Tough Loss For Mariners

The Seattle Mariners had a chance to win Thursday afternoon's game a couple time plus a couple times able to score runs with two outs to keep the game going. 

The game went into overtime where the Mariners lost in the 14th inning to the Houston Astros 8-7.  Reliever Austin Adams started the game, however, he gave up three runs in the first inning and able to get only two outs. Catcher Robison Chironis hit a two-run homer to help chase Adams. Tommy Milone who was originally planned to start the game ended up going 5 and 1/3 innings in the game. He gave up three hits and a run that came on a home run. 

Six relievers followed Milone with Brandon Brennan and Cory Gearrin the only ones not giving up a run in the game.

Justin Verlander went 6 1/3 innings and the Mariners were able to score three times against him. Also, in the 9th the Mariners were able to score a run off closer Roberto Osuna when Edwin Encarnacion hit a single to right field to tie the game to allow them to play extra innings. The Astros scored in the top of the 10th, however, Omar Narvaez hit a home run off Hector Rondon.

The last two relievers for the Astros struggled to get the ball over the plate. Josh James and Chris Devenski each walked three batters to load the bases but the Mariners were not able to score a single run. In the top of the 14th inning, the Astros were able to score a run off of reliever Matt Festa. Outfielder Myles Straw hit a ball to deep right field, however, Domingo Santana wasn't able to play the ball off the wall correctly so Straw who is very fast made a triple out of the play. Had Santana played it right it probably would have been a double. Straw scored on a sacrifice fly where had he been on second base would have gone from second to third on the play.

The Mariners had the bases loaded when Shed Long hit a fly ball to end the game. It was a 3-1 count. Had he taken the pitch likely he would have walked and the game would have been a tie with the Mariners still having a chance to win. 

Mitch Haniger was lifted from the game in the seventh inning. Whether he will miss some time will be forthcoming. Always tough when a team is struggling that injuries happen too.

Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, and Wade LeBlanc are expected to start against the Angels in Anaheim over the weekend. We hope all three can have success after struggling recently. Gonzales hasn't won a game since April.  Kikuchi missed his last turn,  he had trouble in his last two starts and LeBlanc still trying to get things straighten out after being on the injured list. It would be nice if the Mariners could win at least of the three games in Anaheim. 

Mariners Bomb Houston

It took the Mariners five days, but they finally won another game beating the Houston Astros 14-1. Going against Justin Verlander Thursday afternoon it would have been nice to save some of the runs.

The Astros scored first getting a run in the first inning only off of starter Mike Leake who ended up pitching a complete game for the Mariners. He gave up six hits with two walks and struck out five batters. One of his best games on the season. He now has a record of 5-6. There is speculation this could be his last start for the Mariners so we will see in a few days.

The Mariners scored there first two runs in the fifth inning off starter Brad Peacock who recorded the loss though the Astros bullpen got them out of reach for the win.

Reliever Raymin Guduan gave up three runs in a third of an inning that included a home run off the bat of Domingo Santana who started in right field. He will start there again Thursday. 

Brady Rodgers came in for Guduan but he didn't do any better going two innings giving up eight runs including three home runs. Catcher Tom Murphy, Edwin Encarnacion, and newcomer Mac Williamson hit a three-run homer to clinch the victory. Willamson signed a minor league contract early on Wednesday then was activated by the Mariners later in the day replacing Braden Bishop was placed on the ten-day injured list because of his spleen. The injured happen while he was in Tacoma. The Mariners acquired Williamson after he was designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants.

Besides Santana moving to right field Mallex Smith was moved to left field and Mitched Haniger went to center. The same lineup today except for Narvaez will be catching. 

Thursday the Mariners start a reliever again this time in Austin Adams. He likely will go an inning or little longer depending on how he fares out. Tommy Milone will come in to replace Adams. The Mariners should have most of the bullpen ready to go Thursday since Leake pitched a full game.

The major league draft the Mariners ended up selecting 22 pitchers. The Mariners selected most of them before going for position players.  Dipoto was serious in going after pitching depth for sure. 

Friday the Mariners will be in Anaheim to take on the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend. We hope the Mariners will have more success than what they have done over the last six weeks. Go M's. 

Mariners Get No Relief

Once again the Seattle Mariners lost again to the Houston Astros 11-5. The game was actually closer than the score indicated. The Houston Astros led off hitting a home run by Tony Kemp in the third off of Andrew Moore who was brought up to start from double-A ball in place of Yusei Kikuchi. The Mariners will have Kikuchi make his next regular start believed to be on Saturday. Mitch Haniger hit a home run to tie the score.

Robinson Chirinos hit a home run in the fourth inning then the Astros scored two more runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-1. At that point sort of wondered another loss with little offense. In the sixth inning with the bases loaded the Mariners had Daniel Vogelbach pinch hit for Tim Beckham who started the game as the designated hitter hit a double clearing the bases making the score 5-4. 

We had a little confidence the Mariners may win this game, however, the relief pitching didn't go come through giving up three runs in the seventh inning and four more in the eighth inning. Brandon Brennan who was pitching well until recently gave up the three runs in the seventh inning. I wonder whether he has an injury that will need him to go on the injured list or not. 

The news about the major league baseball draft which concludes on Wednesday the Mariners took six more pitchers on Tuesday making nine of there eleven picks pitchers. They drafted a third baseman in the 5th round and in the ninth a shortstop. The Mariners are building the team with high prospect pitching. 

The Mariners will be facing the Astros again Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon. Mike Leake is scheduled to pitch Wednesday while Tommy Milone will go on Thursday afternoon. Go M's. 

Another loss but Draft Begins For Mariners

 Seattle Mariners lost first game of the series against the Houston Astros on Monday 4-2. Reliever Cory Gearrin gave up the Mariners first three runs as he started the game going one inning. 

Wade LeBlanc came in the second inning and pitched an excellent game going the rest of the way. He gave up one run in the sixth inning. The Mariners had there two runs come in the third inning off of starter Corbin Martin where Mallex Smith and Edwin Encarnacion each hit solo home runs. 

Tuesday's game the starter isn't announced as of yet. With Gearrin being the only regular reliever even pitching in the game the Mariners may try going with a reliever starting once again.

The Mariners had three pitchers picked at the beginning of the major league draft on Monday. They will have more of the draft going today. They will have through the 10th round and the remaining of the draft will take place on Wednesday. The three pitchers are with #20 overall pick George Kirby, #59 Brandan Williamson, and #76 Isaiah Campbell.  We will learn more about these guys and the rest of the players picked. Go M's. 

Mariners Lose Series To Angels Big Time

I really thought the Mariners would at least split the series with the Angels who are not that good of a team outside of Pujols and Trout. For the Mariners, you can add Calhoun to the list as well. It is hard to believe they pitched to Pujols on Sunday and allowed a three-run home run in the 2nd inning where the Angels scored a total of seven runs. 

Marco Gonzales pitched four and two-thirds innings giving up ten runs on nine hits and three walks. Sounds like the Mariners need to give Marco a break to get things squared away since he hasn't won a game since April. I know the Mariners aren't going anywhere now but still a good idea. 

There isn't any good news on the field since now the Mariners will play the Houston Astros at home in a four-game series before heading to Anaheim to play the Angels again next weekend. I sure do hope they learn their lesson against the Angels. I know they are in rebuilding mode but manager Servais needs to be a bit smarter on how the team is pitching. The Mariners should at least be in the games to win.

Off the field, Jay Bruce was dealt to Philadelphia on Sunday for a single-A prospect. The Mariners sent what is a lot of cash to the Phillies only saving about $3 on Bruce remaining contract. I don't agree with it but it is what it is. I just hope they don't do the same thing when they unload Edwin Encarnacion but probably will. 

The major league baseball draft starts today(Monday) at 3 pm Pacific Time. The Mariners have three picks on the first day. The draft will take place over three days. I will update how the Mariners will do. We hope these three picks today will strengthen the farm system, especially in pitching. So best to Scott Hunter who is the leader in making the selections. Go M's. 

Not a Good Start to June For Mariners

The first game of June on national television in Seattle against Los Angeles started out what May was like. The Mariners lost to the Angels 6-3.

The Angels scored five of their six runs because of home runs. Albert Pujols started things off in the first inning hitting a two-run homer off of Tommy Milone. His first two starts with the Mariners were good but we would have to expect it wouldn't last forever and it was the night for that. The Angels scored another run to make it 3-0 before Edwin Encarnacion hit his first of two home runs which counted for all three of the Mariners runs. 

The Mariners tied the score in the sixth inning when Encarnacion hit his second home run with a runner on base. The Mariners were unable to get any runs off the Angels bullpen.

The Angels put the game away with a Kole Calhoun two-run homer in the eighth inning and the coffin by Mike Trout in the ninth inning. I don't understand with all the analytics the Mariners have why they even pitch to those three hitters. Pujols, Calhoun, and Trout all have a history of hitting the long ball against the Mariners. Please in the future unless you have a big lead don't pitch to any of them. Let the other players beat you.

If I see that any of those three hit home runs on Sunday to beat the Mariners I know Servais hasn't learned a thing.

There is a good possibility that Jay Bruce will be traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. It may take place before Sunday's game. It looks like the Mariners will get a minor league back in return and the Phillies will pay all or most of Bruce's salary that goes through 2020. This will allow the Mariners to make room for Braden Bishop to come up who is hitting well in AAA. Also, the Mariners can use his defense in the outfield. The next guy probably moving on is Edwin Encarnacion though the Mariners could trade Tim Beckham as well.  This team may look a bit different when we move into July. At the end of July for sure. Go M's. 

Mariners Win!

It has been a rough month of May for the Mariners winning only seven games. I hope winning the last game of May will help for June. The Mariners have a light schedule in June besides playing the Minnesota Twins and the Houston Astros. 

I wonder how much different the team will look at the end of June than it does now. Will we see Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce both move on? How about Mike Leake?

Friday night Encarnacion didn't play because of a dental procedure. Jay Bruce hit his 300th career home run, so congratulations to him. Mike Leake had an outstanding game going seven innings, giving up five hits and two runs. He didn't walk a batter. That is when you know he is doing well. 

Mike Leake's two runs given up were on solo home runs by Ohtani and Mike Trout. 

The Mariners ended up winning the game 4-3. Austin Adams gave up the third run by the Angels. In the eighth inning to make the game interesting. I have to admit not a lot of confidence the Mariners would win but they did.

All four runs in the game were scored by Jay Bruce and catcher Tom Murphy who is doing an excellent job being Nevarez understudy.  Murphy had a double and home run in the game. His home run was with Bruce on base. 

The Mariners had only five hits in the game but they made the best of them. Murphy's double led to the Mariners first run in the third inning. Dylan Moore playing shortstop drove in Murphy with his only hit of the game. Mitch Haniger had a hit in the game too. A good sign since he has been struggling at the plate in May. 

Now that June has arrived we hope the Mariners can add on some victories by taking care of the Angels in these final two games of the series. 

Tommy Milone goes for the Mariners in a late Saturday day game as the game is going to be shown on Fox in a nationally televised game at 4 pm PDT.  On Sunday Marco Gonzales for the Mariners. We hope he can bounce back in June after going winless in May.

These two games are important this weekend because this coming week the Mariners play the Houston Astros at home for four games. Next weekend they will play the Angels once again down in Anaheim. So let's root on the Mariners. Let's see some wins come our way.