Game 149, Mariners at Angels
Marco Gonzales vs. Jaime Barria, 1:05pm
Baseball is strange. The M’s came into the season reeling from Anaheim’s win in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. And despite injury and a spring so bad it became international news, Ohtani has more than lived up to his considerable hype. He’s clearly one of the best stories in the game, and comes into the game with a 162 wRC+ and 2.8 fWAR *as a designated hitter*. He’s also flashed elite stuff off the mound, and while we won’t see him there for a long while, he added another win off the mound in 51 tantalizing innings. Mike Trout remains Mike Trout, and today’s starter, Jaime Barria, somehow has more RA9-based WAR than Marco Gonzales, and is neck and neck with James freaking Paxton. There are plenty of reasons why it seemed like the Angels were better on paper, and thus it can’t be a total shock that the Angels run differential is +35, while the M’s is -42.
The M’s are 11-7 against their divisional rivals, and are looking to break the Angels’ spirit by concluding a four-game sweep today. So much has happened to make the M’s season feel like more of a failure than it is. I mean, the long term view here is still unclear, and pretty darn bad, but just looking at 2018, it feels like we should be having more fun. I completely understand why we’re not, but just for today, let’s enjoy the schadenfreude of beating the Angels comprehensively in this season series and blowing past them after they started off so brightly in April. We don’t get to have nice things, it’s true, but Anaheim’s nice things don’t get to go to the playoffs, either.
1: Haniger, RF
2: Span, LF
3: Cano, 2B
4: Healy, 1B
5: Seager, 3B
6: Vogelbach, DH
7: Freitas, C
8: Gordon, CF
9: Romine, SS
SP: Gonzales
The latest Mariner to fall ill and miss a game is DH Nelson Cruz. Feel better soon, Nellie. Today’s line-up does not inspire a great deal of confidence, though I remain confident that the Angels bullpen will find a way to blow it if they’re entrusted with a lead. And frankly, today’s line-up is sort of watchable in the way a late Cactus League game is: will Vogelbach figure things out at this level? How can Gonzales make counter adjustments, and how does his stamina look after a long season? It’s not much, but I’ll take it.
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Not a fan the way California lowered the right field fence by adding a line there. That shot by Upton should not have been a home run. They had the same configuration since ’98 when the Anaheim Stadium renovation was completed and after 20 seasons, they decided to change it? Weird timing.