Seattle Mariners (2021 Daily Playthrough)

[pauwoo]

Seattle Mariners (44-20, .687, 1st AL West) @ Cleveland Indians (31-29, .517, 3rd AL Central)
Cleveland is treading water so far in 2021 – this is not to say that they aren’t any good, they’re actually quite good, it’s just a statement of fact. They’ve been average or a bit better in most categories with the notable laggards being runs scored, where they rank 12th, and homers, where they are tied on the table at 13th in the American League. Their pitching has carried the day for them so far – 3rd in starters ERA, 3rd in bullpen ERA, and 6th in FIP – and the defense has been a few ticks above serviceable as well with an efficiency of .676 (good enough for 6th) and a low error total of 29 so far. They’ve been okay at home – 15-12 – and have posted a solid +24 rDiff this season, so, if my calculations are correct, they’re really just a few lucky bounces away from putting up a fight against the division-leading Chicago White Sox. Our goal here, then, will be to postpone any sudden flurry of good fortune while we’re in town and do our level best to keep this train on the track for as long as is possible.

65 of 162: Marco Gonzales (7-4, 2.72) @ Zach Plesac (6-5, 3.96)
Win, 2-1. Marco would twirl a near-masterpiece here and win the pitcher's duel against Plesac as he gave us 7.1 innings of filth with only 5 hits allowed, 1 earned run, a couple of free passes, and 7 Ks. Offensively – we did our business early as Jarred Kelenic hit a 2-run shot during the top of the 4th that brought Sean Haggerty home with him to give us all the cushion we’d need. Not a lot to say here – Cleveland committed two fielding flubs, basically trying to give us some runs, left 8 runners stranded, got caught with their hand in the honey pot twice, and fell victim to two Haggerty-Fletcher-Dalbec DPs. This was a workmanlike effort where we did what was required to walk away with the W and get this set started off on the good foot.

Elsewhere: Washington’s Kyle Schwarber went 3 for 4 with TWO JACKS, 5 RBI, and 2 runs during the Nationals 5-4 win over the Giants, Paul Goldschmidt, currently plying his trade with the Cardinals, went 3 for 4 with TWO JACKS of his own, 4 RBI, and a couple of runs to help his club secure a 10-6 win over the Cubbies, and, not to be outdone, low-key rookie sensation Ha-seong Kim, of the Padres, went 3 for 5 with a GRAND SLAM to help San Diego earn a much-needed win over the New York Mets by a score of 9-5.

Record: 45-20
Up Next: We’ll find all the ways that Cleveland does, in fact, not rock while continuing to try and push the pace against the Indians en route to our second consecutive road sweep (should we be so lucky).

[pauwoo]

66 of 162: Matt Manning (5-2, 2.45) @ Tristan Beck (2-0, 1.37)
Win, 8-1. We’re an unstoppable force, an immovable object, and everything in between. Manning picked up his 6th win after going 5.2 with 1 earned, 5 free passes, and 4 Ks, K-Lew went 3 for 5 with a homer and 3 RBIs, and Fletcher hit two, two-baggers and scored twice in the contest. Haniger also punched his 8th ball out of the park, a 2-run shot, with Dylan Moore and Hedges rounding out the scoring with 3 RBI between them. We’re off to an absolutely rip-roaring start to our road trip after putting it on Detroit and carrying that swagger forward into Cleveland… just one win away from that ever-elusive, back-to-back sweeps, on the road.


Elsewhere: Nolan Arenado, looking dapper in that STL kit, went 4 for 5 with a double, a jack, 3 RBI, and 2 runs during the Cardinals thorough shellacking of the Chicago Cubs by a score of 7-2. Nolan has settled into his new digs quite admirably and is hitting .275/.355/.528 with 15 dingers and 47 riblets on the year.

Record: 46-20
Up Next: We’ll attempt to secure the sweep in Cleveland before heading back to Seattle where the Minnesota Twins will be there waiting for us.

And, a note... we are now the winningest team in baseball. And, yes, I am fully aware that this bubble has to burst soon - I feel like the moves we made at the beginning of the year were solid, I even think they were enough to put us in the hunt for a wild card. But, this? Yeah, something of a surprise. To put it mildly...

[pauwoo]

67 of 162: Matthew Boyd (6-5, 4.03) @ Cal Quantrill (3-4, 4.82)
Loss, 3-0. Times are rough and tough… like leather. In the end our quest for back-to-back sweeps would come to a screeching halt as Cal Quantrill (6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K) and a couple of his friends (Phil Maton and James Karinchak) kept us down, out, and wondering what happened. Boyd was solid – 7.2 innings, 8 scattered hits, 3 earned, and 8 Ks – but gave up the 3-run homer to Eddie Rosario that would spell our doom. Offensively it was a non-starter for us in Cleveland today – and, outside of a well-hit double from Joc, we’d see Kelenic and K-Lew each strikeout 3 times, Bobby Dalbec get caught with his hand in the honey pot on a steal attempt, and 7 of our very best friends left stranded on base with nowhere to go. And, just like that, our 5-game win streak is snapped, and we’ll board our plane back to Seattle in a somber state of mind.

Elsewhere: Nolan Arenado, looking even better in his STL kit today, went 3 for 4 with TWO DING DONGS, 3 RBI, and 2 runs as his Cardinals expertly dispatched the Chicago Cubs by a score of 7-0. All was not lost for Chi-Town though as 2B Tommy La Stella charged a 3 for 4, 2B, HR, and 3 RBI day to Detroit’s account, leading his club to a 6-3 win over the lowly Tigers.

Record: 46-21
Up Next: A ~4-hour flight back to the PNW for a date with the Minnesota Twins, in our park, as we attempt to get off the schneid and back into the winning column.

[pauwoo]

Player of the Week winners… Toronto’s Lourdes Gurriel Jr – 13 of 29, 4 jacks, 11 RBI – and the Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado who went 11 for 21 with 3 DINGERS, 8 RBI, and 5 runs… he’s hit 17 out so far with a batting average of .283 – I guess he’s not missing Colorado as much as some thought he might…

Power Rankings…
Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Atlanta Braves (130.4, o)
2) Toronto Blue Jays (128.9, ++)
3) Seattle Mariners (128.6, o)
4) Los Angeles Dodgers (126.8, -)
5) St. Louis Cardinals (110.2, ++)
6) Chicago White Sox (108.0, -)
7) Tampa Bay Rays (105.9, ++)
8) Oakland Athletics (102.1, --)
9) Milwaukee Brewers (101.9, o)
10) Minnesota Twins (100.9, --)

Yankees at 11th, Giants at 14th, Mets at 16th,, San Diego up to 21st, Cubs all the way down to 30th.

Minnesota Twins (37-29, .561, 2nd AL Central) @ Seattle Mariners (46-21, .686, 1st AL West)
While our form of late has been nothing short of impeccable, that last one in Cleveland really serves to underscore that, in baseball, your status as the top dog, the BMOC if you will, is always precarious at best. Which is not to say that we should have easily brushed a club like Cleveland to the side, like some small, winged irritant during the dog days of summer – they’re better than that and could have just as easily taken that set off us in their park. In Minnesota, we get a much better version of the challenges presented by Cleveland, and a team that is equally adept at winning on the road (17-14) as they are at home (20-15). There is nothing fancy about the Twins – they’re balanced offensively and rank 1st in average & OBP, 3rd in OPS & wOBA, and 4th in homers – and boast a staff that may not inspire fear in the traditional sense but is more than capable of making you look foolish should your concentration wane. If I’m being honest, and why wouldn’t I be, I’d rather see almost any team in this next set – these guys are good, they are focused, always play hard, and have no quit. A real live dog as it were…

68 of 162: Jose Berrios (8-4, 4.04) @ Logan Gilbert (4-0, 2.48)
Win, 7-4. Ours is a drive, a fire that burns so bright, that one loss, a kick in the pants on our way out the door in Cleveland, isn’t enough to knock this locomotive off the track. Kolten went off with a 3 for 4 day that included two, two-baggers, 2 RBI, and a couple of runs, Kelenic added to the cause with a 2-run dinger, and Logan Gilbert stayed unbeaten with a 6.1 inning performance where he allowed 11 hits and 4 earned runs while doling out 3 free passed and fanning 6. Bobby Dalbec put his team-leading 20th ball out of the park, K-Lew stole his 2nd base of the season, and we turned three expertly crafted double plays during the game. All systems go for your Seattle Mariners!

Triple-B's 20th! Big Bat Bobby Dalbec has the hometown faithful saying, "Nellie who"?

Elsewhere: Josh Bell, a sturdy 6’4” and stout 250lb First Baseman representing the Washington Nationals organization, went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles 5 RBI, 2 runs, and 3 walks during his clubs 14-1 rout over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates, who’ve been something of an early-season surprise, see their rDiff dip to -38 after the loss.

Record: 47-21
Up Next: Feeling Minnesota with more Nelson Cruz on the docket for your Seattle Mariners!

[pauwoo]

69 of 162: Michael Pineda (6-2, 3.98) @ Jon Duplantier (3-1, 3.97)
Loss, 3-2. Toppled by the Twins, outpitched by Michael Pineda, and outstruck by Nellie Cruz, whose solo shot during the top of the 8th gave Minnesota all the cushion they’d need to secure the win. Inspector Duplantier gave us 6 hard-scrabble innings, allowed 5 hits, 2 runs, walked a couple, and fanned 5, but his efforts were for naught as Pineda was dealing and kept our hitters off-balance throughout the game. Kelenic performed admirably in going 3 for 4 with a solo homer, but, outside of his workmanlike effort, the rest of the club struggled offensively – a Golden Sombrero for Dalbec, 0 for 4 days from Joc and Fletcher, and two errors defensively for the PNW crew. Not our best look, and, when you factor in that we had ~43K+ in attendance, this is not an effort we’d like to look back on much – Nah, it’s all one foot in front of the other and go, go, go…

Elsewhere: It was a big day for some big bats as Aaron Judge, of the New York Yankees, Mookie Betts, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Carlos Correa, of the Houston Astros, each went yard twice to lead their teams to victory.

Record: 47-22
Up Next: Rubber match against the Twins before we welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to tow for a 4-game parlay.

[pauwoo]

Some tough-guy silliness… an in-state brouhaha: Khris Davis of Texas and Lance McCullers Jr. of Houston were the main participants in a recent bench-clearing brawl and today the league handed out its punishment. Davis will have to miss 3 games for his part in the brawl, while McCullers Jr. was given 6 games. League officials announced their suspensions today. Khris seems so chill though…

An achievement: Joey Votto hit his 300th career longball during a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday… meh.

70 of 162: Alex Wood (6-5, 4.32) @ Marco Gonzales (8-4, 2.61)
Win, 4-2. Marco was filthy in this one, bringing the heat – we clocked him in at 141 KPH during the 5th – and delivered a 7-inning, 6-hit, 2 earned performance that put us in a position to win the series and the offense would find a way to deliver. Sam Haggerty went 1 for 2 with a 2-run blast that sealed the deal after the stretch, Kelenic went 3 for 4 with two, two-baggers, and an RBI, and JOC found a way to bring in a run early with a run-scoring single (his only hit of the day). In some unfortunate news… our closer, David Robertson, left after facing two batters with an ankle sprain – he’s estimated to be back in a week, but, because we don’t want to mess around and rush the guy, we put him on the 16-day so that he’ll heal up properly and come back ready to do the dirt for us.


Elsewhere: Trevor Story, who is said to be interested in investing, heavily, into the Colorado cannabis industry, went 4 for 5 with two, two-baggers, 3 RBI, and 2 runs during an ‘all systems go’ dismantling of the San Diego Padres by a score of 12-3. Rockies hurler, Austin Gomber, was clutch over 7 innings of work where he’d allow only 3 hits and a run while fanning 10. Oh, and there was another donnybrook – that’s two in two days - Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals and JT Brubaker of the Pittsburgh Pirates will be on the sidelines for a few days. They have been suspended for 6 and 12 games respectively by the league office for causing the bench-emptying free-for-all at the recent Nationals-Pirates game at Nationals Park. Buncha nerds, you ask me.

Record: 48-22, .685, 1st AL West
Up Next: We’ll welcome the 38-31, Tampa Bay Rays to town for four games… they’re a super, nationally popular ballclub, so we should be playing to a full house. Right? Right.

[pauwoo]

Tampa Bay Rays (38-31, .551, 2nd AL East) @ Seattle Mariners (48-22, .686, 1st AL West)
While Toronto has, like us, busied themselves by writing checks to their fans that they’ll likely not be able to cash in during the postseason, teams like Tampa Bay have just quietly gone about their business, doing exactly what we thought they would, and lying in wait. At just over 1/3rd into the 2021 campaign, however, you have to start asking yourself just how long they can continue to wait – sure, this is a marathon and not a sprint, but, if Toronto continues to run at their current pace, teams in the AL East, like the Tampa Bay Rays, may not be able to muster the strength to bushwhack the Jays and close the gap. And, look, while they do have a great pitching staff, a single baseball game – especially a single playoff baseball game – has a tendency to play like a coin toss. That won’t play for the Rays… they’re built to win in the aggregate, not to overpower you in a 1-game, winner-take-all cage match. We’ll have our work cut out for us here – Tampa Bay is defensively stout, they boast a league-leading Starters ERA, are 2nd in Bullpen ERA, 5th in runs against, and are 2nd in defensive efficiency. This, then, will, potentially, be a contrast in styles – where we’ll pit our better-than-serviceable offense, with its 335 runs scores, against their tip-top defense and rock-solid pitching staff.

71 of 162: Tyler Glasnow (7-4, 3.61) @ Matt Manning (6-2, 2.37)
Win, 7-3. Sam Haggerty came up big early with a 2-run triple during the bottom of the 2nd and Kolten Wong sealed the deal with a 3-rin dinger during the bottom of the 4th to give us all the cushion we’d need to snag the 1st of this 4-game series. Josh Lindblom earned the win – and a 4-game suspension after instigating a scuffle with Manuel Margot that led to a benches-clearing fracas – giving us 3 innings in relief as starter Matt Manning did not return in the 2nd inning due to an injury. As ever, that diagnosis is pending, so we’ll have to see exactly what we’re looking at with him in the next few days…

Elsewhere: Kyle Higashioka, of the New York Yankees, went 4 for 5 with THREE HOMERS, FOUR RBI, and THREE RUNS to lead his club to a dominant, 13-3 win over the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays. Not to be outdone, even though he was in nearly every way, Jared Walsh, of the Anaheim Angels, also went 4 for 5 and hit a GRAND SLAM to pile it on for his club during their 12-1 win over the hapless Detroit Tigers.

Record: 49-22, .690, 1st AL WEST
Up Next: More home cookin’ against the representative from Florida.

[pauwoo]

First… some not-so-great news: You have just been informed by your team trainer Kyle Torgerson that Matt Manning has been diagnosed with biceps tendinitis. He will be out for about 6 weeks. So, off to the IL with him… Justus Sheffield was called up & slotted into the bullpen while Yusei Kikuchi is reinstalled into the rotation for the time being.

Tampa Bay (38-22, .543, 3rd AL East) @ Seattle Mariners (49-22, .690, 1st AL West)
72 of 162: Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 0.00) @ Matthew Boyd (6-6, 3.99)
Loss, 12-2. Tampa unloaded on us here – caught us looking early with a 5-run top of the 3rd and continued to pour it on from there – Austin Meadows gave us the business to the tune of a 3 for 5 day with 2 DING DONGS, 3 RBI, and 3 runs, K2 (Kevin Kiermaier – see, I can spell it) went 3 for 5 with a 3-run bomb, and Randy Arozarena went 2 for 4 with a homer, 4 RBI, and a couple of runs. Just a 3-man wrecking crew bent on exacting their revenge against Seattle after last night’s dust-up. For our part, Boyd got shelled with 6 of Tampa’s 12 being charged to his account, the rest of the pen each gave up a couple before position player, Taylor Trammel, finished things during the last inning of the game (13 pitches, 7 for strikes, no hits, 1 GO, 2 FOs). We weren’t without highlights – Haggerty and Joc both put balls over the fence – but just couldn’t manufacture enough of them to even look competitive in this one. Tough day at the park – so, we’ll pick ourselves up, sulk back into the clubhouse, try to duck out before the local press finds us, cry ourselves to sleep, and show up tomorrow like nothing happened.


Elsewhere: Ronald Acuna, Jr, Atlanta’s favorite adopted son, went 3 for 4 with 3 DING DONGS, 4 RBI, and 3 runs during a 6-9 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals. Atlanta is, for now, still the winningest team in baseball, with Los Angeles not far off their pace. Speaking of the Artful Dodgers, Walker Buehler was in the zone and good in the pocket today as he twirled a complete game, 4-hit shutout while fanning 9 in a 9-0 win over their division foe, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Record: 49-23, .680, 1st AL West – we have a chance to be the first to 50… just need a win tomorrow and another stumble from the Braves.
Up Next: SP Michael Wacha, who went 7-strong his last time up, takes the bump for Tampa as we meet for our 3rd of 4 contests.

[pauwoo]

Tampa Bay Rays (39-32, .549, 3rd AL East) @ Seattle Mariners (49-23, .681, 1st AL West)
73 of 162: Michael Wacha (4-3, 3.00) @ Logan Gilbert (5-0, 2.95)
Win, 4-2. The Ballad of Logan Gilbert continues… I mean, look, you could not have drawn it up better for the kid – he’s now a perfect 6-0 off another stellar performance… 8 innings pitched, 5 scattered hits, 2 earned runs, a few free passes to keep things honest, and 4 Ks for the PNW’s favorite Florida Man. Kelenic was clutch too – 2 for 3 with a solo dinger and a walk, K-Lew put ball number 7 over the outfield fence, Joc & Fletch, our unheralded, yet often effective, crime-fighting duo, racked up a couple of hits each, and Dylan Moore swiped his 6th bag of the season. This was a good, team-first effort all the way around – we basically burgled the TB template and used it against them, in a court of law, with Judge Judy on the bench.


Elsewhere: Keston Kiura, of the Milwaukee Brewers, and who I desperately tried to put a package together for at the start of this save (for no other reason than I think he seems like a cool cat), went 4 for 5 with a two-bagger, a homer, SIX RBI, and a run in his clubs 8-2 win over the perpetually struggling Colorado Rockies. And, because why not highlight a couple of guys today, SP Lucas Giolito gave his White Sox a 7 inning, 1-hit shutout with 4 walks and 8 Ks during his clubs 3-0 win over the Houston Astros. I don’t usually cheer for the Chicago White Sox, but when I do it is against the Houston Astros.

Record: 50-23, .684, 1st AL West, we reached first on the very same day as the Atlanta Braves… unfortunately.
Up Next: We’ll close out our four-game parlay against the Rays, take a day of rest, welcome the Colorado Rockies and their UW-Esque color scheme to T-Mo Park, take another day of rest, and then head out to the South Side to take on Giolito’s White Sox.

[pauwoo]

Tampa Bay Rays (39-33, .542, 3rd AL East) @ Seattle Mariners (50-23, .684, 1st AL West)
74 of 162: Rich Hill (2-1, 2.86) @ Jon Duplantier (3-1, 3.86)
Win, 6-2. We’d head into our day off, at home, off another nice win, and take 3 of 4 against the Rays. Inspector Duplantier gave us 8 innings, allowed 5 hits, 1 earned, doled out 1 free pass, and fanned 6 while Meetch Haniger went 2 for 2 with a 2-run DING DONG, a run, and a couple of walks. Kolten, Kelenic, and Fletcher each drove runs in, we hit three doubles as a unit (Kelenic, Joc, and Fletch), stole a base, turned a sweet double play, and still managed to get the win despite committing two fielding flubs.

Elsewhere: Toronto’s Bo Bichette went 3 for 4 with 3 DING DONGS, 6 RBI, and 3 runs in the Blue Jays 6-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles – pretty much took his team on his back in this one.

Record: 51-23, .689, 1st AL West
Up Next: A much-needed respite from the grind.

[pauwoo]

A day off before welcoming the Rockies to town for a two-game quickie…

Players of the Week: Boston’s Rafael Devers hit .667 (14 for 21) with 3 dingers and 7 RBI to bring home this week’s AL trophy and New York 2B Jeff McNeil went 11 for 22 with 4 jacks and 7 RBI over a 6-game stretch to earn the NL honors with the Mets.

Weekly Team Power Rankings:
Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Los Angeles Dodgers (143.8, ++)
2) Atlanta Braves (135.3, -)
3) Seattle Mariners (130.1, o)
4) Los Angeles Angels (123.0, ++)
5) Chicago White Sox (111.5, +)
6) Toronto Blue Jays (107.9, --)
7) St. Louis Cardinals (107.0, -)
8) Cincinnati Reds (103.4, ++)
9) Milwaukee Brewers (101.5, o)
10) New York Mets (99.4, ++)

Yankees are 12th, Minnesota 14th, Tampa Bay 15th, Houston 17th, San Diego 22nd, and Chicago Cubs are 30th… that’s last, people, dead last.

Some AI trade craziness for you… Story to Milwaukee, pushing all their chips to the middle of the table it seems…


Elsewhere: Minnesota had themselves a day – 14-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds that included a 3 for 5 effort with 3 DINGERS, 4 RBI, and 3 runs from Max Kempler, while his teammate, Willians Astudillo, went 2 for 5 with 2 DING DONGS, 6 RBI, and 2 runs of his own – a two-man wrecking crew. Matt Olson, of the Oakland Athletics, also hit one out… his club lost to Texas though, so, maybe I should have just left that one alone.

Record: 51-23, .689, 1st AL West
Up Next: A Story-less Colorado heads to the PNW for a two-game, wham, bam, thank you ma’am quickie where we hope to quickly determine if they have officially lost the plot with that silly trade.

[pauwoo]

Colorado Rockies (25-48, .342, 5th NL West) @ Seattle Mariners (51-23, .689, 1st AL West)
In the preseason predictions, the baseball punditry picked the Colorado Rockies to be, record-wise, the 2nd worst team in all of professional baseball. They have met that expectation and more so far during the 2021 campaign and if their recent trade of Trevor Story is any indication, they’re not content to just be bad, they want to be legendarily poor and saunter their way into the number one pick next season. Offensively, the Rockies are, or have been, a solid unit – 1st in AVG (I mean, Coors field, amirite?), 4th in runs scored, 3rd in OBP, and 4th in wOBA. Where they’re lacking, obviously, is in the pitching/defense department where they are dead last in runs against, starters ERA, FIP, and defensive efficiency. It’s a tale of two cities… one, a burgeoning metropolis fast-tracked as a destination location designation for tourists. The other a cesspool with a gutted downtown, poor local government, and no community outreach. What we have here is another solid gold opportunity to keep this train rolling, to back up the Banks money truck and take what we want. Anything less would be, as they say, uncivilized.

75 of 162: Austin Gomber (3-5, 5.25) @ Marco Gonzales (9-4, 2.61)
Win, 7-1. We’re Miley Cyrus, wielding a sledgehammer, over-wrought, and emotional – riding that wrecking ball right into the face of our competition. Here, thanks in large part to Marco Gonzales, we’d shut down the vaunted Colorado offense and expose their defense just like everyone else does… Gonz gave us 7.2 with 9 hits (he let the defense eat), 1 earned, 1 walk, and 7 K’s, while Joc went 2 for 2 with a 2-run DING DONG and a couple of free passes, and Kelenic went 2 for 5 with TWO DINGERS, both solo shots, and the runs that came with them. Rounding out a game full of highlights here… Haniger hit a two-bagger that brought one in, we got 2-out RBIs from Meetch, Joc, & Jared, a SAC FLY from K-Lew, and a swiped bag from Moore gave each and every one of our fans something to get up for. All in, this was another rock-solid effort from a club that has taken on the look of the real deal. Evander in his prime. The cock of the walk, baby.


Elsewhere: KC’s Bobby Witt Jr went 3 for 4 with TWO BOMBS, 2 RBI, and 3 runs during an all-systems-go, 10-4 Rubber Ducky, win over the remarkably pedestrian New York Yankees. With the win, the Royals improve to a slightly improbable 37-34 record while the Bronx Bombers fall to a low-key disappointing 38-33.

Record: 52-23, .693, 1st AL West
Up Next: We’ll pop the top on a cool, cold 12 ouncer of Rainier Beer, putting those Coors Yellow Dogs to shame, and wake up tomorrow no worse for wear, bent on earning a mini-sweep against the Colorado Rockies.

[pauwoo]

Colorado Rockies (25-49, .338, 5th NL West) @ Seattle Mariners (52-23, .693, 1st AL West)
76 of 162: Kyle Freeland (4-5, 4.48) @ Justus Sheffield (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 9-5. Austin Hedges had his best game as a Mariner in this one – he was superb behind the plate, was instrumental in Sheffield’s first win of the season, went 4 for 4 with a two-bagger, his 17th long ball, 3 RBI, and 2 runs in the win. Sheff managed to navigate 6.1 innings for us, allowed three, and fanned 6, Trammell hit a SAC FLY, we hit 4 doubles as a club, and Dylan Moore stole a bag (his 8th) and got caught trying (his 6th CS). A solid effort, and hard-earned mini sweep, before another day off, our second this week, before heading to see about those White Sox in Chicago.


Elsewhere: KC’s Michael Taylor was all that stood between our own Austin Hedges and the #1 Performance of the Day as he finished 3 for 3 with two, two-baggers, a homer, 3 RBI, and 3 runs during the Royals 10-3 win over the Yankees in New York. Kansas City has an opportunity to secure their 2nd sweep of the season (their first was a 4-game sweep over the Indians last month) in the third game of this set against the Yanks.

Record: 53-23, .697, 1st AL West
Up Next: A day of rest, free time, and, in my case, reruns of The Office (Season 4, for sure), followed by a trip to Chicago to kick off another 7-day road trip.

[pauwoo]

With our last-minute preparations for the upcoming road trip underway, I put in a half-day at the office before bugging out to run some errands before leaving town. The team is headed out in the afternoon, while I’ll hang back and fly out to Chicago early tomorrow morning for no other reason than the weather is pretty nice today and I’d rather enjoy it and that light evening breeze here in Seattle before heading out on the road – call it the perks of being the man.


Elsewhere: Some rock-solid pitching performances today – First, a tale of two Trevor's... Miami’s Trevor Rogers fanned 8 and walked 1 during a 7-inning, 1-hit shutout for his Marlins during a hard-fought 1-0 win over Washington, Los Angeles’ Trevor Bauer put in 6.1 innings of work, allowed only two hits, and fanned 12 during a disappointing 1-0 loss against the lowly, 30th ranked, Chicago Cubs, and, second, not to be outdone, Bahstahn’s Nathan Eovaldi put in 6.1 innings of his own, fanned 6, doled out a couple of free passes, and allowed only 1 hit during a 4-1 win over Tampa Bay for his Red Sox.

Record: Unchanged, obviously.
Up Next: We’ll be playing baseball again.

[pauwoo]

Seattle Mariners (53-23, .697, 1st AL West) @ Chicago White Sox (45-29, .608, 1st AL Central)
Here we have a battle of two behemoths – albeit, one we knew to be a huge & monstrous creature capable of leaving sub-par ballclubs in their wake, and us, who have sort of morphed into a wrecking crew after starting the season as one of those magic dinosaur capsules… just add water and the rest is history. We’ll have our work cut out for us here though as the White Sox pair a capable, mid-tier offense, with a lights-out pitching staff. They’re led by the incomparable Eloy Jimenez (Yastrzemski-esque?), who currently leads the league in WAR at 3.9, while Lucas Giolito, the current MLB K leader (150 total, 13.1 K/9) helms a staff that is capable of giving any ballclub fits. That they’ve won 3 of their last 4 sets and split the 5th against Houston only goes to show that, as hot as we seem to be, Chicago will likely be able to match that temperature and if we are unable to stay focused in the Windy City our righteous flame might be unceremoniously extinguished at the outset of this road trip.

77 of 162: Matthew Boyd (6-7, 4.35) @ Lucas Giolito (6-4, 3.68)
Win, 5-3. In a fitting victory for our season so far, we managed to successfully navigate a tip-top pitching performance from Lucas Giolito – 8 IP, 6 H. 2 ER. 1 BB, 10 Ks – and squeak out a victory against the White Sox in the first of our 3-game set. A late, 3-run DING DONG off Liam Hendricks for Dylan Moore brought us back from the brink and gave us all the cushion we’d need to seal the deal here. Haniger & Joc each put balls out against Giolito, Taylor Trammell& K-Wong each swiped a bag, and we fielded the tastiest DP of the season during the bottom of the 9th with a Wong-Fletcher-Dalbec gem to close it out. This victory makes it five straight for the USS Mariner and, surprisingly, had us showing our mettle against a superb club in their park. If I’m honest – nothing about this season makes any sense right now… up is down, left is right, and the Seattle Mariners are fielding one of the top 3 teams in the majors. Craziness.

An interesting trade… Boston and St. Louis have agreed to a trade today. 30-year-old C Christian Vazquez will go to the Cardinals. In exchange, the Red Sox will receive 24-year-old minor league RHP Junior Fernandez, 21-year-old minor league C Ivan Herrera, 24-year old minor league 3B Evan Mendoza, and 23-year old minor league LHP Diego Cordero. The Cards are making some power moves with this one – Vazquez, in my estimation, is an absolute dynamo behind the plate with a stick that can do some damage should that be necessary. Get your chips laid down...


Elsewhere: Tommy Edman, of the suddenly stacked St. Louis Cardinals, went 4 for 5 with a triple, a homer, 7 RBI, and 2 runs during his clubs’ back-and-forth, battle royale 10-9 victory over the hard-charging but criminally inept Pittsburgh Pirates. Also, it should be noted that Oakland’s Matt Chapman took sole ownership of top WAR in the league (over previous titleholder, Eloy Jimenez) with a 3 for 4 day that included a 3-run DING DONG, 2 runs of his own, and a free pass during what would ultimately be a hard-earned 8-5 win over their Bay Area rival San Francisco Giants.

Record: 54-23, .701, 1st AL West
Up Next: More of the same, hopefully, against the Chicago White Sox.

[pauwoo]

Seattle Mariners (54-23, .701, 1st AL West) @ Chicago white Sox (45-30, .600, 1st AL Central)
78 of 162: Logan Gilbert (6-0, 2.84) @ Dallas Keuchel (3-5, 4.55)
Loss, 10-7. Logan had a tough outing in this one – 6 innings pitched, 7 hits against, 5 earned, 4 free passes, and 5 Ks for the future king of Seattle – but the offense did enough to keep his Win/Loss record intact. We’d get a 2-run, two-bagger from K-Wong, another two-bagger from Joc, a 2-run triple from Dylan Moore, and dingers from Haniger and Trammell… unfortunately, this was a game of one-upmanship, an “anything you can do, we can do better” back-and-forth slog at Guaranteed Rate Field. It did come at a cost for the home team though as Dallas K left the game after recording only two outs with a strained oblique – he’ll be DtD for a stretch – and Eloy Jimenez left with a sore back that he sustained sliding into 3rd. He’ll also be listed as DtD for a stretch… Couple of daisies you ask me.


Elsewhere: Yuli Gurriel, of the Houston Astros, went 4 for 7 with a double, a GRAND SLAM, and 2 runs during his clubs gut-wrenching 13-12 loss against the lowly Tigers of Detroit Rock City… what a game for the old man – not good enough to crack the top 25 in Individual Game Performances so far this season, but a night to remember for the 37-year-old Cuban. In other news, New York’s Michael Conforto hit a GRAND SLAM during the Mets’ 10-6 win over Big Baby Bryce and the Philadelphia Phillies, and Minnesota’s Jose Berrios nearly went the distance for the Twins, gave up only 2 hits, and fanned 7 while shutting out the Indians by a score of 3-0.


Side note: Our offense is currently ranked 3rd overall in the AL... which is, uh, surprising. All credit has to go to the new hitting coach, Dwight. His methods are, well, unusual, but the results are hard to argue with...

Record: 54-24, .692, 1st AL West
Up Next: An opportunity to salvage this set against the White Sox before heading up north for a Clash with the Jays…

[pauwoo]

Seattle Mariners (54-24, .692, 1st AL West) @ Chicago White Sox (46-30, .605, 1st AL Central)
Jon Duplantier (4-1, 3.50) @ Lance Lynn (5-5, 5.12)
Win, 5-0. Inspector Duplantier was the star of the show for us in this one – he twirled a complete game, 1 hit shutout, and fanned 6 for us during the win… Haniger drove in two on a single and we got RBIs from Wong, Fletcher, and Hedges to round things out offensively. 3 double plays on the day as well – just another expertly crafted, hard-earned, series win against a tip-top ballclub in their park.

Elsewhere: Boston’s Christian Arroyo went 3 for 4 with a two-bagger, a jack, 2 riblets, and 3 runs during a 9-4 win for the Red Sox against their hated rival from New York.

Record: 55-24, .696, 1st AL West
Up Next: A day off before picking it back up against the Jays on Tuesday…

[pauwoo]

Some off-day news… Anthony Rizzo signed a 4-year extension with the Cubs – he’ll earn an additional $76M over that span as, presumedly, their everyday first baseman… Houston’s Alex Bregman took home Player of the Week honors in the American League – he hit .429 on the week with 4 dingers and 9 RBI – and the Cardinals’ Tommy Edman took home that same honor in the National League with a .480 average, a homer, 11 RBI, and 7 runs.

From BNN… Today we look at the top 5 starting pitchers leading the Major League Baseball in ERA on the road.

Aaron Nola, PHI, 2.26
Marco Gonzales, SEA, 2.53
Walker Buehler, LAD, 2.54
Trevor Rogers, MIA, 2.64
James Paxton, MIL, 2.68

Weekly Team Power Rankings:
Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Los Angeles Angels (134.8, ++)
2) Seattle Mariners (132.3, +)
3) Atlanta Braves (129.9, -)
4) Los Angeles Dodgers (123.3, --)
5) Toronto Blue Jays (116.5, +)
6) St. Louis Cardinals (113.5, +)
7) Chicago White Sox (108.5, -)
8) Minnesota Twins (106.5, ++)
9) Oakland Athletics (102.0, +)
10) Houston Astros (97.6, ++)

First off – AL WEST REPRESENT… Mets at 14th, San Francisco at 16th, Tampa Bay at 17th, Yanks at 18th, and San Diego sitting at 24th.

[pauwoo]

Seattle Mariners (55-24, .696, 1st AL West) @ Toronto Blue Jays (46-31, .597, 1st AL East)
Toronto is on a 5-0 run, have put together a 7-3 record over their last 10 contests, and find themselves sitting at the top of the pops in the AL East with a comfy 6-game lead over the Yanks and the Rays. Offensively they are an absolute unit, a juggernaut, a finely tuned, run-scoring machine that ranks 2nd in Runs Scored, AVG, OBP, wOBA, Runs, Base Running, and HRs, while ranking 1st in OPS and bWAR. Basically, they are unstoppable at the plate, and, while their pitching leaves a bit to be desired, will be a tough out for us, especially in their park. And, look, for our part, we’re coming in hot – on an 8-2 run, swatting away the competition like flies, and, just really making this whole baseball thing look easy. Too easy, really. This won’t be some walk in the park, we’ll be tested, gut-checked, and probably catch a couple of bad ones before this whole thing is over – but, as you know, we’ve been good for it so far and, well, I see no reason to change that up now…

80 of 162: Marco Gonzales (10-4, 2.51) @ Robbie Ray (6-5, 4.96)
Win, 3-2. Marco Gonzales was every bit the 2nd best road pitcher in the Majors for us here – 6 solid frames, 4 hits against, an earned run, a couple of free passes, and 6 Ks for Seattle’s favorite soft-tosser. Offensively, while Toronto’s Bichette and Springer busied themselves by putting balls out of the park, our guys just sort of pieced this one together before putting us up for good during the top the 11th frame – a run-scoring double in the 7th for JOC would be our opening salvo, followed by another run-scoring double in the next frame for Kyle Lewis, and, finally, the game-winning, run-scoring single from JOC during the top of the 11th to seal the deal. It was a bit uneventful given their offensive prowess, but we got the job done… swiped bags for Wong and Trammell, and an OF Assist for Haniger closes out the shortlist of highlights as we’ll steel ourselves up for the second of three in Canada and attempt to secure a series win tomorrow.


Elsewhere: Miami’s Sixto Sanchez, the fastest gun in the East, skinned that smoke wagon and fired off beebees for 7.1 innings while allowing only 4 hits with nothing finding its way home – he also fanned 10 hapless batters during the outing… out here looking like a real pro, quick on the trigger, earning his keep… handy with the steel if you know what I mean.

Record: 56-24, .700, 1st AL West
Up Next: We’ll head back to the hotel, order up some Poutine with the gravy on the side (if the gravy does not come on the side, we will send it back), and try to get in some relaxation before attempting to thread the needle again against the top offense in the American League.

[pauwoo]

A brief tidbit… SP Aaron Sanchez has returned from his stint on the IL and was placed on the active roster. Justus Sheffield returns to Tacoma to ply his trade for the Rainiers. When in Buffalo, and when in dire need of some of that sweet, sweet poutine, I recommend you check out Hertel Ave Poutine & Cream – you won’t be disappointed (unless you don’t like poutine).

Seattle Mariners (56-24, .700, 1st AL West) @ Toronto Blue Jays (46-32, .590, 1st AL East)
81 of 162: Matthew Boyd (6-7, 4.34) @ Julian Merryweather (2-3, 6.23)
Win, 4-5. We’d thread the needle again, for the second tilt in a row, despite a tip-top pitching performance from Toronto’s Merryweather who fanned 10 over 5.2 innings of work. Boyd was serviceable, he kept us in it (sort of) over 6 laborious innings of work where he allowed 6 hits, 4 runs, and gave up homers to Bichette and Gurriel Jr. The story for us, however, would be Big Bat Bobby Dalbec’s GRAND SLAM during the top of the 4th that would put us up for good and add on to the run that Fletcher drove in during the top of the 2nd. As a unit, we’d get a double, a jack, and were efficient with the offense as we only left two runners stranded over the course of the game. Good stuff from the staff today too – Boyd improves to 7-7 even though he got roughed up a bit, Montero secured his 4th hold of the season, and Munoz, in a rare save situation, registered his first SV of the 2021 campaign. A series win? Against the top club in the AL East? In their home away from home? Yes, please, and thank you!


Elsewhere: Detroit’s JaCoby Jones went 2 for 4 with a 3-run moonshot, 3 runs, and a free pass during the Tigers’ rip-roaring 11-0 win over the Baseball Club representing Cleveland, Ohio… with the win, Detroit records their 30th win of the season, improves to 19 games off the White Sox pace in the AL Central, and sees their rDiff improve to a no bueno -86. Better than it was though…

Record: 57-24, .703, 1st AL West, 1st MLB
Up Next: An opportunity to secure a sweep against one of the top clubs in our league, in their adopted home, and before we head back to the PNW to meet up with Texas over the 4th of July Weekend.