Mariners Do It Again

The Seattle Mariners had another giant hill to climb on Friday against the Houston Astros. They were facing Gerrit Cole who was having a very good season for the Astros. In his last outing against the Mariners he was pitching a no-hitter for much of the game until the Mariners were able to score runs against him.

The same again happen on Friday night in a manner of speaking. The game was zero to zero until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Astros scored two runs off of Mike Leake however the Mariners were able to come back and score two runs of their own in the top of the sixth inning. In the end those were the only runs that the Astros scored in the game.

Mike Leake again was able to go toe to toe with one of the Astros top pitchers. Because of his pitch count at ninety-seven at the end of six the Mariners went to the bullpen in the seventh inning with Adam Warren. Although he had some problems giving up a hit and a walk he was able to get out of the seventh without giving up a run.

In the top of the eighth with the bases loaded Nelson Cruz hit a double to bring in Mitch Haniger and Jean Segura while Denard Span went to third base. He scored on a grounder that Kyle Seager hit to the second base. Span was running on contact so Astros had no chance to get him out at home plate. So the score was 5-2 going into the bottom of the eighth which turned out to be the winning score. Alex Colome and Edwin Diaz were able to finish off the game with Diaz recording his forty-fourth save of the season. Also it was the first time this season a team was able to beat Justin Verlander and Cole back to back.

In other news manager Scott Servais announced that Felix Hernandez has been moved to the bullpen. What his role is not defined yet but may take a little time because of how a reliever must warmup before a game. The Mariners haven’t announced yet who will pitch on Sunday but Servais that the pitcher likely will go only four or five innings before going to the bullpen. There is a possibility that Felix could be used on Sunday as well. I believe that could depend on the score in the game as well.

Saturday’s game will be another tough one for the Mariners in the same manner as the two previous games and of course we hope that the game turns out in the same way. The Mariners will have Wade LeBlanc going for them and he will be facing Charlie Morton who has a record of 12-2 with an era of 2.81. Like the previous two games the Mariners will have to pick their spots to score some runs and that LeBlanc will have to keep them in the game just like Paxton and Leake. We hope that the Mariners can pull this game out as well. Since the Mariners will need the use of the bullpen on Sunday I see LeBlanc having to go as long as he can regardless of how he is pitching. If the Mariners can get seven innings out of him with a close score than the Mariners will have a good chance in winning this game to. Go M’s.

Seahawks Lose Pre-Season Opener

The Seattle Seahawks lost the first pre-season game Thursday Night 19-17 in really a meaningless game. The defense showed not to bend most of the time giving up four field goals and a touchdown while Seahawks scored two touchdowns and a field goal.

The first touchdown had the most meaning because it was in the first possession of the game for the Seahawks. The Colts went down the field first as the Seahawks won the toss but decided to kick off first which is common for them. The Seahawks offense looked good with quarterback Russell Wilson scrambling though it was more because no one was open instead of being rushed by the Colt’s defense. Chris Carson started at running back however first round pick Rashaad Penney saw action too in that drive. They both looked good running the ball. At least for the first time anyway the first string offensive line did a fine job.

Besides Russell Wilson and the offense doing well rookie linebacker Shaquem Griffin had a fine game as well. I didn’t watch much of the second half however I did like the work of the defensive line as well. I hope that they are able to rush the quarterback frequently. Although sacking the quarterback looks exciting I am up for rushing them in a manner they have to throw the pass sooner so that causes more interceptions. Getting the ball back in my mind is more important to me in good field position or getting a touchdown. A sack that causes a fumble is good to. I just want to see the defense not have too many penalties. Of course that goes for the offense as well since penalties can cause the ball to go back to the other team.

Next week the Seahawks play the Chargers in Los Angeles on national television. We should expect Russell Wilson and the first team offense going at least two possessions or going for most of the first half. Usually the third game is where we see more of them. It will be interesting to see who shines more on the team of the newcomers. Go Hawks!  

Mariners Beat Verlander

I am sure most Mariner fans were like me Thursday night hoping that the Mariners would find a way to win the opening game of the four against the Astros in Houston.

Our surprise came early because the Mariners scored right off the bat with Mitch Haniger hitting a home run leading off the game followed a triple by Denard Span, a double by Segura and a single by Nelson Cruz. I read later this is the first time in the history of the major leagues a team hit a cycle in reverse. The score was 3-0 at the end of the first.

It was not only the first time Haniger hit a home run leading off a game it was the first time he hit in the lead-off spot. In the end he had four hits and missed the cycle by not hitting a triple. The same went for Segura and Denard Span missed the cycle by not hitting a double.

In the second inning Span hit a home run with two outs with Haniger on base and was followed by Segura with a solo home run so just like that the Mariners were up 6-0.

Verlander was only able to last the two innings and was replaced by Brad Peacock who went two innings as well however he didn’t give up a run on two hits. The Astros though did score a couple runs in the third inning to make the score 6-2. The Mariners extended the lead to 8-2 in the sixth inning however the Astros scored two runs of their own in the bottom of the same inning to make it 8-4.

The game was nervous I know because James Paxton wasn’t his normal self and he did have some struggle. He left the game in the bottom of the sixth after the Astros scored the two runs. The Astros had the bases loaded and Paxton wasn’t able to strike out the batter. The ball was narrowly caught by second baseman Dee Gordon. Nick Vincent replaced Paxton with two outs. He was able to get the final out in the sixth inning but gave up a run in the seventh inning. He was replaced with runners on base by Alex Colome who with one pitched had a grounder that ended the inning. Colome was able to give up no hits or runs in the eighth inning with the score at the time 8-5.

I was thinking in the seventh inning the bullpen can’t blow this game the Mariners had such a large lead off of Verlander. Edwin Diaz came in the ninth inning picking up his forty-third save however he did give up a solo home run to Tyler White making the final score 8-6. Although I was nervous it was nice to see the team win the first game of the series.

The Mariners will have Mike Leake going for them on Friday night against right hander Gerrit  Cole who has a record of 10-4 with an era of 2.64 and his last outing against the Mariners he nearly pitched a no-hitter. We only hope that the Mariner hitters learned something from that experience.

Whatever happens the rest of this series at least the Mariners were able to win the first game of the series. The Mariners did recall a couple of pitchers from Tacoma in Casey Lawrence and Nick Rumbelow while Chasen Bradford was optioned to Tacoma. I expect one or both of them will be ready on Sunday when Felix Hernandez is scheduled to pitch. Not sure whether Felix will start or not however the Mariners will have them ready to go early in the game if necessary.

I expect this new lineup with Mitch Haniger leading off followed by Denard Span and Jean Segura will happen again on Friday Night since it was such a success. The Mariners do face three right handers in a row until Sunday when Dallas Keuchel goes for the Astros.

We now hope for more success by the Mariners before heading to Oakland to face the A’s on Tuesday when Robinson Cano is expected to be reactivated form his suspension as well.

Thursday Night Football

Well it has finally arrived pre-season football for the Seattle Seahawks after being in camp for two weeks. I am sure the players are looking forward to hitting someone else besides their teammates.

The Seahawks will have another look on their team with a number of changes to the roster plus new starters. I look forward to seeing how the offense looks now that Brian Schottenheimer is the offensive coordinator. Chris Carson looks to be the one to start at running back ahead of first round pick Rashaad Penny. I am sure we will see plenty of both during the pre-season; whatever the case the Seahawks should be in better hands over last season.

I will find it interesting if the offensive line will be better this year over last season. If not it will be a long season again for the offense and quarterback Russell Wilson. One improvement is that left tackle Duane Brown will be around all season which should help the line out. The big question will be the right tackle on the other side German Ifedi continues to have trouble going off-sides and other penalties as well. Right now he isn’t having any favors with head coach Pete Carroll. George Fant who is backing up Duane Brown and missed all of last season because of injury may have a chance to see what he can do on the right side.

The only player we most likely won’t see during the whole pre-season is wide receiver Doug Baldwin who is hurt. We will probably see him when the regular season begins. Jaron Brown who has played his whole NFL career with rival Arizona we will probably see starting in Baldwin’s spot. Tyler Lockett we will probably see on the other side starting at receiver. We will see a number of other receivers as well.

I look forward to seeing the whole defensive side of the ball to. It will be especially interesting to see the Griffin twins in the game at the same time. There will be a lot of competition on the defensive side especially on the line. No longer having Michael Bennett who is now with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cliff Avril now retired along with Dion Jordon being hurt not knowing how long he will be out Frank Clark is the most experienced player out there and who knows how he will play with new players on his side.

No news on Earl Thomas other than he still isn’t in camp and when he will report or be traded. The competition there will be interesting as well since Kam Chancellor is now retired.

It will be interesting for us all to keep our eyes open with so many new players. How the team will do for the season we can only speculate at this time. Whatever the case I hope the Seahawks will give us some exciting times. Go team!

Mariners Lose Another Series

It is never easy to see a team to lose a series however at least it wasn’t at home so can always turn off the television or in this case Facebook. Yes those of you who are outside the Mariner market and can’t see their games most of the time were able to do so on Wednesday.

Again they lost a series to a team that is under five hundred for the second time in a row. In fact the Texas Rangers are now 51-65. The reason the Rangers do win is because of the offense. Every starting pitcher on the Rangers has an era over four and several above five. Yovani Gallardo who started last year for the Mariners with a record of 5-10 has a higher era this year over six in eight appearances pitched today against the Mariners. He now has a record of 6-1 for the Rangers only because the Rangers are scoring a lot of runs for him just like in this game where the final score was 11-7.

 Could you imagine if the Rangers had pitching like they do their offense? They have six hitters that are batting over .270 and their lowest batting average hitter Joey Gallo who is hitting only .202 hits them when they count as he has thirty-one home runs along with 71 runs batted in that leads the Rangers and is second in total bases. So to beat the Rangers you have to out slug them which the Mariners were unable to do so in this series.

Catcher Mike Zunino continues to be hot lately hitting two home runs in the game however they were both solo. The first home run in the fifth inning made the score 5-2 which could have helped the Mariners out however the Rangers scored two more in the bottom of the fifth and his second homer was in the ninth inning when the Rangers were up 11-2 before the hit. Although it helped out in a manner of speaking hope that he can save some home runs when the Mariners really need it.

Marco Gonzales who has been the Mariners most consistent pitcher with the most wins with twelve had a terrible outing and I expect heat had something to do with it. He was only able to go five innings giving up twelve hits and allowed seven runs. Even with giving up so many runs his era is still at 3.79. He didn’t walk a batter but only struck out three batters and giving up two home runs.

Sam Tuivailala who the Mariners acquired about two weeks ago from the St. Louis Cardinals came in for Gonzales however he strained his Achilles tendon  and was sent back to Seattle for x-rays and will go on the ten day disabled list. The Mariners will bring up a pitcher from Tacoma most likely to replace him while at the same time Jerry Dipoto will look at the waiver wire to see who may be available to acquire. Look forward to see you again Sam when you are up and ready to go. Ryon Healy had to leave the game as well because of the heat.

Now the Mariners go to Houston to take on the division leading Astros in a four game series. It would be nice to see the Mariners at least split the series. Thursday should be the most exciting game since James Paxton will go for the Mariners while Justin Verlander goes for the Astros. The last series in Seattle the Mariners didn’t have to face Verlander. We hope that the Mariners offense can come to life in the game.

Manager Scott Servais has talked about moving Dee Gordon out of the leadoff spot. Gordon again went hitless in Wednesday’s game. The Mariners facing Verlander could move Denard Span into the leadoff spot or he may decide to wait until Robinson Cano comes back next Tuesday to be put in the third spot. Segura likely be moved to the leadoff spot when the Mariners face a lefty and move Gordon down to ninth in the order. It isn’t new for Gordon since he batted ninth several times last year for the Miami Marlins. Whatever the case we know that the Mariners offense has to come alive if they have any chance to make the playoffs; right now the Mariners are two and half games behind the Oakland A’s. Next Tuesday the Mariners will start a three game series in Oakland so it would be nice if the Mariners could still be at the same spot or better when they go against them. The Mariners have a pretty good record of late playing in Oakland so it would be nice to sweep the A’s there. Go M’s.  

What Must the Mariners Do With Felix?

It is Wednesday morning and the Mariners are just a few hours away from playing the Texas Rangers in the final game of the series before moving on to Houston in a four game series.

The last time I wrote after Felix previous start whether he can be fixed or not. The question is still in hand however should he be in the starting rotation after giving up eleven runs in six innings. Actually only seven those runs were earned because of an error by Kyle Seager who is another story to deal with at another time. He did give up a home run after the error by Seager so though it wasn’t earned it still was part of the game. The eleven runs were the most Felix has ever given up in a game.

The Mariners left Felix in the game for six innings though in my mind he should have been taken out after the fourth inning when the Mariners actually still had a chance to win.

Going into the bottom of the fifth inning the Mariners were behind 5-3 so they still had a chance to win the game. I know that Servais and the coaching staff didn’t want to overuse the bullpen but it was obvious that Felix didn’t have it. The Mariners actually began the game with Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager hitting back to back home runs in the second inning and then scored another run in the third inning to make it 3-0 Mariners ahead then the Rangers scored four runs in the bottom of the third and then another run on a homer in the fourth inning. At that point I would have brought in a reliever whether it was Chasen Bradford who did come in the seventh inning or someone else.

I can understand leaving Felix in the game if the Mariners were not playing for a playoff spot. Fortunately the Oakland A’s lost as well.  I guess we will see whether it was the right decision to leave Felix in to rest the bullpen. Scott Servais said the will have to think about whether Felix will make his next scheduled start on Sunday or not. I hope that decision will be made today or Thursday.

If the Mariners do decide to start Felix on Sunday I would have someone ready to go right away in the game. The Mariners to honor Felix for willing to stay with the Mariners when he had a chance to leave as a free agent but they have to think about the cost of the playoffs as well.

If Felix doesn’t start again does he go into the bullpen or on the disabled list to get things straighten out so he does have value to pitch at some point in the rest of the season. It isn’t an easy answer however Felix head isn’t in the right place either. The management of the Mariners needs to do the right thing for the organization as much for Felix. They talk about how important it is to make the playoffs so they have to let the fans know as well. Taking Felix out of the rotation will speak volumes to the fans that they do care or if he is left in again that this are the same old Mariners.  Early in the season they made the right decision on Ichiro now they need to do the same with Felix. Of course the difference is that they still owe Felix a whole lot of money still. I don’t think it means taking Felix out of the rotation means they totally given up on him but he has to change things to get back to where he once was or at least be a contributable member of the pitching staff. Go M’s.

Mariners Win in Extra Innings

On Monday night the Seattle Mariners looked like the team we have seen most of the season winning by a run and taking twelve innings to do so 4-3. Wade LeBlanc was back to pitching the way we have seen him in most of his starts this year. He was pulled in the seventh inning with one out with the Mariners leading 3-1. They brought in Adam Warren to face a right handed hitter which in a way made sense though LeBlanc had only thrown eighty-two pitches. In my opinion the Mariners should have let LeBlanc stay in the game at that point or had Warren pitch starting the seventh inning. I think the Mariners are asking for trouble when a pitcher comes in with runners on base. Servais came out and inserted Zach Duke to face left handed hitter Joey Gallo however he was walked. So then he brought in Alex Colome with still one out but he was able to stop the bleeding without the Rangers scoring any runs. Colome stayed in the game for the eighth inning as well.

In the bottom of the ninth inning Servais brought in Nick Vincent to face the Rangers. I thought oh no the game is over. I am sure I wasn’t the only one thinking that way however Vincent was able to get all hitters he faced to get through the ninth inning on five pitches. James Pazos and Sam Tui pitched the tenth and eleventh inning without giving up a hit.

In the top of the twelfth Jean Segura got on base without any outs on a throwing error however he was thrown out trying to steal second base. I thought that was a terrible mental mistake then Mitch Haniger hit a double down left field. Of course that would have scored Segura on the play or at least he would have been on third base. With two outs though Ryon Healy was able to drive in Haniger; in came Edwin Diaz though giving up a couple hits he struck out Choo to end the game.

I know bringing in relief pitchers has to be the hardest job to do for a manager especially when they do so the same way most of the time. I just wished the manager would learn something from his mistakes. Of course I am sure he may not consider it a mistake.

Tuesday night Felix Hernandez makes another trip to the mound. I am sure we are all thinking whether this will be the last time in the rotation for him or he will pitch well enough to stay in. He does the same thing like last time where he is able to go five innings giving up three runs or less that will be a good thing. I am sure everyone is nervous of Felix pitching especially the Mariners being in the playoff race. This is true if the Mariners miss the playoffs by a game or two. Erasmo Ramirez is expected back soon and what the Mariners plan to do we will have to see.

News about Robinson Cano hit got one hit in three at bats plus a walk. He was taken out of the game in the eighth inning when Cameron Perkins pinch run for him and then went into playing first base. The Rainiers won the game 3-2 in ten innings. Cano is expected to play again Tuesday.

Check the news on the site www.seattlemarinerspro.com for anything that is news worthy on the Mariners. Go M’s.