning

for all the Mariner runs. 

Sunday the Mariners will have to see if they don't

get swept. Won't be in easy task as they face last

year's Cy Young winner Shane Bieber. Logan 

Gilbert goes for the Mariners. The Mariners got

off to a decent road trip against the LA Angels

but since they haven't done well against the

Tigers or the Indians. Monday thru Wednesday

they take on the Minnesota Twins with Nelson

Cruz then have a four-game series against the

Tampa Bay Rays. The Mariners and the Rays

often have had trades between each other you

think they could make a trade during this week.

Usually teams trade in July but you never know.

Go M's. 

Mariners Shut Out

The opening game of the series against
the Cleveland Indians was not a good
one Friday night as the Mariners were
shut out 7-0.

Justin Dunn started the game after coming

off the injured list. He looked rusty as he

was. Dunn gave up three runs in the first

followed by another in the second and

finally his last inning the third with a final

run.  

The only good thing was the shutout by

Cleveland or Dunn should have been lifted

in or after the first inning. The trouble though

the Mariners didn't have a long reliever to

come into the game. One of the trouble 

having a six-man rotation.

Dunn hit Cleveland's catcher in the head in

the third inning. Fortunately Austin Hedges

was alright and was able to finish the inning

on the bases. He was lifted the rest of the

game for precaution. Another reason in my

mind Dunn should have been out sooner.

On the day the Mariners had only two hits

as well. JP Crawford led the game off with

a single. Mitch Haniger had the second hit

much later in the game. Aaron Civale  the

Indians starter went seven innings had one 

walk while striking out eleven. 

Yusei Kikuchi will start Saturday's game

for the Mariners. He left his last outing

early when he was hit in the leg. Kikuchi

was pitching outstanding ball at the time

so hopefully he will be able to pitch well

in this one because the Mariners really

need him to do so. 

The Mariners not only activated Dunn

off the injured list they did so with reliever

Kendall Graveman.  Also, they designated

Yacksel Rios who they picked up last week

for assignment. Keynan Middleton free 

agent reliever they signed during the 

off-season was optioned to Tacoma. We

hope he gets things straighten out since

the Mariners can use him. Wonder at 

some point whether Rafael Montero 

has to be optioned at some point to.

All depends whether he has options 

available.