Mariners Right Back At It

Friday the Mariners are back at playing in Anaheim playing the Angels after the all-star break. They got off to a great start in March going 13-2 but haven’t been good ever since. They played ball that was expected before the season started by Dipoto and Servais estimation.

You remember last year they played a good first half; at least up to the end of June anyway then things fell apart. The rest of the season went wrong. It was like the pressure of the playoffs made them give up.

The Oakland A’s played some great ball from May through September so even if the Mariners had played well it would have been still hard to be ahead of them to make the playoffs but at least we would have had a good time watching the Mariners play though it would still have been another disappointing season.

The second half of the season last year made Dipoto realize they had to tear thing down and do retooling as he called it. Hasn’t been easy watching this season especially the pitching and the defense. The offense has played pretty steady all season though they have had their moments to.

What we hope for in this second half is to see a ball club that hasn’t given up and is working on improving toward next season. We know many of the position players will still be around next year except those who may be traded before the deadline which is now under three weeks.

Many of the pitchers are now looking to pitch for their lives and seeing whether they will return next season. We know likely Felix Hernandez will not be around next year. I am sure we all wonder whether we will see him pitch again this season.

Regardless what happens now let’s enjoy the ride. Who knows maybe the second half will be like how the first half started off.

Dan Vogelbach the All-Star

I wish that Dan Vogelbach would have made the home run derby however he did make an appearance in the all-star game Tuesday night.  He flied out in his only at bat but it will be something he will remember. 

He said that the importance was having a good time. Those who didn't get a chance to watch the American League won 4-3. There was one home run by each team.

I read posts on social media by a few people thought it was a boring game. If you expected a lot of runs in the game then I can understand that, however, the pitchers are the best in the major leagues. Both teams used nine pitchers; no one going more than an inning so hard too get any hits that way.

The second half of the season starts on Friday when the Mariners are playing the Angels in Anaheim before heading to Oakland.

I do hope we hear about some trades in the next few days so we have something to talk about. The trading deadline in on July 31. No longer are they making trades in August except for minor leaguers. 

We do hope the pitching improves the rest of the way along with the defense. Though the starting pitching hasn't been good at times the trouble has been mainly out of the bullpen. It is amazing to think that after a couple of outing the relievers end up on the injured list. These are the guys who have done the best among the relievers. 

It shouldn't surprise us that the bullpen hasn't done well since many of them the Mariners have picked up relievers who were not doing well with other teams. Austin Adams did a good turnaround after the Mariners acquired him before having to go on the injured list recently. The same goes for a couple of the other relievers as well.

If the Mariners plan to compete next year they will need to go out and sign a free agent starter. The best choice is Gerrit Cole from the Houston Astros. He is the youngest of the best starters who will be free agents. He will cost the Mariners a lot of money but they are having a lot of money coming off the books. Jerry Dipoto will need to bring in three or four relievers as well. 

The position players seem to be good in the most part but I am sure there will be a few changes there too. It will be good to see some of the prospects move up throughout the system. Go M's. 

Oakland Takes Series

The Mariners continue to lose series which I guess we expected at the beginning of the season though they did get off to a great start. The important thing is to improve while the season is going on which isn’t always easy to find.

The Mariners won the middle of the three games series 6-3 behind the pitching of Marco Gonzales who has pitched well for the past month. Also, had home runs from Dan Vogelbach (Mr. All-Star) and Kyle Seager.

Sunday though the game started off not so good with opener Matt Carasiti going only a third of an inning giving up five runs; three of the runs were right away on a home run by first baseman Matt Olson.

Wade LeBlanc came in as scheduled. He had an excellent game going six and two-third innings giving up one run which was a home run in the second inning. Matt Wisler made his Mariner debut on Sunday giving up one run a homer in the eighth inning. Matt Festa finished the game in the 9^th inning. He gave up no hits in his one inning.

The player of the game for the Mariners was catcher Omar Narvaez who had two home runs in his four hits and drove in all four of the Mariner runs. I would say that is a career day. He now has 14 home runs which is a career high for him in a season. He is leading the Mariners in hitting with average of .296.

The final score was 7-4. Now the players can relax over the all-star break. We hope to see more improvement in the second half though they have played more than 81 games so far.

Mike Leake is scheduled to start Friday against the Angels. Saturday’s game they have no announced starter yet however I expect it will be the opener whoever that might be. Sunday Yusei Kikuchi will finish the series. The Mariners have Monday off which is strange after the all-star break. They will be in Oakland taking on the A’s next week with Marco Gonzales going on Tuesday.

I will give you a break on the Mariners this week except let you know how Vogelbach does in the all-star game and who the Mariners trade if anyone.  I know there are other sports to write about too.  Have fun!

Mariners Even Series

The Seattle Mariners ended their three game skid by beating the Oakland A’s 6-3. Marco Gonzales had a rough first inning loading the bases was able to get out of it with giving up only one run.

After the tough time in the first inning Gonzales was able to go eight innings. He gave up another run in the third inning on a solo home run by first baseman Matt Olson.

The Mariners tied then went ahead in the fourth inning when Daniel Vogelbach hit a two-run homer followed two batters later when Kyle Seager hit a two-run homer to make the score 4-2. The Mariners finished off their scoring in the fifth inning having two more runs score.

Domingo Santana continued his hot hitting as of late being the only Mariner to have more than one hit in the game. In fact, Santana had three hits in the game. He scored two of the Mariners runs. Also, he stole second base after one of his hits but was stranded without scoring. He now leads the Mariners in hitting with an average of .286.

Roenis Elias who relieved Gonzales in the 9^th inning gave up a solo home run for the A’s third run of the game. Outside of the home run he did strike out a batter as well.

Before the game we found out Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla were put on the 1-day injured list. This was after both of them had surrendered runs in their last outings. The Mariners recalled Parker Markel and David McKay from Tacoma. Both pitchers had been up with the Mariners previously.

The Mariners will start Matt Carasiti as the opener before Wade LeBlanc takes the mound. Carasiti has done well in the role of opener. He gave up a run in his last outing, however, in the previous two he did not. The Mariners are hoping this is a good role for Carasiti.

The all-star break goes into effect after Sunday’s game so all the relievers should be available for the game. They will have four days off before the Mariners resume action next Friday in Anaheim against the Angels.

The Houston Astros still lead the American League West winning seven out of their last ten days. They had struggled before facing the Mariners at the end of June when they swept them in Houston. The Oakland A’s are now in second place overtaking the Texas Rangers. The A’s have won seven out of their last ten while the Rangers have won only four games. The A’s are seven and a half games behind the Astros while the Rangers are nine behind. The Los Angeles Angels are in fourth place with an even record of 45-45. The Mariners are in the cellar of the West Division with a record of 39-54.

We will have to see whether Dipoto makes any acquisitions during the all-star break. Who may come and who may go? The trading deadline ends on July 31 twenty days after the all-star break is over.  

Mariners Take Third Loss In a Row

Right when you think a team is improving but then they lose three games in a row you realize that they are still not very good. The Mariners are that kind of team right now. They are going to have their ups and down the rest of the way. We just hope the ups will be more than their downs.

The positive up Yusei Kikuchi pitched a solid game going seven innings giving up three runs with two being earned. Something we have heard over and over again. It isn’t just the errors that have taken place but other balls the players haven’t gotten to either.

I really question the use of the shift is the best thing for the Mariners.  I think it should be used only against certain batters and the situation going on at the time. I don’t like it when they put the shift on with a runner on base with two outs especially.

I know that Dipoto and Servais are into analytics they can be used too much as well. Since this is a team that is retooling would it make more sense to play the old standard way of defense most of the time. At least this is my opinion anyway. There can be certain players you can put the shift on but not everyone. It is hard to tell what percentage of the time they actually do shift. I just see players that are not getting to certain balls going through the infield that turn into hits. Whether has to do with shift or not I am not sure.

Again the Mariners lost the game in the ninth inning this time with Dan Altavilla giving up two runs making the final score 5-2. He had pitched well in his last couple outings before this game. He walked a couple of batters well as giving up a couple hits.

I wonder to the judgment of the coaching staff when putting in certain pitchers late in games when the Mariners have an opportunity to win. Since they are retooling as they call it the likelihood is they are looking to find out who can and those who can’t do.

One thing we do know is the coaching staff and Jerry Dipoto are trying to find out who will be around next season so the pitchers especially the relievers are in audition. I would be surprised if no more than four will be back next season. With the trading deadline coming up in the next few weeks we probably see the end of a few players as well.

Those who will be gone in August we thank you for being here and best wishes. Marco Gonzales turn to take the mound on Saturday against the Oakland A’s. Go M’s.

Cardinals Take Series in Seattle

The Seattle Mariners were looking to win the series this week against the St. Louis Cardinals at home, however, things changed quickly.

After winning 5-4 on Tuesday, the Mariners looked like they would take the series leading 2-0 going into the 9^th inning on Wednesday, however, the bullpen melted while the Cardinals scored five runs  to snatch the game away from the Mariners.

Thursday afternoon the Cardinals took care of business winning 5-4. The Mariners made the game close once again but could not hold off St. Louis. JP Crawford continued to hit well having a solo home run in the first inning then driving in a run later.

The Cardinals tied the score in the 3^rd inning with a home run then the Mariners took a two-run lead in the bottom of the third inning, however, the Cardinals on another home run this time a two-run shot tied the game in the fourth, however, Tim Beckham hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to give the Mariners a 4-3. Unfortunately it was the last time the Mariners scored a run. The Cardinals scored two more runs in the 7^th inning.

Again the blame could be put on the bullpen, however, there were a couple balls that were hit just beyond Dee Gordon. I would have thought Gordon could have gotten to the balls but I am sure the Mariners had the shift on. The Cardinals scored at least two if not three runs because of the shift.

All five runs the Mariners gave up were recorded to Tommy Milone although Matt Festa came in giving up a hit that allowed the Cardinals to score the two runs in the seventh inning. The positive coming out of the game was the relief pitching of Dan Altavilla who looked like the pitcher the Mariners wanted him to be. He pitched the 9^th inning giving up no hits and striking out a batter giving the Mariners a chance to win. Right now it looks like Altavilla has his control under way which could help the Mariners the rest of the way.

The Mariners acquired another pitcher on Thursday. They picked up Matt Wisler from the San Diego Padres for cash considerations. Wisler had been Dfa’d by the Padres a few days earlier. He looks like another reclamation project for the Mariners. He has been used in starting and relieving in the major leagues. Most recently he has been used primarily in relief. It would be nice if the Mariners could help him out like they have Austin Adams.

The Mariners now take on the Oakland A’s over the weekend just before the all-star break. I am sure everyone is looking forward to having a break.  The Mariners will start the series with Yusei Kikuchi going Friday followed by Marco Gonzales on Saturday. The Mariners haven’t announced who will pitch Sunday; however, I expect it will be an opener before Wade LeBlanc comes in the second inning.  Anyone’s guess who will start on Friday against the Angel’s down in Anaheim after the all-star break.  Go M’s.

A Rough Loss

Going into the 9^th inning it looked like the Mariners were going to win leading 2-0 after a marvelous outing by starter Mike Leake. The Mariners bullpen showed their weaknesses losing 5-3.

At least they went with their top two relievers right now in Austin Adams and Roenis Elias; however, they were not able to deliver. Leake went seven and two-thirds innings giving up no runs, no walks and struck out seven.

The Cardinals were able to load the bases then tied the game at 2-2 in the 9^th inning. Tommy Edman came in to pinch hit; he hit a towering three-run homer to win the game. The Mariners were unable to score any runs off the Cardinal’s bullpen in four innings and only had one hit.

This game the Mariners should have won the series so now they will have win Thursday afternoon. At least for the fans Wednesday night they were able to see fireworks after the game.

It would be nice to see if the offense can start rolling once again. At least the positive side the Mariners are not playing for the playoffs or this game would have been a big stinger.

It looks like Daniel Vogelbach isn’t going to be in the home run derby. Though I am happy for him I don’t understand why he was picked for the all-star team if he wasn’t going to be in the home run derby. Domingo Santana leads the Mariners in three difference offensive categories. Neither one would be going for their defense for sure. Anyway we hope to see Vogey make at least one plate appearance in the all-star game. Go M’s.