Japan is only two days away! Actually, it’s more like four days, since the Mariners don’t have their first exhibition game until Saturday.

Still, we’ve almost made it through Spring Training! I mean, if you don’t count the Cactus League games after the Japan series. You get the point.

Yesterday, the Mariners announced that the Opening Series against the A’s is completely sold out. If you’re still planning a trip to Tokyo, try for one of the exhibition games.

Finally, today’s lineups:

Seattle: SS Kawasaki, 2B Rodriguez, LF Carp, C Montero, 3B Seager, 1B Liddi, DH Catricala, RF Peguero, CF Wells, RHP Millwood.

Cincinnati: 2B Brandon Phillips, SS Zack Cozart, 1B Joey Votto, 3B Scott Rolen, RF Jay Bruce, LF Ryan Ludwick, CF Drew Stubbs, C Ryan Hanigan, LHP Jeff Francis.

You can listen to the game online at Mariners.com and again on 710 ESPN Seattle at 7pm.

Game #2 will be won here. (Credit: Jay Cox/Flickr)

This is Seattle’s last split squad day. It is not their last day against split squad teams, but the last day they play two games at the same time. Unless there’s a B Game, in which case there will be two games on the same day, but not official split squad games.

Now that I’ve tried my best to confuse you, read these lineups:

Seattle: CF Figgins, 2B Rodriguez, RF Ichiro, LF Carp, DH Wells, 3B Seager, 1B Jaso, C Sucre, SS Noriega, RHP Iwakuma.

Oakland: CF Coco Crisp, 2B Eric Sogard, RF Josh Reddick, DH Manny Ramirez, 1B Brandon Allen, C Kurt Suzuki, LF Collin Cowgill, 3B Josh Donaldson, C Adam Rosales, RHP Graham Godfrey.

Seattle is also in the middle of their first split squad game against Milwaukee, with Felix Hernandez facing RHP Brad Peacock. Check out the Mariners’ official blog for updates.

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Mariners: 5, Giants: 7

The world-beating Mariners haven’t shown much vulnerability. They have scored runs upon runs and their pitching has done well enough to win a good majority of their ballgames so far. After this game, half of the Mariners’ losses have come at the hands of the San Francisco Giants, who are having as successful a Spring Training as the Mariners are. The Mariners just can’t topple the Giants – it’s a good thing they play in the A.L. West and only have to face the lowly Rangers and Angels.

This game started off in a very disappointing and frustrating fashion. Erasmo Ramirez, renowned strike-thrower of the Mariners, started off the game by… throwing a ball. Gregor Blanco lined the next pitch to Mike Wilson in right field, who added to the frustration by fumbling the ball and allowing Blanco to reach second. Ramirez proceeded to then strike Freddy Sanchez out and induce a Brandon Belt fly ball, but Casper Wells frustratingly took his time in getting the ball back in, allowing Blanco to tag up and advance to third. A Brett Pill double drove in the Giants’ first run.

Ramirez ended up going 4 innings, giving up 4 hits and only that one run. He struck out two and lived up to his reputation, throwing 34 strikes and only 16 balls.

» Continue reading “Mariners Postgame Recap: Kryptonite”

I could get used to a view like this. (Credit: michaeljzealot/Flickr)

I take it all back.

Everything I said about loving Mariners-Giants games, relishing the opportunity to see my favorite team and my hometown team face each other is a lie. What’s the fun in watching a game when you can’t fully despise (if only for nine innings) the other team?

Even while listening to a handful of innings during Sunday’s Mariners-Giants game, I felt like one of those sports moms whose motto in life is “Everybody wins!” That’s a terrible motto.

Before this tangent turns into a rant, today’s lineups:

Seattle: 2B Seager, CF Wells, 1B Carp, 3B Catricala, LF Peguero, C Olivo, RF Wilson, DH Sucre, SS Rodriguez, RHP Ramirez.

San Francisco: LHP Barry Zito will take the mound tonight. For lineup updates, follow the Giants on Twitter (@SFGiants).

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Tonight’s game begins at 7:05pm and will be aired on Root Sports. Coincidentally, I have a non-baseball loving friend coming into town, so I will conveniently miss this game and all the torture that accompanies it.

On the second Felix Day of spring training, the Mariners found themselves in a land of Giants and weren’t able to overcome the obstacles and bring an eighth spring training win to Mariners fans. Technically, the Mariners played the role of Gulliver in the land of Brobdingnag, but this is a baseball site so we’ll stick to the game.

The Mariners’ loss brings both teams to 7-3 and a share of second place in the Cactus League. Felix was okay but the bullpen was less than okay and the Mariners were just not able to put enough offense on the board to get the win.

The M’s drew first blood via a Vinnie Catricala double off the left-field wall in the second followed by a Michael Saunders RBI single. Catricala would end up going 2-4 on the day and Saunders went 2-3 with a stolen base, an RBI and a run.

Felix Hernandez started out sharp but had a rough third inning, giving up two singles that led to two runs being scored. He was able to strike out three Giants while not giving up any walks, but he did take the loss in the game. Felix was followed by Tom Wilhelmsen and Oliver Perez in the fifth and sixth, who both decided to imitate Felix by allowing two runs each, although they only needed one inning to complete that feat.

Trayvon Robinson had a strong day at the plate, going 3-4 and ending up only a triple short of the cycle after a 9^th inning homerun to bring the team 2 runs of the lead. Dustin Ackley, Luis Rodriguez, Justin Smoak and Kyle Seager all went 0-3.

The Mariners square off against the Texas Rangers tomorrow in a game that won’t be on the radio. Michael Saunders looks to continue his hot streak as he looks to get a lot of playing time with Franklin Gutierrez starting the year on the disabled list.

Catch Rick Rizzs, Shannon Drayer and a host of guests on the Cactus League Report live from the Salty Senorita down in Peoria. The show will be broadcast on 710 ESPN tomorrow at 7:00 PM.

The setting for today's game: Scottsdale Stadium. (Credit: Kyle Boyd/Flickr)

On Saturday, the Mariners ended their first game in a 5-5 tie with the Dodgers (Seattle had one more hit and one less error than LA, so I think we know who really won), and took the Diamondbacks in a 7-1 victory.

As fun as yesterday was, today is my favorite day of Spring Training: the first game between my all-time favorite team, the San Francisco Giants, and my hometown team, the Mariners.

Of course, this is also my least favorite day of Spring Training, since I find it hard to root against… well, maybe I shouldn’t reveal which side I’m on.

Today’s lineups:

Seattle: 2B Ackley, SS Rodriguez, 3B Seager, 1B Smoak, RF Peguero, DH Catricala, CF Saunders, C Jaso, LF Robinson, RHP Hernandez.

San Francisco: CF Angel Pagan, LF Melky Cabrera, 3B Pablo Sandoval, C Buster Posey, DH Aubrey Huff, 1B Brandon Belt, SS Ryan Theriot, RF Gregor Blanco, 2B Emmanuel Burriss, LHP Eric Surkamp.

San Francisco’s Brian Wilson will make his Spring Training debut after a season riddled with elbow and oblique issues. Beat writer Andrew Baggarly has more details on his recovery and the expectations on today’s outing over at CSN Bay Area.

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The game will be broadcast live on 710 ESPN Seattle and available on Gameday and MLB.com. Don’t forget that Daylight Savings started back up today (or stopped, I can never remember which), so the game will be on at 1:05pm, not 12:05. And now, I’m off to my grandma’s 80th birthday party, just so I have an excuse to ditch this game if it gets too stressful.

Just when we thought regular, low-scoring Mariners baseball was back in town, Seattle decided to put up a 6-4 win. I won’t complain.

Before I tell you the stirring saga of the latest Mariners victory, a quick correction to the lineups posted earlier: Chone Figgins started in center, and Michael Saunders started in right field. This was Chone’s second time in center field, and fourth time batting in the leadoff spot.

Starter Blake Beavan had a sharp outing, staying scoreless through four innings with 2 singles, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts. His next four replacements surrendered only 1 run through four innings, until Scott Patterson decided to hand out a couple pity runs in the 9th.

For six straight innings, the M’s couldn’t seem to make their hits stick for runs. Montero went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. Saunders also went 2-for-3 with two singles. Brendan Ryan had a single. Figgins surprised us all with his first single of the year, then promptly got thrown out at second on a groundout from Dustin Ackley.

Between the 7th and 8th, however, the Mariners figured it out. Luis Rodriguez kicked things off with a double, Darren Ford hit an RBI single during his first Spring Training at bat, and the home run fairy returned to give Vinnie Catricala a 2-run shot in the 8th, extending Seattle’s lead to five runs in just two innings. The jury is still out on his defensive skills, but he can definitely hit better than a small cup of milk.

Tomorrow, the Mariners will travel to Hohokam Stadium to face the Cubs. And in exactly three weeks from today, Seattle will open the season in Tokyo. There are exciting times ahead… but first, we need to win Spring Training.

Next game: @ Cubs | March 8 | 12:05pm

Tempe Diablo Stadium. (Credit: Dave Nakayama/Flickr)

I lied. Albert Pujols will not be starting for the Angels today. If it’s any consolation, he performed very well in his debut, so we’re at least spared the stress of watching him play against Seattle.

Today’s lineups:

Seattle: CF Figgins, 2B Ackley, 3B Seager, C Montero, LF Carp, DH Olivo, RF Saunders, SS Ryan, 1B Rodriguez, RHP Beavan.

Anaheim: SS Erick Aybar, 2B Howie Kendrick, LF Bobby Abreu, RF Torii Hunter, C Chris Iannetta, CF Peter Bourjois, DH Hank Conger, 1B Efren Navarro, 3B Mark Trumbo, RHP Jered Weaver.

Michael Saunders will take the center field position for the fourth time this spring. Montero is set behind the plate for the second time, while Seattle’s regular season catcher, Olivo, works the DH spot.

Angels’ beat writer Alden Gonzalez makes an interesting point in his pre-game notes:

Scioscia on the Angels drawing 14 walks: “Early in camp, I’m really surprised at how well our guys are seeing the ball. And when that meets a guy who’s a little erratic, that forces some walks and I think that’s what we’re seeing.”

Blake Beavan has yet to put up more than two walks in his 3.2 IP, but even if he does… it’s just Spring Training. (Not that I’d mind watching the M’s go 5-1 today, though.)

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For MLB.TV subscribers, this will be the first Mariners game MLB televises. Today is your lucky day. Try not to rub it in the faces of those who can’t afford a $25/month subscription.

For Angels fans (or Mariners fans in Angels territory), the game should also be broadcast on Prime Ticket.

For those neither living in Anaheim nor with an MLB.TV subscription, well, enjoy Gameday.

The Mariners did not lose this game. They put up thirteen runs to San Diego’s seven, which is very respectable. I would be thrilled with a regular season game that ended 13-7 in the Mariners’ favor. But for some reason, today’s victory felt a little underwhelming.

Perhaps I am irrationally bummed out because the younger Mariners lost the B Game to the Reds.

Perhaps it’s because of my high(er) expectations for Hisashi Iwakuma, who lasted one inning, striking out one batter and giving up three hits and an unearned run. He threw low-80s splitters and sliders, and two 83 MPH splitters were chopped into singles by Yonder Alonso and Nick Hundley. I know, I know… I can’t be hard to please on the fourth game of Spring Training. I can’t be hard to please on any day of Spring Training, but I’m ready to see something, anything decent from Iwakuma. That strikeout was nice, I guess. (And, if we’re playing the blame game, Oliver Perez gave up four runs during his inning.)

Perhaps it’s because Dustin Ackley allowed that first runner to reach base on a fielding error, then Brendan Ryan put up two errors, then someone I’ve never heard of (Alfredo Morales) allowed Jonathan Galvez to score on another fielding error.

Perhaps—and this would make the most sense—I am just bitter because I couldn’t listen to the game online or get Gameday to work.

Whatever the reason, there were a lot of bright spots to balance out today’s game. Ackley and Ryan kicked off the first inning with back-to-back doubles. Scott Patterson, George Sherrill, and Tom Wilhelmsen threw three perfect innings. Michael Saunders scored on Ryan’s double play. Backup catcher Adam Moore took Cory Burns deep for his first home run. Francisco Martinez, Carlos Peguero, and Luis Rodriguez hit three singles in the 9th to drive in four more runs.

And, of course, the Mariners won 13-7. There’s always that.

Tomorrow, the Mariners kick the Padres out of Peoria to host the Reds. It’s not another B-squad game, which means if Seattle wins, it counts. As much as a Spring Training game can count for anything, that is.

Next game: vs. Reds | March 6 | 12:05pm

Official stadium buddy sign. (Credit: Kevin Anderson/Flickr)

Believe it or not, the Mariners don’t always play the A’s! Today, they host their stadium buddies, the Padres, at the Peoria Sports Complex for an annual Charity Game. The lineups:

Seattle: CF Figgins, SS Kawasaki, 3B Seager, 1B Carp, DH Montero, C Jaso, 2B Rodriguez, LF Robinson, RF Chiang, LHP Vargas.

San Diego: CF Cameron Maybin, RF Will Venable, LF Jesus Guzman, DH Kyle Blanks, 1B Yonder Alonso, 3B James Darnell, SS Everth Cabrera, C Brad Davis, 2B Andy Parrino, RHP Anthony Bass.

Figgins is not only getting a chance to settle into the leadoff spot, but will try his glove at center field for the first time this year. Also, Montero is slotted as the DH, which will be his main role in the upcoming season.

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As always, you can follow the game on 710 ESPN Seattle, MLB.com, and Gameday. Go Mariners!