Game 25, Mariners at Astros
JA Happ vs. Roberto Hernandez, 11:10am
I for one welcome our new Astros overlords.
The M’s lost their second game in which their offense knocked four HRs, which is at least a novel way of losing games compared to the ways we’ve seen in the recent past. I’m just glad I didn’t talk about McHugh’s newfound HR-suppressing ability in the game thread. The M’s offense, if nothing else, put a lasting bruise on McHugh’s FIP, which had been under 2. Take THAT, Astros.
Today, the Astros go for their 10th straight win. Their last loss came on April 22nd, when JA Happ and the M’s beat Roberto Hernandez’s Astros at Safeco. That game was a fairly sharp pitchers duel, with Hernandez going 7 and giving up 3 runs, but taking the loss. I talked about Hernandez’s grounder-generating stuff and strike-zone avoiding approach last time, so review that if you’re so inclined. It’s still pretty early to tell much about Happ’s adjustments to life in the AL West; he’s thrown a few more change-ups and cutters this year, though that may be due to facing a few more RHBs. Whatever he’s doing, he’s been successful at it. May it continue this morning/afternoon.
1: Jackson, CF
2: Smith, RF
3: Cano, 2B
4: Cruz, DH
5: Seager, 3B
6: Morrison, 1B
7: Zunino, C
8: Ackley, LF
9: Miller, SS
SP: Happ
While the M’s can’t beat the Astros, the Rainiers have handled the Astros AAA affiliate pretty well. The R’s beat Fresno yesterday 5-1 behind a sharp game from Sam Gaviglio and a 2HR day from Stefen Romero. Joe Beimel pitched two scoreless innings in relief. Today, Mike Kickham takes the hill for the Rainiers – the Grizzlies starter is TBD.
Jackson beat Pensacola 7-4 despite a mediocre start from Misael Siverio. Their second six-run inning in as many days turned things around for the Generals. The M’s got a scare in the 4th when top prospect DJ Peterson was hit by a pitch and had to come out of the game. This is the guy who missed a good chunk of 2013 after being hit in the jaw by a pitch. Hopefully this was just precautionary, and it was actually good to see him tweeting about the big boxing match after the game. Stephen Landazuri starts for the Generals today against Josh Smith.
Bakersfield stopped the red-hot Visalia Rawhide 3-1 behind Dan Altavilla, dropping Visalia’s record to 18-5. Behind 1-0 in the 5th, the Blaze rallied with two outs, getting an RBI double from Ian Miller, and then a huge error on a ball hit by Tyler Marlette scored two runs. Tyler Pike takes the hill today for the Blaze
Clinton lost in 13 innings to Cedar Rapids, 7-6. Gianfranco Wawoe had the day off, but Alex Jackson had a hit in 6 ABs. Today, Pat Peterson, fresh off a 10K performance in his last start, takes the hill.
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20 Responses to “Game 25, Mariners at Astros”
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I just tuned in, and the Mariners chances of winning, according to Fangraphs, are about 20%. That probably assumes the teams are evenly matched, might be too high.
It’s funny how quickly this has become like any other year, the early expectations gone so fast it’s like they were never there. The M’s are just another team with some chance to compete, but no reason to get your hopes up.
Sounds like Miller just made another mental blunder. That’s after hitting a triple though…
Well, when Jackson got hurt at least Lloyd didn’t stick Cruz out there.
Just think how excited we’ll be next year in March. I can’t wait! March is our World Series! All the speculation! All the stats! All the words spilled over contention!
A new baserunning technique on display by Rickie Weeks. Whatever works, man. At this point … Whatever works.
Whatever works is letting Carson Smith pitch important innings. I hope someone notices that.
At this point, I don’t see how Lloyd can logically trot Miller out at shortstop game after game.
Somehow I knew I should not have said that about Smith.
Changes are in order.
8 games behind on May 3.
So where would you guys start, as far as a quick shake up for this team goes.
Well, we got to here fast. That’s one small mercy. If they insist on being irrelevant, so do I.
July 31. Desmond, Zobrist.
Optioned Medina and Olson to AAA after today’s game. Corresponding moves announced tomorrow.
Optioning those two pitchers to Tacoma should help alot…. Jack Z can be a real head scratcher… whats wrong with Chris Taylor that he is still sitting in AAA?
Brad Miller. I counted 3 bonehead baserunning mess-ups the past week. Including a big one today.
It’s not just the base running problems that Brad is displaying, he’s also had to many errant throws, and in key situations.
It sucks to watch the Astros play… Their team is doing EXACTLY what the Mariners were supposed to do the past 2 years…
A bunch of young, hustling, spunky players, with a few veteran “professional hitters” thrown in the mix, all predicated on a strong pitching staff. And they’re gonna win on “heart and hustle”…
That’s not supposed to work that well. We know, we tried it.
No fair.
I agree that the Astros have stunk even worse than the Mariners the past few years. However, they are winning on talent and not mirrors and magic. Their outfield is populated with center fielders who can run. They have power at six positions. They are one of the best defensive teams. Speed does not go into slumps. Even when their hitting falls off, the defense can still be there. The pitching remains questionable but the veteran arms in the bullpen will help them hold onto leads.
Contrast the Astros to the Mariners who have tried to trade speed and defense for power. The Mariners put all their eggs into pitching prospects and one tool sluggers. The Mariners still have not shown any skill in developing starting pitchers not named Felix. Cruz is the first one tool slugger who actually is performing up to expectations and still the team struggles to score runs. It is encouraging that it is possible to go from doormat to division leader, hopefully the Mariners will figure out how to do that some day.
You mean, beyond 20,000 Rodney Bobbleheads?
And crap cream fauxbacks?