Mariners Insider

Mariners Insider

May
20th

Indians 10, Mariners 8 – “We are just happy to be leaving Cleveland”

CLEVELAND – Tom Wilhelmsen pretty much summed up the thoughts of the Seattle Mariners and their fans in minutes after yet another stunning walk-off loss to the Cleveland Indians.

“We’re just happy to be leaving Cleveland,” he said flatly. “We are ready to leave this place.”

After four days and four losses – three coming on the final swing of the bat – the Mariners have taken enough punches to the gut in this city to last 10 seasons.

Monday’s 10-8 loss in 10 innings might have been the most painful.

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May
20th

Mariners minor league report, May 20, 2013: Triunfel hits a walk-off homer for Tacoma, another strong outing for lefty Tyler Pike

Sunday was a featured day for pitching in the Mariners organization as three of their better pitching prospects took the mound in starts – James Paxton (Tacoma), Taijuan Walker (Jackson) and Tyler Pike (Clinton).

Of the three, Pike had the best day, throwing six scoreless innings, allowing one hit, but walking five and striking out two in Clinton’s 5-2 win. 

In Tacoma, Paxton made it just 4 2/3 innings and needed 98 pitches to make that far. He gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits, with three strikeouts and no walks.

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May
20th

Monday’s line-ups, game notes and updated stats vs. the Indians

It’s early! It’s 6:42 a.m. in the Puget Sound, which is normally about two hours after I go to bed. It’s the last game of the series here in Cleveland and thus far it hasn’t gone too well. Hisashi Iwakuma will try and put a band aid on the bleeding for the Mariners. Manager Eric Wedge has rolled out a right-handed heavy line-up vs. lefty Scott Kazmir.

From the Mariners’ baseball guru Jeff Evans …

  • Jason Bay is batting .295 (13×44) vs. LHP, compared to .175 (7×40) vs. RHP.
  • Jason Bay and Kelly Shoppach have both

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May
19th

Indians 6, Mariners 0 — “It was just one of those days”

Over the course of a baseball season, a team will suffer through a few lack-luster, lifeless, stinker-type losses. It’s product of playing 162 games.

Having one of those dead-pulse defeats when Felix Hernandez is on the mound seems implausible. But it happened on Sunday.

The Mariners’ ace was anything but sharp, the defense behind him was worse and the hitting was non-existent as Seattle slogged its way through a 6-0 loss at Progressive Field.

It was the Mariners third straight loss against the Indians in as many days. They will now try to avoid suffering a

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May
19th

Mariners minor league report, May 19, 2013:

Nice little day of pitching for the Mariners prospects today with James Paxton starting for Tacoma, Taijuan Walker starting for Jackson and Tyler Pike starting for Clinton.

Yesterday, the Rainiers managed to pull off a 4-3 win, rallying from a three-run deficit. Carlos Triunfel had three hits, including the go-ahead RBI double. The Rainiers also got solid performances from Bobby LaFromboise and Logan Bawcom in the win.

Double A Jackson split a doubleheader with Birmingham. The Generals  lost 2-1 to Birmingham in the first game. Chance Ruffin pitced five innings, giving up two runs on three hits with

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May
19th

Sunday’s line-ups, official game notes, updated stats vs. the Indians, and a few thoughts on Montero’s play at the plate

Michael Saunders is back in the line-up today after getting  much needed day off. The rest of the line-up is pretty similar to yesterday. Jesus Montero is back in there after a tough game yesterday.

I watched yesterday’s final play with Montero at the plate several times yesterday. Yes, he stretched with the wrong foot. Yes, he looked awkward. Is it a routine play? No. Routine plays are something that happen often. Asking a catcher to act like a first baseman at home and field a

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May
18th

Indians 5, Mariners 4 — walked off on again

CLEVELAND – The walk-off miseries continue at Progressive Field.

Less than 24 hours after watching the Cleveland Indians celebrate a game-ending, game-winning hit, the Seattle Mariners had to watch it once again.

This time there was no helpless feeling of watching a ball sail over the fence for a walk-off homer. This time Seattle at least had a chance to fight off defeat. But Brendan Ryan’s throw from his knees to home plate for a force out pulled catcher Jesus Montero off the plate slightly, allowing Jason Kipnis to score the game-winning run in a 5-4

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