Week #25 in Review
I nearly forgot the season was still going on. Forgive me.
Happy Felix Day!
Vital Signs
Wins: 64. Losses: 82. Games out of first place: 17.
Over the last two weeks, the Mariners have gained one game in the standings. Oakland and Los Angeles are tied for first with 16 left to play – 4 for those against one another. The Rangers and third place are now 8.5 games away. The M’s are now nearly four and a half games worse than we would expect them to be, according to third-order wins, with still the Devil Rays and Royals with fewer W3 wins
Runs Scored: 642 (12th in the American League). Batting average: .257 (last). On-base percentage: .317 (last). Slugging percentage: .395 (tied with Minnesota for last). Home runs: 122 (tied with Toronto for 11th). Bases on balls: 413 (8th). EqA: .250 (11th). The American league average is .268/.329/.425.
Runs allowed: 669 (7th). Staff ERA: 4.41 (7th). DIPS ERA: 4.66 (12th). Strikeouts: 781 (last). Bases on balls: 456 (9th). Home runs allowed: 159 (11th). Starters ERA: 4.90 (10th). Relievers ERA: 3.37 (4th). Defensive efficiency: 70.3% (4th).
Clap your hands, oh ye Mariner fans, the M’s had a winning week and swept the playoff bound (maybe) Los Angeles Angels. It was their first sweep since the Royals a month ago. They went 4-3 against the Orioles, Angels and one game with the Rangers. They outscored the opposition 32-28 (hardly dominating, but we’re taking anything at this point), out-homered the opposition 5-2 and drew more bases on balls 25-15. The offense hit .287/.362/.409, which would suggest that they made contact, getting their hits, and they drew their walks, but there was very little power.
Heroes
Hot hot Raul Ibanez went 14-for-28 (.500/.563/.786) with a pair of doubles and a pair of home runs. He collected two 4-hit games this week and drove in 4 runs Wednesday in the Mariners 10-9 win over the Angels.
In a bizarro week, Felix Hernandez allows 6 earned runs in 7 innings while Ryan Franklin and Joel Pineiro combine 15.2 innings and allowed 2 earned runs between them. Felix, though, struck out more than both of them together. And keep in mind that Franklin and Pineiro faced an anemic Angels offense, while Felix had Baltimore, a bit more of a heftier offense.
Not-so-much Heroes
Adrian Beltre cost the M’s more outs (23) than any other hitter in the lineup as he went 6-for-29 (.207/.258/.207) without an extra-base hit. Jose Lopez similarly was a vacuum in the batter’s box, going 4-for-26 (.154/.214/.231).
Rafael Soriano made his 2005 debut and recorded a pair of swinging strikeouts in his first appearance. He also surrendered a single to Brian Roberts and a long double to Miggy Tejada in his inning of work and the M’s lost 5-3. Last night he entered a with the Mariners trailing the Rangers 3-2. He retired Mike Young but after a single, double, hit batter and sac fly, the Rangers had what would become the deciding run.
Coming to a stadium near you
The Mariners wrap up a four-game set with the Rangers this weekend. The Rangers are second in the league in run scoring and their pitching and defense is 12th in the league. Only the Devil Rays and Royals allow more runs. The Rangers are 8-6 this month and are 8-5 against the Mariners this year. Pitching matchups this weekend will be Rupe/Felix, Rogers/Pineiro and Dickey/Franklin.
Monday, the Mariners travel to Toronto for a four-game set. The Blue Jays are 7th in the league in runs scored, while their pitching and defense are 6th (but best in the AL East). The Jays have been 6-7 this month, while on the season are 4-2 against the Mariners.
Comments
2 Responses to “Week #25 in Review”
TGIF Thank God It’s Felix. Hopefully he can work 7 quick ones on a 5:05 start before HS football kicks off.
Uggh. Let’s get this over with, and on to the speculation and eventual moves over the off-season. We have *potential* in spots, but you gotta start executing soon …