Final score: Indians 9, Mariners 3

That seemed like such a clever recap title when I came up with it last night in anticipation of today’s game. It’s funny because there are so many ex-Mariners on the Indians, see. (Five, if you wanted to know.) But after tonight’s slugfest by Cleveland, perhaps I should have written “Little League Team vs. Indians,” because not even Felix was enough to save this game.

The Mariners wasted little time flirting with a lead. There was no reason to doubt them heading into the 1st—Dustin Ackley and Michael Saunders charged ahead with consecutive singles, scoring a single run easily on Ichiro’s RBI groundout. With Felix up in the bottom of the frame, and keeping in mind his last 12-strikeout start against Cleveland, it looked like an easy 1-2-3 start to the game.

What happened next I can’t credit as much to the Indians’ offense as to the complete unraveling of King Felix and Jesus Montero. You can find the detailed play-by-play on Gameday, but here’s the gist: Felix kicked off the inning with two singles, handed out two walks, hit Asdrubal Cabrera, and fouled a pitch off Carlos Santana’s kneecap. Not helping matters was Montero, who allowed a passed ball, a stolen base, and joined Figgins in back-to-back throwing errors for the Indians’ third and fourth runs of the inning.

From there, things mostly went downhill. Felix finished with 3.2 IP, 10 hits, and 8 earned runs, his briefest and worst outing since a 7-3 loss to Texas last September. The team left five runners on base and went 0-for-6 with RISP. Hisashi Iwakuma made his fourth relief appearance, striking out 4 batters, but walking 3 and sending a home run to Travis Hafner.

If you’re looking for a silver lining, rejoice in the fact that Ackley appears to be heating up. He went 3-for-4 tonight with a pair of base hits and a 2-RBI home run off RHP Ubaldo Jimenez. As for me, I’m going to spend the rest of my night doing something infinitely more fun than watching that game: banging my head against a wall.

Next game: @ Indians | May 17 | 9:05am

While the Mariners figure out how to reclaim their mojo/groove/dignity in Cleveland, reporters nitpick comments from Wedge, Safeco Field plays host to college baseball, and the M’s fanbase tries to find positive things to say about this team.

Would Wedge move Ichiro DOWN in the order? — “DOWN” is such a harsh word when capitalized. I could launch into a defense of Ichiro’s recent production at the plate, but instead of racing through countless charts on FanGraphs, I’ll let Larry Stone explain why he’s reading so much into a few comments from Eric Wedge.

The M’s Should Sell Brandon League Soon — According to Dave Cameron, the Mariners have two extra-expendable players (because really, other than a handful of players, who would the Mariners refuse to part with?) clogging the ‘pen.

Appreciating Danny Hultzen — Brendan Gawlowski anticipates the major league debut of current Jackson General Danny Hultzen, and examines his potential in light of his MLB draft peers.

UCLA Holds OFF UW For 2-0 Win At Safeco Field — While you sat at home watching the Yankees defeat the Mariners, the Washington Huskies battled the UCLA Bruins at Safeco Field.

Mariners Offense In Pursuit Of History — The Mariners are unhittable. Not unhittable in the sense that their pitching staff is superior to the pitching staffs of other major league teams; unhittable in the way that the players actually repel pitches. Jeff Sullivan explains this a lot better, so feel free to stop reading and just click on the headline.

What have you read this week? Share it with us on Twitter or in the comments below!

As I typically do on Sunday evenings around 5:00, I turned on the TV to see which two teams would be playing in ESPN’s weekly baseball showcase. I was delighted to find that it would be an A.L. West matchup, with the Los Angeles Angels taking on the Texas Rangers. Many aspects of this game intrigued me – would Jered Weaver be able to bring his no-hit stuff against one of the best lineups we’ve seen in years? Would Josh Hamilton continue to punish baseballs? Would Albert Pujols continue to be punished by just about every starting pitcher in the league?

All questions were answered pretty quickly – the Rangers humiliated the Angels on a national stage, taking the game by a final score of 16-3. Josh Hamilton hit, Nelson Cruz hit, Adrian Beltre hit. The only starter to not score a run was Hamilton, but he drove in three of his own.

The most well-known national baseball writers were tuned into the game and there were many tweets that shot through the internet regarding these two teams – the absolute dominance of the Rangers and the complete opposite in Los Angeles. One tweet struck me above all of the others, however, coming from ESPN’s Karl Ravech.

» Continue reading “The Next Rangers?”

I’m just going to say it: even though Seattle still has a full six games left to play against Cleveland, I’m already sick of the Indians. To be fair, it’s not so much that I have beef with a lineup full of ex-Mariners; but the way the current Mariners fell short during last month’s unfortunate homestand keeps replaying in my head.

Tomorrow, Felix Hernandez looks to repeat his outstanding performance, this time against RHP Ubaldo Jimenez. On Thursday, Hector Noesi faces RHP Zach McAllister.

Current record: 20-16

Last game: vs. Twins. Cleveland took the two-game series with another 5-run win, blanking the Twins on a complete game performance by RHP Derek Lowe.

Right now, the Indians are sitting atop a 2-game lead in the AL Central. They’ve taken 9 of 16 games this month, and currently maintain a streak of 2 consecutive wins following today’s shutout.

Last series against Seattle: April 17 – 19, 2012. Backed by home runs from Ichiro and Chone Figgins, Jason Vargas put up his second win of the year on a 4-hit, 1-run outing. However, the standout performance in this series belonged to Felix, who pitched a gorgeous 8.0 innings for 12 strikeouts and 5 hits… only to have Brandon League blow the lead—and the game—in the 9th.

Over the past five years, Seattle kept a 16-20 record against Cleveland, 4-12 at Safeco Field and 12-8 at Progressive Field. This marks the second of three Mariners-Indians series in 2012, and the only one played in Cleveland.

Toughest player: Asdrubal Cabrera. Although he has yet to face the Mariners this season, Cabrera made impressive headway against Charlie Furbush in last September’s makeup game. He came one triple shy of hitting for the cycle, putting up 3 runs on an RBI double and 2-RBI home run, with a base hit thrown in for good measure.

This year, Cabrera holds a batting line of .319/.413/.521 in 138 PA. After a scoreless three games against Boston, he went 2-for-5 this morning with a solo shot and RBI single off Minnesota’s Jason Marquis.

Weakest link: Casey Kotchman. Following a peak year batting .306/.378/.422, Casey is off to a slow start with an average of .206/.289/.318 in 122 PA. During the Indians’ last 3-game meetup with the Mariners, he went 1-for-12 with a double, leaving 6 runners stranded and striking out to Millwood and Felix 3 times.

Expected result: Last weekend, the Red Sox pummeled the Indians with a 3-game sweep. Then, Cleveland bounced back to sweep the Twins. This week, the Red Sox swept the Mariners. Do you get where I’m going with this?

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Final score: Red Sox 5, Mariners 0

Congratulations, Josh Beckett. You’ve now earned the right to take one of your 18 days of freedom and play golf.

As for you, Mariners, golf days will be few and far between. For once, I’m not upset with your RISP numbers: 0-for-3 is nothing to cry over. However, striking out 10 times (9 against Beckett), reaching base 6 times, and failing to score altogether made this a very painful game to watch.

Even with a lineup free of Chone Figgins, Miguel Olivo, and Brendan Ryan, the offense lacked a spark. Ichiro’s two singles and two stolen bases were wasted on Kyle Seager, who closed the door on RISP in the 4th and 6th with a groundout and first-pitch flyout.

Blake Beavan lasted 4.0 innings this afternoon, retiring 7 batters before allowing a solo home run to David Ortiz in the 3rd. In the 4th, he served an RBI double and groundout to Mike Aviles and Ryan Sweeney, forming the base for Boston’s insurmountable lead. This was his second shortest start of the season, and his shortest appearance since a 3-inning no-decision against the Tigers last Monday.

Tomorrow, Seattle faces Cleveland in another 2-game series before taking on Colorado for the weekend. I won’t waste time outlining solutions to winning the rest of this road trip—you know what you have to do, Mariners. Just win.

Next game: @ Indians | May 16 | 4:05pm

Final score: Red Sox 6, Mariners 1

On a day where the Yankees beat the Orioles, the Rays dominated the Blue Jays, and the pecking order of the AL East is slowly being restored, the Mariners were put in their place by Jon Lester and the rest of the Red Sox.

Lester surpassed a career milestone of 1,000 IP by the middle of the 1st inning. He kept a perfect game through 3 innings, allowing 8 hits and a single run in his second win and first complete game of 2012.

Jason Vargas, on the other hand, was slightly less impressive. In 6 IP, he allowed a season-high 5 runs, 3 of which arrived on home runs from Daniel Nava and Kelly Shoppach in the 4th.

After 8 shutout innings by the Sox, the Mariners finally made it all the way home on a Kyle Seager RBI groundout. Justin Smoak had his fourth productive night in a row, going 2-for-4 with a base hit and a double.

The only other player with a multi-hit night was Ichiro, breaking up the no-no with a single in the 4th and leading off the 9th with a second base hit. Overall, Seattle has gone 5-for-29 in their last five games, scoring just 11 runs in 37 hits.

Tomorrow, the Mariners look to split the series against RHP Josh Beckett. Blake Beavan will take the mound for his seventh start of the season; with any luck, he’ll find enough run support to put up his first win since April’s Opening Day weekend.

Next game: @ Red Sox | May 15 | 1:05pm

In an attempt to fit as many teams into a 10-game road trip as possible, the Mariners will be stopping briefly in Boston for a 2-game series, flying to Cleveland for another 2-game series, and stopping over in Colorado for their final three games.

Here are your series pitching matchups. Today, Jason Vargas takes on LHP Jon Lester. Tomorrow, Blake Beavan (or Beavin, as the Red Sox’ game notes would have you believe) faces RHP Josh Beckett.

Current record: 15-19

Last game: vs. Indians. The Red Sox lengthened their winning streak with yesterday’s 12-1 win, effectively pummeling Cleveland and taking 3 of the 4-game series. RHP Daniel Bard pitched 6.0 innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 earned run, 4 walks and striking out 2 of 26 batters. He was backed by the flawless bullpen relief of Rich Hill, Matt Albers, and Scott Atchison, as well as a generous handful of run support from Will Middlebrooks, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Daniel Nava.

Including last week’s win against the Royals, the Sox are 8-4 in the month of May.

Last series against Seattle: August 12 – 14, 2011. The Mariners took two of three games, picking up wins with Charlie Furbush and Felix Hernandez against Tim Wakefield and Josh Beckett. Ichiro hammered a first-pitch leadoff home run, Casper Wells went yard twice, and Brandon League picked up his 28th and 29th saves of the season.

Over the past five years, the Mariners hold a 14-20 record against the Sox; 8-11 at home and 6-9 on the road. The last time they made an appearance at Fenway, the M’s were swept for losses #13 – 15 of the infamous 17-game losing streak.

Toughest player: David Ortiz. Over 33 games and 144 PA, Ortiz has batted .349/.410/.620, crushed 7 home runs, and maintained a wOBA of .430. In other words, he’s a beast, and in an already loaded lineup, I’m starting to feel a little scared of this team.

Weakest link: Darnell McDonald. To be honest, this is the first I’ve heard of McDonald. He holds a .179/.277/.357 slash line over 26 games and 65 PA, and has not reached base in his last four starts.

Expected results: Usually, this is the easiest part of a preview. The good teams lay claim to the bulk of the series, leaving a leftover game for Seattle, if they want it. The bad teams are a toss-up, depending on the current state of the Mariners.

This time around, the Red Sox are hugging the bottom of the AL East standings, while the Orioles are on a 22-win rampage. I can’t make heads or tails of that division, and I’m not going to try to sort through it now. May the Mariners be lucky in Boston, and the Red Sox hold off on their campaign to claim a division title just a short while longer.

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For the latest updates on the Red Sox, stop by Fenway Fatales.

It’s not a throw to home plate, but the final score of every Mariners-Yankees game this weekend. Thankfully, today that 6 belonged to the Mariners, keeping a sweep away and giving Kevin Millwood his first win of 2012.

Since his last start against Detroit, Millwood posted his strongest numbers of the season, going 7.0 innings with just 4 hits, 1 earned run, 4 walks, and 6 strikeouts in 25 batters. After four scoreless frames, Millwood donated a run to the Yankees with a bases-loaded walk to Russell Martin. This time, it was the Yankees’ turn to go 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, while the Mariners pulled out a 3-for-9 effort—the most RISP scored since May 8.

Casper Wells did much of the heavy lifting in today’s lineup, providing 4 of the 6 runs on a 2-RBI homer and 2-RBI single. In the 9th, he not only drove in the last two runs, but made the final three outs of the game, including a perfect throw to Alex Liddi to nab a triple from Nick Swisher.

As both a sidenote and an interesting fact about the Mariners: Justin Smoak kicked the offense into gear this morning, going yard against Andy Pettitte and driving in Jesus Montero for the Mariners’ first two runs of the game. Combined with Wells’ long shot, Seattle has now put up five home runs in the last three games.

Whether it was the pink-dipped bats, the supportive Seattle mothers sitting in the stands, or the sheer presence of Casper Wells, the Mariners appear to be getting back on their feet after going 0-for-2 at the start of this roadtrip. Tomorrow, they hop over to Fenway Park for a 2-game series against the Red Sox, where, hopefully, they will continue a streak of both home runs and wins.

Next game: @ Red Sox | May 14 | 4:10pm

Final score: Yankees 6, Mariners 2

Felix Hernandez and Yankee Stadium has always been a good combination for Mariners fans. In three career starts at the new ballpark Felix was 3-0 with an astonishing 0.38 ERA. Every time Felix and the Mariners have played the pinstripes in their new home, Felix has slammed the door.

Not so much tonight. Felix gave up an uncharacteristic 11 hits in only 6.2 innings of work and while he struck out seven, the four runs he gave up were more than enough to seal the Mariners’ fate. The bulk of the damage done to Felix came on a two-out three-run homerun to former Mariner Raul Ibanez.

In the bottom of the fourth inning Mark Teixeira hit a single to left field with former Mariner Alex Rodriguez on second base. Surprisingly, the aging Rodriguez tried to make it all the way home but was nabbed at the plate by a perfect throw from former New York Met Mike Carp.

While it was nice to see Dustin Ackley lead the game off with a homerun and former Yankee Jesus Montero hit a solo shot of his own, the improving bats of the Mariners were not able to topple starter Hiroki Kuroda, who lasted seven innings and picked up his third win of the year.

Tomorrow sees former Yankee Hector Noesi get the start against Phil Hughes. The Mariners hope to take advantage of a 2-4 pitcher with a 6.67 ERA… while the Yankees hope to take advantage of a 2-3 pitcher with a 6.30 ERA. One less loss for Noesi and an ERA better by 0.37? I like our chances.

Next game: @ Yankees | May 12 | 1:05 PM

I’ve been trying to decide which team I’d rather see the Mariners face: the Texas Rangers, or the New York Yankees. Both are fearsome, both have power in their lineups and to a lesser extent, formidable pitching staffs, but the Yankees do have one factor that makes them more intimidating—we’re playing them this weekend.

Current record: 16-14

Last game: vs. Rays. The Yankees sandwiched a 1-4 loss to Tampa Bay with two 5-3 wins, culminating in last night’s 10-strikeout showing from ace C.C. Sabathia.

Last series against Seattle: September 12 – 14, 2011. The Yankees walked away with two wins, felling Felix on two long shots by Mark Teixeira and Chris Dickerson, and taking just one loss on a 6-strikeout, 3-hit performance by Jason Vargas.

Over the past five years, the Mariners are 12-22 against New York, 5-12 at Yankee Stadium and 7-10 at Safeco Field. For their part, the Yankees have not completed a sweep against the Mariners since May 2008, when they took six games in two homestands.

Toughest player: All of them. Okay, perhaps not every player, but it feels that way sometimes. So take your pick: will it be Nick Swisher’s 24 RBIs? Robinson Cano’s 8-game hitting streak (including two base hits and a 2-run homer last night)? Derek Jeter’s 50 hits in only 30 games and 141 PA?

Because all of the above candidates are so well qualified, here’s a question I actually want an answer to: which Mariner will give the Yankees the most grief during this series?

Weakest link: Jayson Nix. I know it’s not fair to pick on the new kid, who’s only seen 3 games and 6 PA in 2012, but I’m also not sure who else qualifies as the worst the team has to offer. Following 8 games in Triple-A, where he batted .233/.314/.367, Nix made his first major league start of the year on May 2. He spent the latter part of the 2011 season in Toronto’s farm system, and recorded his last hit against an MLB team on June 16, 2011.

Expected result: With consecutive series wins under their belt, the Mariners are starting to look a little more like a team and a little less like a hodgepodge of players who are too young, too old, and too unlucky. I’m not confident that they can sweep the Yankees in Yankee territory—though let’s face it, I’m never confident enough to predict a sweep by Seattle—but I think the M’s will stand their ground, especially when backed by King Felix.

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