The Seahawks Initial Opening Day Roster

On Tuesday the Seahawks announced there initial
opening day roster. Since the season doesn't start
until September 12 things might look different by
then though most of the roster should look the same.

Normally the Seahawks go with two quarterbacks

however  veteran  Sean Mannion made it as the

third quarterback. There is a chance he may still

be on the practice squad. The Seahawks will be

going with six running backs and fullback. Rashaad

Penny has made the roster at this time. Nick Bellore

listed as a fullback will likely be a backup at linebacker

for now anyway. He is captain of the special teams  

too.

The Seahawks go with three tight ends. Colby Parkinson's

drafted last year from Stanford who had a great camp

before being injured is listed as the third tight end.

Right now they will go with four receivers. Top draft

pick this year Dee Eskridge is three and Freddie Swain

a late pick last year will be four. The Seahawks could

add another before the season begins. We could see

a running back out at the receiver position at some 

point to.  The offensive line shows 11 players now but

they could drop it down to ten though. Duane Brown

who didn't practice at all holding out for a new contract

was listed as one of the 11 players. Some of the names

would be unfamiliar to us. 

The Seahawks have listed ten defensive linemen however

Darrell Taylor and Alton Robinson will play some outside

linebacker as well. In fact the Seahawks have listed only

three linebackers in Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks and

Cody Barton. So Taylor and Robinson will see action as

well as fullback Nick Bellore. Cornerback they show

only four corners but doesn't include newly acquired 

Sidney Jones. They are going with five safeties. Marquise

Blair and Ugo Amadi will see action at the nickel back.

Nothing surprising really with the roster. Field goal,

punter and long snapper stays the same. Go Hawks!

Close Loss to Astros in Opening Game of Series

The Seattle Mariners lost another close 

game Monday Night to the Houston 

Astros at home.

We could say the Mariners could

have or should have won Monday

night's game. Chris Flexen went 

six and two-thirds innings giving

up two runs both in the first inning

to the Astros. He didn't give up

another run. Flexen did give up a

hit in the sixth inning so Casey

Sandler came in and got the third

out immediately. He pitched the

seventh inning getting the Astro

hitters out quick fashion.

Jose Marmolejos who was recalled

before the game from Tacoma hit

a home run in the second inning.

Marmolejos was having an outstanding

season in Tacoma after being sent 

down early on after struggling in 

Seattle. In Tacoma Jose had hit 22

home runs. He was tops in so many

offensive categories in the PCL.

The Mariners with Jake Fraley on

the injured list figured they could

use some punch in the lineup.

The score stayed 2-1 Astros until

the sixth inning when  Dylan Moore

pinch hitting for Marmolejos hit

a two-run homer making it 3-2

Mariners. In the seventh inning

the Mariners had the opportunity

to score with two outs and Kyle

Seager up to bat who ended hitting

a high fly out to right field. The

Mariners had runners on second

and third. I thought Seager should

have been going after getting a 

single to drive in both runs. He

did hit a couple foul balls down

the first base line. I have to give

him credit there before flying out.

The Mariners made some errors

in the eighth inning which allowed

the Astros to score a couple runs. 

Joe Smith had come in to face his

former team gave up three hits in

one-thirds of an inning as well.

The Mariner bats went quiet in 

the night in the eighth and ninth.

The Mariners have to play fundamental

baseball against teams like the Astros

to win games. The Astros will always

take advantage otherwise. 

Yusei Kikuchi who has not pitched well

for the most part since the all-star break

has to pitch well for the Mariners to have

any chance of winning. Even if he does

it will be another low scoring game going

against Astros pitching. 

In Seahawk news they traded for former

Washington Husky cornerback Sidney

Jones from Jacksonville. Preseason games

have shown the Seahawks need assistance

at cornerback. The Seahawks have to cut

down the roster on Tuesday by 1 pm Pacific

time. Let you know how that goes down

and if the Seahawks pick up any other

players as well.

The Washington Huskies host the Montana

Grizzlies Saturday evening at 5pm while

the WSU Cougars are home against Utah

State at 8 pm. Let you know they both

come out on Sunday.  

Mariners Lose Seahawks Win

 Royals 4 Mariners 2

Seahawks 27 Chargers 0

The Seattle Mariners had there
opportunities but couldn't cash
in like the previous two games.
Also, Salvador Perez had his
third home run against the Mariners
in this series. This time a two-run
homer.

The Mariners had 11 hits on the day.

We could say didn't get the important

ones though. Jarred Kelenic had a

couple hits but wasn't able to drive

anyone in like previous games. 

Tim Anderson pitched well going

seven innings to allow the bullpen

to rest for the most part. Two bad

pitches both home run otherwise a

good outing once again. 

Marco Gonzales go Sunday afternoon.

See if he can pitch well once again and

the team score some runs so don't have

a sweep. Go M's.

The tone of the Seahawks game started

early when Marquis Blair recovered a

fumble caused by Cody Barton. Both

had great games. The fumble went for

a touchdown by Blair. The defense 

played well the rest of the way.

Darrell Taylor and Alton Robinson both

had good games as well. Hope to see a 

lot of both along with Blair and Barton

throughout the season.

Alex Collins had a touchdown rushing 

for five yards plus caught seven passes 

as well. He and DeeJay Dallas are 

showing they should be Chris Carson's 

backups. 

Seahawks top draft pick this year Dee

Eskridge had his first opportunity to play 

though not  long though. He did have a

couple of touches with a run sweep and a 

catch. Look forward to see more of him. 

Geno Smith had a good night for the 

Seahawks. Look to see some  of him 

during the season when there is a blowout. 

The first unit looks anything like the 

reserves did in this game the Seahawks

should win in Indianapolis against the

Colts in two weeks. We should start hearing

about cutdown of roster over the next few

days. Let you know who is cut that are

familiar names anyway. Go Hawks!

Royals take another win away from Mariners

 Royals 8 Mariners 7

The Mariners started out well scoring early
on in the game like they did on Thursday
nights game. In fact the game looked the
same other than the game went 12 innings
instead. The Mariners scored three runs
in the first inning after the Royals had
a run then added two more runs. The
Mariners could have broken open the
game, however, neither Kyle Seager
or Jarred Kelenic couldn't deliver.
Both were up with the bases loaded
twice. Kelenic actually struck out
twice.

In the fourth inning Salvador Perez

for the second night in a row hit a

grand slam home run to tie the game.

Logan Gilbert only lasted four innings

giving up all five runs. 

Both teams scored a run in the 10th 

inning to keep it at 6-6. In the 12th

inning the Royals scored two runs 

on a home run. The Mariners could 

only get one run. 

The bullpen did a fine job outside

the 10th inning and the 12th. Actually

the 12th as the run in the 10th was

unearned. The Mariners used eight

of nine relievers in the ball game. So

most will be available again on Saturday.

Oh by the way it will be a day game.

This will allow allow everyone to

see the Seahawks game too. Speaking

of the Seahawks I do hope we some

of the first  unit  in this one. The 

Seahawks final tune up against the

LA Chargers. I will have takeaways

from both games.

Royals Take It From Mariners Playbook

 Royals 6 Mariners 4

I guess I am mixing up sports as we
know the Seattle Seahawks have a
playbook. In this case the Royals
did Thursday night the Mariners have
done on quite a few occasions by
coming from behind to win.

The Mariners took the initial lead in

the first inning by Kyle Seager scoring.

It stayed that way until the fifth inning

when Seager had a solo home run then

Jake Fraley had a two-run home run.

Yusei Kikuchi who had been pitching

well up to that point allowed the bases

to be loaded. Exit Kikuchi bring in Joe

Smith. Unfortunately Royal catcher 

Salvador Perez hit a grand slam home

run. The Royals added another run in

the sixth inning as well. One more run

in the seventh. The Mariners couldn't

muster up another run. I am sure most

of us thought the Mariners would find

a way to win the game but it wasn't 

meant to be. After all when they score

four runs they usually win.

Thursday's night game was South of

France promotion for Ty France of

course. It was a hit though the Mariners

couldn't get many besides Seager and

Fraley plus a couple from Abraham Toro.

Oh yes Kelenic and Raleigh each had

a hit. 

Logan Gilbert takes the mound on Friday.

We hope he can rebound from his last

outing. It won't be easy because the Royals

are aggressive at the plate. They will go

after Gilbert's fast ball right off so hopefully

his secondary pitches can show up this time.

You figure he will do well since he was able

to quiet the Yankees. It is important he has

made adjustments since his last out.

On Thursday the Mariners acquired lefty

Sean Doolittle off waivers from the Cincinnati

Reds. Mariner fans know Doolittle as he pitched

for the Oakland A's for several years. Hopefully

Doolittle can rebound with the Mariners and look

a bit like his old self. It will be nice to have 

another lefty coming out of the bullpen late

in games to. The Mariners designated Keynan

Middleton for assignment. He makes it through

waivers then he will be in Tacoma. Middleton's

best month was May, however, has struggled 

since including spending time in Tacoma. 

August was a good month Middleton but not

good enough for the Mariners. The Mariners

signed him as a free agent during the off-season

so can say he has been a disappointment though

the rest of the bullpen for the most part had

done a good job. In fact, they are a major reason

they have won 69 games with 34 remaining.

The Oakland A's lost Thursday night so  no

change there. The Mariners won it would have

moved them into second behind Houston. 

Reliever Diego Castillo found to have fatigue

in his shoulder so could return when his stint

on the injured list. They could have him rest

for a little longer. Casey Sadler who is having 

a very good season was activated after paternity

leave. The Mariners will have to make another

move in the next day or two when Doolittle 

arrives in town. The Mariners are expected to

use Justus Sheffield out of the bullpen when he

returns. He currently is on rehab assignment 

with the Tacoma Rainiers. Go M's. 

Local sports

The Seattle Mariners start a four

game series against the Kansas 

City Royals Thursday night. This 

is the first meeting between them

this season.

The Royals are fourth place in the

central division ahead of last place 

Minnesota Twins by a game. Yusei

Kikuchi will start Thursday night. It

would be nice the Mariners sweep

the four game series however taking

three out of four would be fine to.

Winning low scoring games is what

the Mariners have done for most of

the season so the formula still works

fine with me.

The Seattle Seahawks play LA Chargers 

final preason Saturday night. Interesting former Seahawk signed a contract on 

Tuesday then retired on Wednesday. His

health is reason for retiring. Colby Parkinson

recently went on injured list. We should

expect the Seahawks sign another tight end.

The Washington Huskies first football 

game will be a week from Saturday at

home against Montana. The Grizzlies

haven't beaten the Huskies in over one

hundred years. Don't expect this time

either. Dylan Morris last year's quarterback

should behind the  center in the first game.

Look At the Seahawks

Now that training camp is over and the
Seahawks are going into the final preseason
game we look at some news this week.

Not only did the Seahawks lose last Saturday

night to the Denver Broncos. They lost two

contributors to special teams in former Husky

linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven and wide receiver

John Ursua. Both players were drafted by

the Seahawks in 2019. Ben spent most of his

time playing on special teams while being the

backup middle linebacker to Bobby Wagner.

The Seahawks have had depth problems at

linebacker through camp and losing Ben 

doesn't help. Ursua was competing for one

of the wide receivers to compliment Tyler

Lockett and DK Metcalf. Top draft pick

this year D'Wayne Eskridge just returned

to practice which is a good thing. Eskridge

is expected to be the third receiver. Don't

know for sure but Seahawks should carry

five receivers.

The Seahawks will play their final preseason

game on this Saturday. We should see Russell

Wilson in this final tune up against the LA

Chargers. This week they waived quarterbacks

Alex McGough and Cedrick Lattimore. Geno

Smith is expected to be the Seahawks backup

at qb however veteran Sean Mannion out of

Oregon State is still on the roster.

On Tuesday the Seahawks signed veteran

tight end Luke Wilson. With the injury to

Colby Parkinson means the Seahawks needed

another tight end. Willson is one of those

guys you like having around. Parkinson is

expected to be out at least three games. 

The Seahawks will be starting the season on

September 12 against the Indianapolis Colts. 

So they will have to cut down their roster

next week. Carson Wentz who the Colts

picked up from the Philadelphia Eagles

has missed training camp because of injury.

Former Washington Husky quarterback 

has taken many of the snaps in camp with

the first unit. So if Wentz isn't able to start

week one likely Eason will start. Last week

the Colts played against the Minnesota 

Vikings facing former Husky quarterback

Jake Browning who is trying to be the 

backup to Kirk Cousins. 

Mariner Sweep A's

Mariners 5 A's 1

The Mariners climbed within one game 

in the standings to the A's. Chris Flexen 

pitched six and two-thirds. He gave the

 one run in the first inning. Drew 

Steckenrider came in got the final out 

in the seventh on one pitch. He pitched

 the final two innings. Mariner's have 

Wednesday off so good to have the 

bullpen rested.

The Mariners scored a run in the second 

followed by two in the third. It stayed

 that way until the 8th when the Mariners

 scored two more making it hard on the A's.

The bottom of the order did a fine job. 

Luis Torrens, Tom Murphy and Jarred 

Kelenic each had two hits with Torrens 

and Kelenic driving in two runs. Each

 scored a run along with Seager and

 Abraham Toro. Dylan Moore drove in

 a run to.

The Mariners have a four game series 

against the Kansas City Royals beginning 

on Thursday night.  Yusei Kikuchi will

 start.  Hopefully he can rebound after 

having a bad outing. This will be the first

 time playing the Royals this season. In 

September play the Royals on the road. 

Go M's. 

Mariners Do It Again

 Mariners 5 Athletics 3

The Seattle Mariners playing a two
game series in Oakland. Before
coming home. They swept the
Texas Rangers then lost two out 

of the three to the Houston Astros.

 The Mariners now play eight more

games against the A's on the season

with seven at the end of the season.

The Mariners win on Tuesday night

they will be one game behind the

A's. The Mariners are currently three

games out of the wild card. 

Right when you think they are done

the Mariners find a way to get back

into the game, or series or the season

for that matter. 

Though the offense hasn't been that

good all season long late innings 

seem to be when they thrive. Monday

night wasn't any difference. Going

into the 9th inning the Mariners were

trailing 3-2. Could the Mariners tie

the game, go ahead or go with a loss.

The Mariners were able to get three

runs in top of the 9th inning.

The Mariners were training 2-0 going

into the 6th inning when Mitch Hanger

hit a two-run homer to tie the game 

then Matt Olson hit a home run to take

the lead once again in the bottom of

6th off of Marco Gonzales. 

The Mariners bullpen did what they 

have done for most of the season by

not surrendering a run the rest of the

game. Erik Swanson who came in

the 7th gave up a hit but the rest of

the way the A's didn't get another

one. 

Who other than Ty France he hit a

home run to tie the game. With two

outs Jake Bauers hit a single driving

in Abraham Toro and Jake Fraley.

Toro had a single followed by a

double by Fraley. It looked like 

the Mariners would go into the 

bottom of the 9th tied before 

Bauers hit. Paul Sewald came in

giving up no hits and recording

his seventh save.

Two things we know never keep

the Mariners out of the game and

the bullpen will do their job more

times then not. The Mariners would

not be where they are at with those

two things that is for sure.

Chris Flexen will start Tuesday 

night for the Mariners. He does

the same as Gonzales going six

inning and keeping the score close

then the Mariners have another

chance for a victory.

On other news we could see 

Kyle Lewis back with the Mariners

in September. Kyle is expected to

have a rehab assignment where he

will start out as designated hitter

to get some at bats before going in

the field.  It will be interesting to

see whether Kyle will go back 

into center field or be moved to

left field. I prefer he is moved to

left.  Go M's. 

Mariners Win In Eleven

 Mariners 6 Astros 3

It wasn't an easy game but the Mariners
ended up winning in 11 innings. Astros
scored first two runs in the second inning
when Yordan Alvarez led off the inning
with a solo home run. Also, scored another
run. 

The Mariners pitching was able to keep

it there. The offense finally scored a run

in the 8th when JP Crawford hit in Jake

Bauers who had hit a double before him.

In the 9th inning Ty France hit a home 

run to lead off the inning. The Astros 

were able to get the bases loaded with

one out then Paul Sewald struck out two

Astros to end the inning. The 10th inning

neither team scored.

In the 11th inning Ty France was able to

hit in a run hitting the ball to right field.

Kyle Seager who loves to hit in Texas

hit a three run homer making it 6-2.

Keynan Middleton gave up a run in the

bottom of the 11th then Yohan Ramirez

came in two get the final two out and 

record his first save of the season. Outside

of Middleton's two hits and Astros scoring

a run the bullpen did a fine job with five

relievers only giving up two hits without

a run scored.

The Mariners signed veteran reliever Matt

Andriese who was released last week by

the Boston Red Sox. Matt had a good month

of April with an era of 1.42. He fell on hard 

times going on the injured list on July 10

with tendinitis in his right hamstring. At that

time his era had ballooned to 6.03. The

Mariners designated Robert Dugger for

assignment after being recalled from Tacoma

when Diego Castillo went on the injured list.

Dugger has been up with the Mariners several

times this year however hasn't performed 

well at all. The Mariners are hoping Andriese

can get back into form like he did in April.

Andriese could make good contribution as

the Mariners still try to make a push at the

wild card.

Mariner top prospect Julio Rodrigues is on

a five game hitting streak with double-A

Arkansas. Julio is hitting .308 in 21 games

after starting the season at Everett high-A

where he was hitting .325. In the total of

49 games on the season he has 10 home runs

between the two places. Julio missed some

time while he was playing in the Olympics

for the Dominican Republic team. We will

see how Julio goes the rest of the way.

Seattle we can't wait to see you here.

Mariners Blasted Again

 Astros 15 Mariners 1

Not much to say after being beaten
badly for the second time in a row
in Houston. The Mariners always
seem to do awful against the Astros
in Houston.

News came out that Diego Castillo

went on the injured list. Must be

why his slider was flat. I didn't know

until later after Robert Dugger was

pitching after Logan Gilbert was lifted.

It looks like Gilbert has to work on 

his secondary pitches. Some sideline

work until his next outing.

Justus Sheffield did a rehab assignment

with Tacoma. He looked good. I expect

he will return soon taking Dugger's spot

I hope. Sheffield can be a long reliever.

Be setup when Gilbert needs to be taken

out of the game. Gilbert will be a good

one if he can figure out his secondary

pitches. 

Denver Broncos 30 Seahawks 3

The Denver Broncos played there first

string for a good part of the first half.

The Seahawks again with their backups.

They showed not a good group as a whole.

I hope they can improve and I look forward

to seeing the starters that is for sure. I

hope Russell Wilson and the gang will

play in next week's final pre-season game.

If not I won't be watching long. Go Hawks!

Astros Take Care of Mariners

Astros 12 Mariners 3

As you can tell not a lot to say about
Friday night's game except the Astros
took care of the Mariners easily.

Yusei Kikuchi had another rough 

outing this time against the Astros.

Kikuchi ended up going only two

and two-thirds innings giving up

seven runs. Five of the runs were

through the long ball causing five

of the seven runs. Only the two 

runs in the first inning were not

by the long ball. Kikuchi has 

struggled since the all-star break.

It reminds me when Dan Vogelbach

had trouble after the break when

he was on the all-star team. We

hope Kikuchi doesn't follow the

same way. At least the Mariners do

have young pitching coming up to.

Even giving up two runs in the first

inning would have been difficult 

alone since Lance McCullers Jr was

pitching for the Astros. He always 

pitches well against the Mariners 

it seems. McCullers gave up two

runs to the Mariners in six innings.

Eight Mariners struck out to McCullers.

Kyle Seager had his 28th home run

on the season in the 4th inning for

the Mariners first run. Later Ty France

who is having a great season had a

homer as well. It looks like Seager

will have his highest home run total

in his career this season. Seager hit

30 home  runs and 99 rbi's in 2016.

His best career totals including average

when he batted .278. This year though

his average is .219 the lowest in his

career. He is not far behind his lowest

going into the season where Seager

batted .221.

This makes you wonder if the Mariners

may have changed their minds on not

taking Seager's option going into 2022. 

They don't have anyone to take his spot 

at third base unless moving France or

Toro over to the spot. France is playing

well at first though Evan White will

return in 2022 though he could start

the season in triple-A since he was

struggling at the plate before injured

the rest of the season. Toro on the other

hand could stay at second unless they

decide to move him back to third base

where he has spent more of his career.

Seager's option is for $15 million and I

am sure they still don't want to pay him

that much. Outside his batting average

he has had his best season since 2016.

Seager doesn't turn 34 until November

so could have a few more years if he

desires to. You wonder how many losing

seasons in Seattle has put a toll on him

mentally. We will see.

The Seahawks play this evening in Seattle

against the Denver Broncos in the second

pre-season game. Expect to see many of

the starters including Russell Wilson. 

Mariners Sweep Rangers

 Mariners 9 Rangers 8

The Seattle Mariners wanted to sweep
the Texas Rangers on the road to keep
their chance for the wild card in the
playoffs. Thursday's afternoon game
wasn't the typical way to finish out
a sweep but we will take it.

The Mariners had a 7-2 lead going into

the 9th inning so it seemed they would

win with ease especially the way the

bullpen has been going lately. I guess

you could say the bullpen can have an

off night on occasion. Luckily the offense

came through to help still win the game.

Kyle Seager began the game like he

does often in Texas this time driving

in two runs in the first inning with a

double. In the second inning Mitch

Haniger had a three-run home run.

The Mariners scored another in the

third inning making it 6-0. Rangers

score a run in the fifth and sixth innings

before the Mariners scored another in

the 8th inning. Thankfully the Mariners

had the one run in the 8th inning because

the Rangers had five runs in the 9th.

Chris Flexen pitched well going seven

strong innings giving up two runs with

one being earned on a solo home run.

Casey Sadler pitched well in the 8th

inning. Anthony Misiewicz started the

9th inning however gave up three runs

on three hits without getting a run. I

haven't figured out yet why the Mariners

continue to have Anthony start an inning.

He is supposed to be a lefty specialist.

Which means to me he should enter the

game during the inning and not start the

inning. The rules now are the pitcher has

to at least pitch against three batters so

if he comes in with one or two outs he

doesn't have pitch a full inning or at 

least three batters as long as he can

get two outs. The Mariners somehow 

don't work that way with Anthony. 

Diego Castillo came in for Misiewicz

where he ended giving up a home run

to tie the game. Fortunately the Mariners

were able to get out without surrendering

any more runs. Joe Smith who has pitched

well since coming over from Houston

didn't surrender a hit or a run in the 10th

inning. Ty France hit a two-run homer in

the 11th inning to take the lead. Paul 

Sewald pitched the bottom of the 11th.

It was his third straight game pitching

against the Rangers. Of course, as we

know a runner starts the inning on 

second base so he gave up a run on

one hit however was able to get through

the rest of the inning so there is the sweep.

Now the Mariners head to Houston to

take on the Astros Friday night. It would

be nice if the Mariners can have a similar

series in Houston as well. The Mariners

haven't done well over the years against

the Astros in Houston, however, maybe

this will be a new one. Wouldn't be nice

if Abraham Toro has a good series against

his old team and Seager has another good

series as well. It will be important the

starters continue their find job as well as

the bullpen. Go M's.

This week the Mariners were named the

number one minor league organization

in baseball this year. Quite amazing since

they were dead last back in 2018. Julio

Rodriguez is listed as the number two

prospect in the minor leagues, while

Noelvi Marte has his stock where he

has risen to number 11 after beginning

the season at 80. Currently he has 17

home runs in his first season in the USA.

Pitchers George Kirby and Emerson

Hancock are listed 35 and 36 in the top

100. We do know Yusei Kikuchi, Marco

Gonzales and Logan Gilbert will be in

the rotation next year. We will see about

Chris Flexen and Tyler Anderson. This

doesn't count Justus Sheffield and Justin

Dunn where there futures lie.

Mariners Look To Sweep Rangers

 Mariners 3 Rangers 1

Wednesday night's game against the
Rangers was similar to Tuesday's
where the Mariners scored early
then had to hold on.

Kyle Seager who loves hitting in

Texas had a two-run homer in the

first inning with Mitch Haniger

who walked. Stayed this way until

the seventh when the Rangers had

back to back doubles against Erik

Swanson to score a run. In the top

of the eighth Mariners responded

with Jarred Kelenic walk, double

by Cal Raleigh and a sacrifice fly

by JP Crawford.

Marco Gonzales went five and a

third innings giving up six hits,

one walk while striking out three.

At that point he had thrown 92

pitches. Manager Scott Servais

said after the game Marco wasn't

going to throw back to back 

complete even if he wanted to.

The Mariners used five relievers

on the night. Outside of Swanson's

two doubles given up the other 

four relievers didn't give up a hit.

After the little bump in the road

when the Mariners traded Graveman

to the Houston Astros the bullpen

has been outstanding. 

Paul Sewald and Drew Steckenrider

who both pitched on Tuesday as well

likely won't be available on Thursday

day game. Diego Castillo who pitched

on Tuesday maybe the closer if necessary.

Chris Flexen will start Thursday afternoon.

He will be looking to win his 11th game

of the year. Flexen last loss was against

Houston on July 27.  His last outing was

against Toronto where he went six innings

giving up two runs. If Flexen does something

similar on Thursday a good chance the 

Mariners will sweep the Rangers. Go M's. 

Mariners Win Opening Game of Road Trip

 Mariners 3 Rangers 1

The offense continues to struggle however
we should expect it the rest of the season.
The importance is to continue to win the
close games which they are doing at this
point.

Tyler Anderson has shown good value in

the trade from the Pirates at the trading

deadline. Anderson was able to go six

innings giving up one run. Can't ask for

better than that. The three primary bullpen

relievers in Steckenrider, Castillo, and

Sewald were able to do their jobs. Each

pitched an inning giving up a hit but 

nothing to keep them from winning.

Luis Torrens seem to be out of his slump

right now. He hit a home run in the top

of the 9th inning to keep a little cushion

there for the Mariners. Cal Raleigh had

a good night able to get on base twice

and scoring two runs on sacrifice flies.

Mitch Haniger and Ty France each had

the sacrifice flies. Neither had a hit

in the game but did the fundamentals 

to help win the game.

We have learned over the season the

Mariners are not going to score many

runs but do find a way to win those 

close games with solid pitching and

timely hitting. This is especially true

late in games. This is who the Mariners

are. We can hope they can find a way

to get to bolster the offense a little bit.

The importance they are winning these

close games. It would be frustrating if

we saw them losing these games instead.

Marco Gonzales will be going Wednesday

night for the Mariners. His last outing 

Marco pitched a complete game at home.

It will be nice if he can get another good

performance. I don't think we could expect

a complete game but he can do like Anderson

it will go a long ways for sure. Chris Flexen

will be going on Thursday afternoon so we

get what is normal for Gonzales and Flexen

this will be a good series. Go M's. 

Jamal Adams and Seahawks Agree on Deal

I figured Jamal Adams and the Seahawks
would agree to a new deal. According to
ESPN an agreement came about Tuesday
morning. The deal is for four years with a
maximum of $72 million if all incentives
happen. The contract is guaranteed for
$38 million. Which ever happens Adams
is a rich man.

There was talk on local ESPN 710 KIRO

the Seahawks could have put the franchise

tag on Jamal Adams if an agreement hadn't

been reached. Obviously neither side wanted

that to happen. The Seahawks traded two

first round picks to the New York Jets for

Adams so most everyone agree that Adams

would sign eventually. Glad it happen now.

Though Adams is listed as a safety the 

Seahawks will use him in a lot of different

ways as they did last year. We could see him

at outside linebacker or defensive end at 

times. We won't know until he lines up

for the play. Most likely depending on where

they are on the field a linebacker or defensive

end could drop back in coverage when Adams

go to the quarterback. They could stay as is

as well. Whatever Adams does he will be 

important part of the defense.

Whether he starts or not we could see Adams

play in the second game of preseason coming

up this Saturday or wait for the third preseason

game the following week. For sure Adams 

will be ready when the season begins. Go Hawks!

Month and A Half To Go

The Seattle Mariners have 43 games
remaining in the season. Eighteen of
the games are against either the Astros
or the A's. They play two series against
the Arizona Diamondbacks and the
Kansas City Royals. A series at home
and another on the road. They play the
LA Angels in weekend series on the
road before finishing at home against
the A's.

The Mariners currently have a record

of 63-56; they are five games behind

the A's for second place in the division.

They play nine games the rest of the

way against the A's with seven being

at the end of the season. The Mariners

will either being fighting still for the

wild card or not. The chances would

be great against still being in the race

at that point. If they are then it will be

great baseball. The Mariners will have

to win most of those games against

the A's to by pass them in the standings.

Even then making the wild card will

still be hard to make it. 

I have looked at the schedule coming

up including the series starting Tuesday

against the Rangers. I see the Mariners

maybe winning 19 of the 43 games

remaining which would give them a

record of 82-80. They would have to

play some pretty good baseball to win

more than that because of who they

are playing.

The pitching has been pretty good for

the most part with a few minor set backs.

The problem still has to do with the 

offense not able to score a lot of runs.

The key for the Mariners is continue

winning a lot of one run games or

increasing run production to more than

four runs a game. The Mariners have

a good record when scoring at least 

four runs. It is a must for them to win

more than 19 games. 

The Mariners play the Kansas City

Royals seven times with four at home.

The Royals have the worst record in

the American League Central. I figure

the Mariners will win four out of the

seven games. If they can win one more

game then that would be a plus. The

Mariners will have to do the same

against a few other teams on their

schedule as well to have any real

chance to make the playoffs including

sweeping at least one series which

I didn't put into account either.

Paul Sewald has returned to the 

bullpen after taking several days

off for paternity leave. This means

in Texas Sewald along with Drew

Steckenrider and Diego Castillo

will be the big three in the final

couple innings of the game. How

they do will see how the Mariners

do to. 

Would not be surprised the Mariners

have several one run games in this 

eight game road trip. It will be

important they take care of those

games and not let them slide away. 

Being Tuesday it will be important

to beat the Rangers to start off.

Kyle Seager always seems to play

well against the Rangers in Texas

so for the Mariners he needs to do

it again. Also, be important JP

Crawford and Mitch Haniger get

on ahead of Seager too. Ty France

who has to be the Mariners most

valuable player of the season will

continue what he does. Expect

good things out of Abraham Toro

once again. Whatever they get

out of the bottom of the batting

order will be a plus. I hope Cal

Raleigh and Jake Fraley get more

time at the plate then Tom Murphy

and Dylan Moore. I don't mind

seeing Murphy and Moore in 

one of the games against the 

Rangers along with the Astros.

I am sure we will see Murphy

at least twice in those two series

since he is a catcher. I want to

see Raleigh in four of those

games. He needs to have playing

time and Murphy doesn't add 

anything special to the lineup

other than giving Raleigh a 

breather. 

I hope the Mariners split the

six  games against the Rangers

and Astros at the very least.

I look forward to a good home

coming for Toro against the

Astros.  Go M's. 

Blue Jays Beat Mariners Big Time

 Blue Jays 8 Mariners 3

I am sure everyone one was hoping for a

sweep, however, the Mariners offense

makes it hard to come by. Taking two

out of three is good but the closer we

get to the end of the season still hard

to gain ground on those ahead of the

Mariners in the wild card chase.

Logan Gilbert has had a good season

for the Mariners on the most part. He

makes it difficult though when his off

speed pitches are not working. A team

who is so offensive like the Blue Jays

it is hard to stick around when throwing

fast balls though Gilbert has a good one.

This year is a learning curve for Gilbert.

Can you imagine how good he will be

if he has at least two of his off speed 

pitches in any given game. The batter

won't know whether he is throwing one

of them or the heater. It is important to

have them going for sure.

Gilbert gave up five runs over four 

innings including two home runs. 

When he gives up more than one time

it is pretty sure he doesn't have it.

Gilbert will need to make adjustments

in his next time out. Gilbert's next

outing will be against the Astros in

Houston so won't be easy but he is

able to do so since we do know what

he did against the Yankees.

The Mariners have Monday off before

taking on the Texas Rangers. It will be

important the Mariners take two out 

of three though a sweep would be 

real nice. It has been hard for the 

Mariners in Texas but important to 

make the Rangers series a win. 

Two of the Mariners three runs were

in the 8th inning when Kyle Seager 

hit a home run. It helped his stats but

nothing more since the Blue Jays had

a comfortable lead at the time.  The

Mariners have done well late in games

but a comeback in this one wasn't meant

to happen.

It will be interesting to see what the

Mariners will do during the off-season.

The first thing they need to do is give

Jerry Dipoto an extension then Scott

Servais will follow.  Most likely Kyle

Seager won't be back. Don't think they

will take up his option unless he signs

a new contract at a lot less price. Don't

think it will happen. He has had a good

ride though the last five years especially

in his ten year contract hasn't been that

good. This year his home run total and

runs batted in has improved over the

decline over the last several years. If 

he isn't back where will he end up at.

Only ones guess unless it is wherever

his younger brother Corey signs as a

free agent. 

The Mariners don't have any infield

prospects ready to go. The reason they

had to trade for Abraham Toro which

has been a good one so far. Whether 

he sticks at second or goes to third

will depend on a trade or a free agent

signing. 

At this point it doesn't look like the

Mariners will have to go out and sign

a starting pitcher since they traded for

Tyler Anderson before the deadline.

Offense is what the Mariners need for

sure. The outfield future looks good it

is the infield that sounds a few years 

away for any additional help from the

farm that is.  Go M's.