Seattle Mariners Bats Still Missing

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

 

Margevicius went six innings giving up two runs 

on four hits, no walks and striking out three.

The Mariners were only able to muster one run on 

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

inning to give the Mariners any hope in winning.

The other two hits were by Kyle Seager and Austin

Nola, unfortunately they weren't back to back.

Justus Sheffield will start Sunday afternoon to

see whether the Mariners can scratch out a win

in this series before heading to LA to face the

Dodgers which won't make life any easier on

this young ball club. 

The trading deadline is August 31 so you wonder

if Jerry Dipoto will be active in acquiring talent

or a player to help in September and beyond.

Dee Gordon would be one  player to trade but his

batting average is terrible so what will the Mariners

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

one so the Mariners will likely pay him off.

Mallex Smith having another terrible season after

the Mariners acquired him from the Tampa Bay

Rays before the 2019 for Mike Zunino. It looks

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

the Mariners get much for him either.

The Mariners may try to trade some other players

who might have better value but we will have to

see. 

Seattle Mariners Kikuchi Misses Start

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

The Mariners pitching hasn't been able

to keep the Astros hitting down so far

on the season and Friday night wasn't

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

Nestor Cortes started for the Mariners

in place of Kikuchi who had neck spasms.

Well he didn't last long going one-third 

of an inning giving up eight runs on five

hits, an error, two walks and two home 

runs. Mariners basically out of the game

in just a few minutes.

Bryan Shaw came in for Cortes. Again

he wasn't impressive giving up two runs

in one and two-thirds inning.

Rule 5 pitcher Yohan Ramirez ended up 

giving up one run, one hit, three walks,

and struck out four. Though a little bit

wild he certainly shows promise.

Brady Lail the Mariners picked up off

of waivers on August 10 from the Chicago

White Sox pitched the final three innings

for the Mariners. 

Lail looked excellent coming in on his

first outing for the Mariners. He didn't

give up a hit, one walk while striking out

three. He looked aggressive going after

the Houston hitters.  He certainly had

the best performance out of the pen so

far on the season for the Mariners.

I would have to say Lail to keep a job

with the Mariners continue doing what

he did on Friday night. I am sure going

three innings he won't pitch for several

days.

The Mariners scored their single run in

the top of the first inning so they actually

had a lead though short lived.

The final score was 11-1. The Mariners 

had only six hits with Tim Lopes having

two of the hits. It looks like he is starting

to hit again after going through a short

slump. 

Now we have to see whether the Mariners

can rebound against the Astros in game two

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

Kikuchi Takes On Astros Friday Night

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

Kikuchi first time out he gave out up five runs

in three and two --third innings.

In second time out he gave up no runs against

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

three hits, walking one and striking out nine.

It would be nice to see more of those games

out Kikuchi. He will be a big winner for

the Mariners if he can pitch more often than

that.

His third outing was more like his first run

he gave up for runs in five and two-third 

innings so hopefully he run off several gout

outings in a row. He certainly shows he is

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

the most part.

In other local sports the Seahawks had their

first practice with the offense going against

the defense on Friday. Pete Carroll who is

always optimist will be ready to go when 

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

we. 

I am sure we all hope there will be a season

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

on how the players act over the next few weeks

as well. The Seahawks released a rookie player

who brought a girl into his hotel room. How 

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

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

We will keep up to date with the Seahawks well

as how the Mariners continue to do the rest of the

way. The starting rotation has done well for the 

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

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

the bottom isn't  

Seattle Mariners Bullpen Fails Again

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

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

Nola and Daniel Vogelbach his second of

the season with a runner on base. 

It looked like it was going to stand after 

Walker left the game after the six innings.

The Mariners were leading 4-1.

The seventh inning Joey Gerber gave up

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

lead; however, Erik Swanson entered in the

eight inning. He struggled mightily giving 

up five runs on three hits all earned run.

The trouble included hitting two Ranger

batters as well. So a game looking like

Mariners would win the series turned out

to be the opposite losing 7-4.

The Mariners now have a day off the first

one on the season after twenty games. The 

Mariners have a record of 7-13. They have

complete one-third of the shorten season.

For the Mariners to do better for the remaining

forty games the bullpen will have to do a 

better job that is for sure. Manager Scott

Servais will have to figure the way to have

more success out of the bullpen whether it

is with different pitchers or getting in guys

like Matt Magill at the right time. 

Matt Magill has pitched outstanding ball giving

up one hit in seven innings in seven appearances

without giving up an earned run. Servais will

need to put him in the game at the right opportunities

Lefty Taylor Guilbeau has had success in his

opportunities as well. He has pitched in only

five games giving up six runs and one run.

He will have to pitch more frequently in the

right spots as well. 

Yohan Ramirez rule 5 pickup has done well

in three of his four opportunities. My opinion

they need to give him more chances in the 

remaining games of the season. Since the 

bullpen for the most part has failed and many

of the 13 losses are contributed to him.

Friday I will look at the bottom half of the

batting order. They are primarily the reason

the offense has sputtered for much of the season.

Since the Mariners are in rebuilding mode still

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

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

30 wins. Now that Servais knows what he has

especially in the bullpen time to use the best

ones  in the right opportunities.

When the Mariners are ahead like in Wednesday's

game I would like to see  one of the three

at least coming out of the bullpen in Matt Magill,

Yohan Ramirez and Taylor Guilbeau. Though I

didn't mention his  name here Taylor Williams

has done well too. He has been primarily used

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

In all he has pitched in eight games more than 

any other reliever.

Another pitcher I haven't mentioned is Carl Edwards.

He currently is on the injured list  He has given up 

only one run in four appearances with a 1.93 ERA.

I would like to see him in games  when the Mariners

have a chance to win when he returns.

I would leave most of the other relievers to pitch

only when the Mariners are behind by more than 

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

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

with the new rule three batters so I would have 

someone ready to go when the third batter is up

to the plate.

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

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

three-game series in Houston starting Friday.

Go M's. 

Seahawk Wednesday

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

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

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

backup center Joey Hunt. He could return at a 

lower cost but nothing has been said or determined.

Guard Chance Warmack who would have competed

for the right guard position decided to opt out because

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

The Seahawks didn't resign free agent right tackle 

Germain Ifedi who ended up going to the Chicago

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

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

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

The Seahawks did sign a free agent right tackle in

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

be the favorite to win the spot however he will have

competition.

Another candidate for right tackle is Cedric Ogbuehi

who the Seahawks signed as a free agent as well

during the off-season. Returning backup Jamarco 

Jones may compete for the right tackle spot along

with  right guard. He will be the backup at left

guard and tackle too. Those are the primary candidates

for right tackle.

This year's third round pick Damien Lewis should be

the starter at right guard with Jones being his backup.

The center position is open without Britt or Hunt. The

front runner is BJ Finney the Seahawks signed as a

free agent during the off-season  after playing four 

seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  

Veteran Ethan Pocic second round pick by the Seahawks

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

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

Kyle Fuller who was on the practice squad last year

could be the third choice at center well as guard. 

Depending how many offensive lineman are on the 

opening roster  It will be tough the rosters are expected

to be lower this year because of Covid-19.

Mike Iupati will return as the starting left guard and

Duane Brown at left tackle. Both have been around

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

the Seahawks will have to keep an eye on both when

it comes to injuries. Phil Haynes one of the Seahawks

fourth round picks will be Iupati's backup and heir

apparent. Jamarco Jones will be Brown's backup 

though he is competing for the right tackle and guard

positions as well.

There we go for the Seahawk roster. Next week will

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

the Seahawks will have a season though likely no fans

in the stands. Go Hawks!

Mariner Loss Tuesday

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

After having fifteen hits while scoring ten runs

on Monday in win over the Rangers on Tuesday

the Mariners were only able to muster two runs

on four hits.

A young team though talented this is going to

happen more frequently than we would like.

Marco Gonzales struggled on the mound giving

up runs in both the second and fourth inning,

however, didn't give up any home runs 

Center fielder Nick Solak was the hitting hero

for the Rangers driving in three of their four

runs. He had three hits raising his average to

..288.

The Mariner scored their two runs in the

fifth inning with a walk to Dee Gordon,

a hit by designated hitter Tim Lopes. and

hit by JP Crawford.  A throwing error 

allowed Lopes to score the second run.

Kyle Seager continues to hit well in 

Texas having two of the four hits

unfortunately he wasn't able to drive

in any runs. The Mariners didn't have

an extra base hit on the night.

The bullpen had a fine night which has

been hard to find on a regular basis.

Matt Magill, Dan Altavilla and Bryan

Shaw each pitched an inning without

giving up a hit. At least they gave them

a chance to win. Magill was outstanding

striking out all three batters he faced.

All three relievers  could pitch on Wednesday

night if needed since Thursday the Mariners

have an off day before having a weekend

series in Houston.

The Mariners need to find answers for the

bottom of the batting order with Lopes 

being the only one with a hit and the only

one batting over two hundred. The hitting

coaches will have to find a way to get

those guys going. It is keeping the offense

stale for the most part. 

Taijuan Walker will be starting Wednesday

night's game. See if he can rebound after 

having a poor performance in his last outing.

The outing before that he pitched outstanding.

We hope to see that Walker.

 

Mariners Positive Opener On Road Trip

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

to weather the storm.

He led  off walking former Mariner

Shin-Soo Choo, designated hitter

Will Calhoun hit a triple to score

Choo. The Mariners tied it in the

top of the third with Dan Vogelbach

hitting a double then scored on a

hit by Dylan Moore. The Rangers

took the lead with another rbi by

Calhoun making it 2-1.

Kyle Lewis decided not to mess

around by hitting a three-run

homer in the fifth inning. Thought

this might be enough but we know

can't count on the bullpen so Kyle

Seager hit a grand slam home run

in the sixth inning. Dylan Moore

who had three hits on the night

hit a home run himself to finalize

the score at 10-2.

Dunn ended up going six inning

giving up the two runs on seven

hits while walking three and striking

out two. He was able to go long

enough to record his first major

league victory.

The Mariners had fifteen hits on

the night with every batter getting

at least one hit. I was thinking 

wouldn't be nice to save some of

those hits and runs for another

day but we know it never works 

that way.

The Mariners are still in fourth

place five and a half games behind

the division leading Oakland A's.

With a win Tuesday night the 

Mariners would move into third

place ahead of the Rangers. 

Marco Gonzales will make his 

fourth start of the season. He has

a 2-1 record with 3.06 era. We 

hope the Mariners can continue

their hot hitting in Texas. Certainly

the Rangers new ball park shows

favor to the Mariner hitters for sure.

Go M's.