Tag: Seattle Mariners

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MLB General

The Full Count: Guess who’s leading the NL West



Those ugly unis are working out

1. The best team you don’t know about: Many could tell you after the first week that the Braves have the best record in the majors (6-1 after a win over the Nats yesterday). But who has the second-best? Believe it or not it’s the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have won six straight games for a 7-2 record. Last night’s victory was an 11-inning contest against the Reds that featured five combined homers by both teams. The D-Backs got a key three-run shot by Chad Tracy in the first inning that answered Adam Dunn’s NL-leading 4th homer for the Reds. The teams traded homers until the 11th inning, when Scott Hariston doubled off David Weathers to provide the game-winning RBI. Arizona leads the division but San Diego and Los Angeles are looking good as well.

2. Welcome to Fenway: In their first home game this season, the Red Sox were completely dominant. They beat the Mariners 14-3, with seven of their runs coming in the first two innings. JD Drew hit his first homer as a member of the Red Sox, and was one of four players to have multiple RBIs in this contest. The most important performance was that of starting pitcher Josh Beckett, who is now 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA after striking out 8 in seven innings. The Sox are now 4-3 and tied with the Yankees and Blue Jays for the division lead.

3. No snow in Milwaukee: After getting snowed out for three straight days at Jacobs Field, the Indians were moved to Milwaukee for their current home series against the Angels. Surprisingly there were 19,000 people in the stands, about as much as the hometown Brewers usually draw. The Indians outlasted the Angels in this one 7-6, after a strong start by CC Sabathia was nearly ruined by the Tribe’s bullpen. The Angels scored a run in the ninth off Joe Borowski but their rally was ended after pinch-runner Erick Aybar was caught stealing. The Indians improved to 3-1, good enough for the division lead.

Player of the Day: Adrian Gonzalez, Padres: 3-5 with 2 homers and 4 RBIs in a loss to the Giants.

Stat of the Day: Alex Rodriguez has homered in 4 consecutive games, giving him 6 on the season. He has double the amount of homeruns of anyone else in the AL.

Quote of the Day: “I hope he arouses the fire that’s dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger.” — Ichiro on tonight’s matchup with Dice-K.

Walk Off: The Cardinals starters look terrible on paper, but they are actually good enough to lead the team to a fourth consecutive division title. St. Louis has won 4 of their last 5 games despite only 21 runs during that stretch. If guys like Braden Looper and Adam Wainwright can continue their early success, this team will be dangerous in the playoffs once again.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Carl Pavano makes how much per win?


1. Two hits, one win: The Padres offense struggled mightily against the Giants last night, but it didn’t matter. Despite only mustered two hits by San Diego, they won 1-0. Giants starter Matt Cain had six hitless innings, then gave up a sac fly in the seventh, the only run of the game. San Fran’s offense was shut down as well by Chris Young, who had seven scoreless innings and earned a win. The Giants dropped to 1-6, tied for the worst record in the majors.

2. Two years, one win: Carl Pavano’s struggles with injuries have been well-documented during his time with the Yankees. But on Monday he put out his first win since 2005, pitching seven innings and allowing two runs. He was helped out by the Yankees’ dynamic offense. Bobby Abreu drove in four runs and A-Rod hit his league-leading 5th homer of the season as the team lit up Sidney Ponson for an 8-2 win over the Twins. Amazingly, the Yanks have five players in their lineup hitting over .340, including Johnny Damon’s .556. Still, they are only 3-3 on the year.

3. Snow Day: In a maddening episode, especially for fantasy owners like me, the Indians-Mariners game was snowed out for a fourth consecutive day on Monday. For three straight days, a planned doubleheader was called off. In order for this not to happen again, the Indians moved their next home series against the Angels to Milwaukee’s Miller Park. That has a retractable roof, so the series (which starts today) will definitely occur. The games missed will likely be made up with a doubleheader on a mutual off day for both teams.

Player of the Day: Braden Looper, Cardinals: 7 innings, no runs, two hits in a 3-0 win over Pittsburgh.

Stat of the Day: The Giants only have two homeruns this season, less than seven major league players.

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MLB General

Sep 19 in Sports History: Better Times for the Cubs and Mariners



2001 AL MVP

In 1906 and in 2001: The Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners, who are tied for the ML record for wins in a season, both clinched on the same day. The Cubs were the earliest team to ever clinch a pennant and the Mariners led the AL West Division wire to wire (the Detroit Tigers were the last to do it, and they also clinched their division on this day in 1984. While both franchises won 116 regular season games, each failed to win the World Series.

In 1994: Stan Humphries and Tony Martin of the San Diego Chargers hooked up for an NFL record-tying 99 yard touchdown reception in a win over the Seattle Seahawks. Also, in 2005, Ladanian Tomlinson of the Chargers broke the NFL record by scoring a touchdown in 18 consecutive games.

In 1968: The day after the Cardinals were no-hit by Gaylord Perry of the Giants, St. Louis pitcher Ray Washburn returned the favor and tossed a 2-0 no-hitter against San Francisco. It was the only time in baseball history there were no-hitters in consecutive games in the same park.

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Boxing

August 31 in Sports History: Rocky Marciano killed in plane crash



Oh there they go. There they go, every
time I start talkin ’bout boxing, a
white man got to pull Rocky Marciano
out their ass. That’s their one, that’s
their one. Rocky Marciano. Rocky
Marciano.

In 1969: Former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano was killed in a plane crash near Newton, Iowa. The only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated at 49-0, Marciano died just one day shy of his 46th birthday. He had 43 career knockouts, including the great Joe Louis and Jersey Joe Walcott.

In 1881: As a precursor to the modern day U.S. Open, the first national tennis championship took place in Newport, RI. Richard Sears won the men’s singles (there were no doubles or ladies matches) for the first of seven straight titles.

In 1990: Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father-son tandem to start as teammates in a Major League game. With dad in left field and son in center, the Seattle Mariners defeated the Royals 5-2. Both singled and went 1-4.

In 1959: Sandy Koufax of the L.A. Dodgers tied Bob Feller’s ML record with 18 strikeouts in a 5-2 win against the Giants in front of 82,000 fans at the Coliseum. Koufax set another mark with 31 K’s over two games. The single-game record would be topped by Steve Carlton (19) in 1969 and again by Roger Clemens in 1986 and Kerry Wood in 1998 (20).

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MLB General

The Full Count: How do the A’s do it?


1. No offense means nothing: They have the lowest slugging percentage and batting average in the AL. They have scored just one more run on the season than the pitiful Kansas City Royals. No one in their lineup is batting over .300. And yet they still lead their division. The mystery team is the Oakland A’s, and they have rolled through their division despite numerous underachievers in their everyday lineup. The A’s pounded through the Red Sox 9-0 last night, as Esteban Loaiza continued his remarkable resurgence. Loaiza threw seven innings and gave up no runs, his third straight start with no earned runs. His ERA has dropped from 6.72 at the end of July to 4.82 now after an outstanding 4-0 August. Oakland got some offense too, with homeruns from their best two players: Frank Thomas and Nick Swisher. Each player went yard for their 28th time this season as the A’s pounded the ailing Red Sox. Boston has now lost four games in a row. Even worse, David Ortiz was hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat. The length of his absence is unknown.

2. Rookie madness: Without a doubt, this has been the year of the rookie in the MLB. From Justin Verlander to Jonathan Papelbon, rookies have been drawing headlines all year. But one of the best first year players, surprisingly enough, hasn’t received enough attention. He’s Josh Johnson, one of many outstanding young players for the Florida Marlins. Last night Johnson improved to 12-6 after a 7-strikeout performance against the Brewers. His ERA, at 2.87 is numero uno in the National League. Johnson has been a tour de force all year, with a winning record in every month since he became a starting pitcher. The Marlins are hot, too: they have won 8 in a row and have moved to just 2 games back of the Wild Card lead.

3. Simply unbeatable: In a National League filled with inconsistent, unpredictable floaters; at least one team is looking good. They are the New York Mets, who have won 9 of 10 to move to an outstanding 80-49. Yesterday they dismantled the Phillies 8-3, sending them back to .500 on the year. The Mets featured two RBIs each by Carlos Delgado and David Wright as well as Jose Reyes’ 16th triple of the season. The latter is good for the MLB lead and gives him two consecutive 15+ triple seasons, the first player to do that in 60 years according to Elias Sports. For the losing Phillies, Ryan Howard jacked his 47th homerun of the season.

4. Inconsistent phenom: Will the real Felix Hernandez please stand up? The second-year pitcher has puzzled many this season while other young pitchers have shined. Hernandez has an 11-12 record and a 4.57 ERA, both very mediocre. But last night he looked like the ace he could be, recording a complete-game shutout of the Angels. Hernandez walked none and allowed just five hits in the effort, which came just one start after being blown away with seven earned runs. Felix is one of the reasons for the Mariners’ disappointments this year. The team had lost 20 consecutive divisional games before their victory last night over the Angels.

5. Your future MLB stars: Almost every major league player started out in the Little Leagues, right? So maybe there were some future MLB players out there in Williamsport, where the Little League World Series final was held last night. In a matchup of Columbus, Georgia, the US champions, and the Japanese champions, the US team showed that our country can still win something in international competition. The Columbus squad took the game and the tournament with a narrow 2-1 victory. This gave the US back-to-back victories in the series for the first time since 1992-93, when Long Beach, California took two straight titles. So while our major league Americans showed they can’t beat Japan (who won the WBC), at least our country’s 13-year-olds can do it.

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MLB General

The Full Count: Brawlin’ in Arlington


1. A good ol’ fashioned basebrawl: The Texas Rangers and LA Angels actually played yesterday, but few will remember this game for Texas’ 9-3 victory or 8-run third inning. That’s because in the bottom of the 9th with two outs, Adam Kennedy was hit by a pitch and charged the mound, setting off a benches-clearing brawl. Two Rangers had been hit the inning before, leading to the ejection of Angels manager Mike Scioscia. Rangers manager Buck Showalter was tossed after the fight as well as Kennedy. This type of thing can only be explained by watching, so watch it here.

2. Closing in: Watch out, St. Louis. Your usual huge lead in the NL Central division has all but disappeared this season. Now, after a defeat to the Reds, Cincy is closing in on the defending division champs. Yesterday they mauled the Cardinals at the New Busch by hitting 5 homers in a 7-2 win. Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion hit two big flys in the first three innings to give the Reds a 4-0 lead. That was followed by Adam Dunn (36), Ken Griffey Jr. (24), and Rich Aurilla (17) homeruns. Bronson Arroyo, who had been winless since June, finally emerged victorious by holding St. Louis to 1 earned run. Now the Reds are just 1.5 games out in the division, and they could possibly lower that to a half-game by tomorrow.

3. Reaching 70: Only one team in the National League, the Mets, has reached 70 wins. The AL East and West combined feature one 70-win team as well, the Yankees. Amazingly, the AL Central has three teams that have reached that plateau after the Twins did it last night. Minnesota beat up on Cleveland 7-2 last night for the win. Joe Mauer had 2 RBIs, Jason Bartlett went 4-4, and Michael Cuddyer drove in three runs to lead the team. Carlos Sliva got the win and is 4-1 with a 4.73 ERA since the All Star break, good considering his horrendous first half. Now Minnesota is just 1 game away from the Wild Card leading White Sox, who lost again last night to the pitiful Royals. The teams will play in a weekend series that will give one of them bragging rights in this tight race.

4. Cabrera’s day: Though Miguel Cabrera doesn’t really get mentioned among some of he elite hitters in the game, his all-around play over his short career has been truly extraordinary. Yesterday he led the Marlins to a surprising 15-4 crushing of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had won 17 of 18 coming into the game. Cabrera hit two homers, his 19th and 20th on the season, while compiling 5 RBIs, 3 hits, and 3 runs. His performance raised his average to an outstanding .337, which ranks second in the NL. He also ranks second in on-base percentage and sixth in OPS. He is having the best of his 3 standout seasons, with career highs in each of the above percentage categories. Cabrera is truly a young stud, and incredibly is only 23. He is the leader of a young, surprising Marlins team that is only 8 games below .500 despite a minute payroll.

5. We’ll play anyone but Oakland: The Seattle Mariners have just slightly struggled against the A’s on the year. Make that mightily struggled. The team lost their 15th consecutive game against Oakland last night as they fell 4-0. That means Seattle is 55-49 against every team but the A’s and 1-15 against them this year. This is the longest streak since 1974 by any team against a divisional opponent, Elias Sports says. Dan Haren won and struck out 8 while the bullpen held their ground. Now Oakland, after sweeping the Mariners, has won 6 games in a row and 10 of 11 overall. Their streak is similar to the Dodgers’ but has received much less acclaim.

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MLB General

The Full Count: We’re going streaking!

1. Make it a dozen: The Red Sox just keep on winning, and even a series against the NL’s best team didn’t produce an Interleague loss. The Sox completed a sweep of the Mets on Thursday in a heavily anticipated Glavine vs. Shilling matchup. Each pitcher held the opposing team scoreless through five innings, but they ended up allowing two earned runs each. Shilling pitched seven innings to earn the victory, his only mistake a two-run shot allowed to Carlos Beltran in the 6th inning. Coco Crisp used a bunt single, a steal, and a sacrifice fly to score and break the 2-2 tie in the 7th. David Ortiz hit his 23rd homer to seal the deal, and Jon Papelbon collected his 24th save. The Red Sox are now up by a season-high 4 games in the AL East, while the Mets still hold an 11-game lead in the NL East.

2. It’s over: The Pirates losing streak finally ended last night despite facing the best pitcher one of the AL’s best teams. The Bucs defeated the White Sox 7-6, and Jose Contreras had his worst outing of the year but was spared of the loss. Contreras allowed 6 runs in five innings, but his undeafeated streak still stands at 16 games. That’s because Jim Thome tied up the game at 6-6 in the eighth with a pinch-hit homerun, his AL-leading 25th on the year. For the Pirates, Freddy Sanchez went 4-5 and hit a game-winning walk-off homer in the ninth. His batting average increased to an NL-leading .363. This game means little more than an ended streak for the Pirates however. They are still 17.5 games back of the Cardinals in their division.

3. Streaking Seattle: One of the many AL teams taking advantage of a weakened National League is the Seattle Mariners, whose 10-2 record in Interleague play has left them only two games back in the AL West. They currently have a 5-game winning streak going after completing a sweep of the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks. Yesterday they won 3-2 after a strong start by Gil Meche, who is 3-0 in his last five starts and has dropped his ERA over a point. JJ Putz picked up his 14th save for Seattle, and he has only blown one save all season. Raul Ibanez is having one of the quietest yet effective seasons of any player, and last night he hit his 17th homer and 63rd RBI. Even Adrian Beltre has raised his average from under .200 to .262 over the past month or so.

4. They like their homers in Cincy: After hitting four homers against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, the Reds were at it again on Thursday. They hit three homeruns, one each by Ken Griffey Jr., Felipe Lopez, and Adam Dunn. Griffey’s shot marked his fourth game in a row going yard, while Dunn’s blast gave him 25 on the year. Dunn also hit a double in the eighth inning that drove in the game-winning run. The win for Cincinnati left them just one game back of the Cardinals, and it appears they are for real. Bronson Arroyo, who left after seven innings and received a no-decision, allowed two runs to keep his ERA at an NL-leading 2.58. The Royals, meanwhile, once again have the majors’ worst record after their loss and the Pirates’ win.

5. Bringing juice to the Golden Baseball League: Jose Canseco is back in a professional uniform, as he agreed to a contract with the San Diego Surf Dawgs. Canseco will play DH and even pitch for the team, which plays in the independent Golden Baseball League. He will make the league maximum salary, which is just $2,500 per month. We’re waiting to see if a steroid scandal will soon rock this independent league.

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Boxing

June 27 in Sports History: Spinks gets $10M for 91 seconds



91 seconds of work

In 1988: Mike Tyson knocked out previously undefeated Michael Spinks in 91 seconds at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. The fight, which was hyped for months as the true test to Tyson’s dominance, was over before many people even got to their $1,500 ringside seats. It was the fourth shortest heavyweight fight in history and was believed to be the climax of Tyson’s career as the undisputed heavyweight champion. The fight was so short, HBO was able to show a slow motion replay of the entire bout. Spinks collected about ten million dollars for his troubles.

In 1999 The Seattle Mariners played their final game in the Seattle Kingdome in front of 56,000 fans. Ken Griffey Jr. homered for the Mariners in the 5-2 win over the Texas Rangers. The Mariners played over 1,700 games in 22 seasons at the Kingdome. A few memorable moments include Griffey Jr. and his father, Ken Sr. both playing in the same game together, the Mariners one-game playoff win over the Angels to clinch the AL West in 1995, and Junior scoring the winning run of the first ALDS in the bottom of the 10th inning in Game 5 against the Yankees. Fans and city officials celebrated the final game at the Kingdome with banners and ceremonies, prompting sportscaster Keith Olbermann to wonder: “Why? It was a dump.