Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

Our starter Malcolm Jackson left the game after a scoreless first inning with an injury, forcing the Mariners to turn to our bullpen early. Cory Palmer picked up the win with 4 2/3 innings in relief, allowing just 2 runs on 2 hits. We used four more relievers to close out the game (Doug Richardson, Mark Chavez, Melvin Gross, and Pablo Arellano).

Shortstop Nick Davis had a big game at the plate with a pair of hits, including a big bases clearing double in the Mariners four run sixth inning. The Mariners lead the series 2 games to 1.

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

The Mariners lead the series 2 games to 1.

(kisses rabbit's foot)
Come on Mariners in 7......

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by mirrf

(kisses rabbit's foot)
Come on Mariners in 7......

Thanks - the Mariners need all the luck we can get!

[NYY #23]

Vicente Cano walked five batters and gave up a 3 run home run as the Baltimore Orioles scored 5 runs in the bottom of the first. While those would be the only runs we would give up all game the five run deficit was too much for our offense to overcome as we fell 5-2 and the ALCS is tied up at two games apiece.

[NYY #23]

The ALCS has been a dogfight so far, but the Mariners got the upper hand after an 11-6 win over the Orioles.

Terry Nash, Nick Bryant, and Brett Lawrie all homered in the win. Bryant's home run would be a grand slam, while Lawrie delivered a three run homer.

A shaky John Hester would leave the game after 5 innings with the game tied at four, but the late inning heroics by Bryant and Lawrie provided us with the win.

We'll head back to Seattle to try and close out the series in Game 6.

[NYY #23]

The Mariners headed into the bottom of the eighth inning trailing 5-3, but would come back with 3 runs to take the lead. Carlos Contreras, Christian Lambert, and Brett Lawrie would pick up the eighth inning RBI's.

Pablo Arellano would come on to pitch the ninth inning, striking out 2 and not allowing a base runner to reach as the Mariners hold on for a 6-5 win and will be heading to the World Series!

[NYY #23]

Will year number six be the year that the Mariners finally get over the hump, or will we finally meet our match with the 94-68 Cardinals?

The Cardinals seem to be built a little bit different than the Mariners. The Cardinals outscored the Mariners in the regular season, but it was the Mariners who hold the pitching edge. It's the playoffs though, so the Cardinals will be able to throw out a formidable three man rotation. Their 3-6 hitters hold a big advantage over the Mariners 3-6 hitters.

I expect it'll be a hard fought series, although I obviously hope the Mariners can pull off the win.

[rjl518]

if pitching wins championships...

mariners in 6!

[NYY #23]

Vicente Cano would turn in a solid start tonight with 8 2/3 innings allowing 7 hits and 4 runs, but Jonathan Rhodes of the Cardinals turned in the standout pitching performance of the day with 7 innings, 4 hits, and 1 ER.

Our offense couldn't get much going as we fall to the Cardinals 4-2 at home and now trail one game to none.

[NYY #23]

You always want to win at home in the postseason, and you especially don't want to lose both games at home to start the World Series. Unfortunately that is what the Mariners did today in a game that felt eerily similar to game 1.

Juan Diaz would turn in the solid start for the Mariners (6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K), but once again the Cardinals outpitched us. Denny Birt (6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) would pick up the win as the Cardinals edged the Mariners 3-2 and took a 2 games to 0 series lead as we head to St. Louis. That's not a good sign.

[NYY #23]

I apologize for the long and unexpected delay. I've been sick for what seems like a couple weeks now, and now that I'm feeling better I think that this World Series is starting to make me sick again.

-----------------



You can pick whatever "It's not over until…." saying that you'd like. I prefer Yogi Berra's "It ain't over till it's over." But it sure feels over after losing 5-2 to the Cardinals to go down 3 games to 0.

There isn't a lot to like about how the World Series is going. We managed just 2 runs on 6 hits tonight, and once again our pitching wasn't good enough. Injuries to Brett Lawrie, Malcolm Jackson, and Jose Ramirez, although significant, are not an excuse.

Norm Bryant getting ejected in the eighth inning is a sign of the Mariners frustration right now. Unfortunately, the somewhat dirty little secret of the Mariners is we've got a lot of tough decisions to make this offseason. Those arbitration raises get expensive quick, and an opportunity to add a pitcher like Cano coming back from injury on a cheap one year deal only comes around so often.

We'll be faced with an either/or choice or allowing Vicente Cano, Juan Diaz, and Malcolm Jackson to all walk, or declining Brett Lawrie's team option and we'll likely have to non-tender one of our high priced arbitration eligible relievers (Pablo Arellano or Daniel Carey) or find another way to save some money. In short, we'll be about $40 million over budget if we bring back all the key players, so it will be an interesting offseason.

But for now we'll take it one game at a time, and hopefully we can avoid the sweep tomorrow.

[MarkInCincy]

glad you are feeling better, theres been a nasty bug/flu spreading around here incapacitating those who get it for 5-10 days

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

I apologize for the long and unexpected delay. I've been sick for what seems like a couple weeks now, and now that I'm feeling better I think that this World Series is starting to make me sick again.

Glad to hear you're doing better.

[rjl518]

must have been the holidays that dragged you down...good to see that youre back...missed you

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by MarkInCincy

glad you are feeling better, theres been a nasty bug/flu spreading around here incapacitating those who get it for 5-10 days

Originally Posted by mirrf

Glad to hear you're doing better.

Originally Posted by rjl518

must have been the holidays that dragged you down...good to see that youre back...missed you

Thanks everyone.

[NYY #23]

The Mariners were trailing 2-0 heading in to the seventh inning, down to our final 9 outs of the season.

Christian Lambert would walk to lead off the inning, but Kenny Schultz would fly out to take us down to 8 outs. A walk by Norm Bryant would put runners on first and second, and a single by Nick Davis would break up the Cardinals' shutout. We'd then get a single by Brit Smith to tie the game at two.

That led to an RBI single from Carlos Contreras, a double by Chris Frost which drove in two runs, a double by Brett Lawrie that would drive in two runs, and a single by Kenny Schultz. The 7 run seventh inning would be just what the doctor order and we held on for the 9-2 win to avoid the sweep.

Doug Richardson would get the win in relief of Vicente Cano, striking out the only batter he faced. Melvin Gross would pitch a hitless seventh, while Daniel Carey would close out the game with two hitless innings.

Juan Diaz will be making perhaps his final start for the Mariners tomorrow in Game 5.

[NYY #23]

Juan Diaz would pick up the win with 6 innings of 2 run ball as the Mariners showed some signs of life with a 7-2 win over the Cardinals.

Brit Smith would come off the bench for a pinch hit three run homer to provide some insurance runs in the eighth. The Mariners will head back home to Seattle down 3-2 in the series.

[NYY #23]

A third inning double by Chris Frost would score the first and only run of the game in the third inning as the Mariners come back and tie the series at three games apiece with a 1-0 win.

The Mariners used six pitchers in the shutout, with John Hester picking up the win with 6 1/3 shutout innings. Daniel Carey (2/3 IP), Doug Richardson (1/3 IP), Cory Palmer (0 IP), Melvin Gross (2/3 IP), and Pablo Arellano (1 IP) would pitch in relief in the win, with everyone picking up a hold, with Arellano earning his fifth save of the postseason.

It all comes down to tomorrow with Vicente Cano on the mound. I'm hoping we can complete the remarkable comeback, because I don't know which is worse - getting swept in the World Series, or coming back from 3 games to none to tie the series, only to lose in game 7.

Cue the talk about the Mariners having momentum on our side…

[NYY #23]

This was a weird one. The game started off with Vicente Cano walking a batter, hitting a batter, a steal of third base, and a groundout that gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. The Mariners would quickly tie the game with a walk to Jose Martinez, a single by Terry Nash, and back to back sacrifice fly's by Norm Bryant and Gary Lowe.

The Mariners would take the lead in the bottom of the third when Nick Davis singled, Jose Martinez walked, Nick Davis moved to second on a fielder's choice, and Norm Bryant drove in the go ahead run with a sacrifice fly.

After that it was a lot of 0's for Cano. 8 innings pitched, no hits, and one earned run. He'd walk two and strike out six. I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit that with the Cardinals scoring a run in the first I didn't even notice the no-hitter, until I took the screen shot.

That no hitter would be preserved when Pablo Arellano retired the Cardinals in order in the ninth and the Mariners would come back and win the World Series 4 games to 3 with a 2-1 win in the deciding game 7, which just so happened to be a combined no-hitter.



Once again, this was a weird one, but I'm happy that the Mariners completed the comeback, and pitched a combined no-hitter to close out my time in Seattle. I think the only thing that could have made it more memorable if we walked off in the bottom of the ninth after trailing while pitching a no-hitter.

[HerbertMcHoover]

That was an awesome game. Cano is quite a legend.