Welcome to New Mariner LJay Newsome

I expect most Seattle Mariner fans
didn't think the team would win
Thursday afternoon against the
Dodgers with Clayton Kershaw.

Yusei Kikuchi returned after 

missing his last start because

of neck spasms. The first couple

of innings he looked like he might

compete with Kershaw however

it wasn't meant to be. He gave up

four runs in the third inning which

turned out to be enough for Kershaw

to win.

So the introduction to LJay Newsome.

He came into the Mariners game in

the sixth inning. He was recently called

up from the alternate training site in

Tacoma on August 15.

Thursday was his major league debut.

He made a good showing giving up a

run on three hits in three innings. His

only blemish was giving up a home run

to center fielder Cody Bellinger. As

analyst Mike Blowers said on the 

broadcast if you are going to give up

a home run to Bellinger is a good thing.

What I liked about Newsome he is able 

to throw strikes. We can't say that about

many of the Mariner relievers. 

Newsome is a former starter in the Mariners

minor leagues. Last year he played at high

single-A, double-A Arkansas and made one

start at triple-A Tacoma. With a list of three

first rounders expected to be starters Newsome's

success will come out of the bullpen though

he could start if necessary.

I look forward to Newsome's next appearance

in a Mariner game. I hope next time it will be

with the Mariners ahead and they can actually 

win.

The Mariners are at home against the Texas

Rangers for the weekend series before heading

off on the road again. The Rangers are 10-14 

in third place while the Mariners are 8-19.

It would be nice if the Mariners could take

two out of the three games of the series.

After the Rangers the Mariners will finish off

August against the Padres in San Diego for three

games followed by the Angels in Anaheim for 

four games. The Angels are only a half game

ahead of the Mariners right now so gives the

home team some hope. Just keep the ball away

from Mike Trout is all I have to say.

Enjoy your weekend and let's go M's. 

Taijuan Ends Losing Skid

At the beginning of Wednesday nights game
in Seattle against the LA Dodgers not only 

did it not look as though Taijuan Walker 

would win the game he would be lucky to

go four innings.

Before the second inning was over where

Walker had given up two runs on homers

he had thrown fifty pitches. I thought no

way he is going to stick around.to get the

victory, however, it was nice to know I

was wrong. 

On his post game conference he said he

wouldn't have stuck around either unless

changing the game plan of pitches to throw.

He and catcher Austin Nola realized the

Dodgers were looking and hitting his 

fastball so they decided to go the rest of

the way with off-speed pitches which 

turned out to be the answer.

Offensively Nola had the answer to hitting

a three-run homer in the bottom of the third.

This put the Mariners up never trailing again

with final score 6-4.

The only other scoring after that Dylan Moore

hit his fifth homer of the season to tie Kyle

Lewis for the team lead in homers.

Taijuan Walker ended up going seven innings 

giving up three runs on four hits, one walk 

and striking out eight.

The Dodgers took out their starter Julio  Urias

in the second inning. throwing 53 pitches, four

hits and one run. You could say the Dodgers

didn't want to see anymore of Urias. 

It wasn't a great decision as his replacement 

Dennis Santana gave up four runs including

the homer to Nola.  

The Mariners are expected to have Yusei

Kikuchi on the mound Thursday afternoon

in the final game against the Dodgers Kikuchi

missed his last outing because of neck spasms.

We are hoping he is healthy and learn from 

Walker's performance.

It wouldn't be easy for the Mariners offense

as the Dodgers will be starting Clayton Kershaw.

As you can imagine it could be a long day for

the Mariners offense.

News came out the Mariners decided to designate

Daniel Vogelbach for assignment. He was not

cutting it offensively hitting below .100. A good

guy in the clubhouse but the Mariners needed him

to hit.

The Mariners sent Art Warren back to training site.

Warren was on the taxi squad on the last road trip 

was activated in the last game when Mallex Smith

was optioned to the training site.

The Mariners brought up Braden Bishop who started

in right field and utility player Sam Haggerty who

played in left field got his first major league hit in

the game too.

First baseman Evan White was hurt when a ball hit

him after a swing. X-rays were negative however he

may miss the next couple games. Dylan Moore moved

from second base to first. He likely will be at first 

base while White is out.

Tim Lopes started at dh, however, with Vogelbach no

longer on the team the Mariners will use several players

there. Probably see Kyle Lewis and Kyle Seager at dh

when given the day off in the field. This will probably

go with some other players. Austin Nola will probably

dh when he isn't catching. 

The trading deadline ends on August 31 so we could

see a trade or two or more though the Mariners don't

have a lot of value to trade at this time. 

It would be interesting to see if Kyle Seager maybe 

moved since he has gotten off to a great start. It is

probably the best start since he has been a Mariner.

If Seager is traded I wouldn't be surprised if Dylan

Moore becomes the everyday third baseman. Stay tuned!

Seahawk Wednesday

This week the Seahawks began two a days In
nickel Bobbie Wagner and first round 

pick Jordyn Brooks were to be the two linebacker

spots with Marquise Blair as the extra defensive

back. Injuries though kept Brooks out so fellow

linebacker Cody Barton was instead. Brooks

though is expected back. It looks as though

KJ Wright won't be in during the nickel.

Newly acquired safety Jamal Adams is being

compared favorably with  ex-Seahawk greats

Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. He certainly 

will be an added plus to the defensive  which

wasn't good last year compared to other seasons.

Will Dissly is looking good at tight end. Greg

Olsen will be the starter when they go with 

one tight end  however both will be in when

going with two. 

The likelihood they will start with two tight 

ends and two wide receivers. The Seahawks

have three new starters on the offensive line

so going with Dissly and Olsen will help.

Both are good pass catchers as well. 

At times the Seahawks will go with three 

receivers or three tight ends. Jacob Hollister

though listed as a tight end  looks like a 

receiver so can be affective in the slot.

Bullpen and Offense Cost Mariners Game

When you are a team like the Seattle Mariners 

going through a rebuild you are going to have

games like Tuesday when the starting pitching

is great but the offense lacks run support and

the bullpen can't get the job done either.

Marco Gonzales showed why he is the ace

of the Mariners going seven innings giving

up one run on five hits while not walking a

batter and striking out nine.

It was his cutter fastball that made the difference

on Tuesday. His only mistake was giving up

a hit to Corey Seager younger brother of Kyle

in the sixth inning. 

The Mariners tied the game in the top of the

seventh when Tim Lopes pinch hitting for

Daniel Vogelbach hit a slow roller to score

Kyle Lewis to tie the game.

Speaking of Lewis he showed why he is 

doing a good job playing center field by

making a leaping catch  to rob Justin Turner

of a home run.

The Dodgers scored the winning run in the 

bottom of the eighth off of reliever Dan Altavilla

when Justin Turner drove in catcher Austin

Barnes this after another hit by Corey Seager.

Altavilla shows at times he can be dominating

on the mound but can be unreliable as well.

The problem the Mariners have is a reliever

who can shutdown the other team.

The Mariners announced before the game

they optioned outfielder Mallex Smith. This 

means for the time being we will be seeing

a lot of Dylan Moore playing in right field.

Moore has shown he might end up being

a starter for the Mariners for the long run

too. The position won't necessary and most

likely be right field.

The Mariners activated reliever Art Warren

in the place of Smith. He was on the taxi

squad traveling with the team. The Mariners 

likely will make a move possibly today

arriving back home to play the Dodgers

tonight in Seattle. I wouldn't be surprised

they bring up Jake Fraley, however, we

will see. 

The Mariners added catcher Tom Murphy

to the 45-day injured list so it looks like

we will not see him this season and Austin

Nola will be the starting catcher for the

remaining of the season unless they can

pick up another catcher. 

Seattle Mariners Bats Come Alive Still Lose

After taking a few days off the Seattle
Mariners bats came alive unfortunately
the pitching gave up too many runs.

The Mariners scored two runs in the
first inning then the LA Dodgers had
a run in the inning too.

Justin Dunn didn't have it Monday night

lasting only two innings. In the second

inning he gave up five runs including a

three-run homer to Corey Seager Kyle's 

brother.  

The lead didn't last long as the Mariners

scored five runs get the lead back 7-6.

Kyle Lewis and Kyle Seager had back to

back home runs then Evan White had his

first of two in the third as well.

The Mariners scored another run in the 4th

inning to increase the lead to 8-6. This lasted

until the bottom of the seventh when the

Dodgers scored five runs off of Seattle 

reliever Matt Magill. making it Dodger

lead 11-8.  Evan White hit his second 

homer of the evening for the final score

11-9.

The Mariners had opportunities to score

especially in the 9th inning to tie or win

the game unfortunately Daniel Vogelbach

popped up the last out of the game to

right field. To be honest I don't know why

the Mariners didn't pinch hit for Vogelbach.

He continues to struggle at the plate.

Until this game Matt Magill had been

pitching really well not giving up a single

run until this game. I would say most of

the time with Magill in the game the 

Mariners would have won.

The Mariners play a late afternoon game

on Tuesday against the Dodgers again

before coming home to play them twice

in Seattle. Marco Gonzales starts this

game for the Mariners we hope he can

end this six-game losing streak. Go M's. 

Covid-19 Affecting Local Sports

We know the Seattle Mariners are playing
right now along with the Sounders. The
Seahawks are expected to play as well.

We don't know what the delay in playing

or less games will cost both the Mariners

and Sounders. At this point we have no

idea of the Seahawks. It is possible there

season could be shut down at any time.

The Tacoma News Tribune reported on

Monday the Washington Huskies are going

to lose $70 million because of the virus at

this point anyway. There were no spring

sports and fall sports are cancelled to at

least spring. We have no idea of the winter

sports though they could be postponed until

January 2021.

We have no idea how much loss the Washington

State Cougars will have as well and then there

is Gonzaga along with the other colleges in

the area.

There is a good chance the Huskies along with

the Cougars and the other schools will have to

shut down some of the sport programs. The 

Huskies I am sure will have football, basketball

and women's softball.  At least I hope the softball

team will be around since they have had a lot

of national attention over the years.

This isn't only costing the colleges millions

of dollars it is costing the young people the

dreams they have had for a long time as well.

We just hope this virus will end soon but it

will cost some sports all together too. 

Seattle Mariners Lose Again In Houston

The Seattle Mariners had trouble once again
losing all three games to the Houston. This
game was like Saturday's where the offense
couldn't score runs.

Justus Sheffield showed he might turn out

to be a pretty good starting pitcher for the 

Mariners. He went six innings giving up 

two runs on six hits while walking one and

striking out four. One of the runs was not

earned so the Mariners may have one the

game if it weren't for an error by Dee Gordon

at second base giving Shed Long the day

off.

The Seattle Mariners scored both of their 

runs in the third inning. Catcher Joe Odom

drove in Evan White after he walked and

Gordon moved him along. Odom than 

scored himself on a hit by Kyle Lewis.

The Mariners only had four hits on the 

day with Lewis having two of them.

Dan Altavilla  had an outstanding seventh

inning striking out all three batters. He

certainly shows on occasion how dominating

he could be it would be nice if he could do

so on a regular.

Joey Gerber pitched an inning doing fine

as well. He is one of those guys who could

be around in the bullpen for some time. 

Going into the ninth inning with the game

tied 2-2 the Mariners brought in Erik Swanson

to pitch. I am wondering why in a tie game

Manager Scott Servais would bring in Swanson

when he struggled in his last out. It makes me

wonder how much he wants the Mariners to win.

I know the Mariners are in rebuilding mode but

wouldn't you think they would bring in someone

else instead to pitch. They may have lost anywayThe 

but having someone else having more success

would be the answer.

Now the Mariners will be going to LA to take

on the Dodgers which won't be an easy task 

in itself. The Mariners do seem to do well on 

the road except against the Astros. Justin Dunn

will start the opening game of the series. 

The Seattle Mariners are now 7-16 on the

season while the LA Dodgers are 15-7. The

Dodgers are 7-3 in their last ten games while

the Mariners are 2-8.

The Mariners and Dodgers will play two 

games in LA before coming to Seattle 

where both teams will play two more games.

The Mariners will face the Texas Rangers

next weekend before going on another

road trip.