Pro Sports Blogging » Chase Smith

M’s Win First of Two Final First-Half Series

Chase Smith — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 09:44:40 +0000

After concluding interleague play with a big series win against the Padres last weekend, the Mariners made their way to California to play back-to-back series against AL West rivals Oakland and LA Anaheim in that order. With only 2.5 games separating the M’s from first place, each game in these next two series would prove crucial if they were hoping to return to the playoffs.

The M’s would start things off with a proverbial bang on the 4^th of July, winning game one by a score of 2-1. Mariners ace Michael Pineda (8-5, 2.58 ERA) would pitch six complete innings with a total of only two hits and one earned run allowed, both of which were eclipsed by his impressive seven total strikeouts. On the offensive end, the team took advantage of a struggling Brandon McCarthy (1-5, 3.33 ERA) scoring two runs on six hits, one of which came from a 396-foot home run off the bat of rookie C Josh Bard.

Former Mariners skipper, and current A’s manager Bob Melvin had this to say about Pineda’s performance, “He’s all arms and legs, and he’s closer to you and throwing 96… He throws the slider in off-counts and when he’s throwing strikes, not only does he have plus stuff but he’s difficult to think along with. You have to get the bat out there for the fastball and he’s not afraid to throw the slider when he’s behind in counts.”

Dustin Ackley high-five's Mariners 3B coach after solo HR (Courtesy of Ben Margot - Associated Press)

Tuesday night would yield a similar result after the M’s would rack up a 4-2 win in extra innings. Most of the offensive production came from 2B Dustin Ackley, as the rookie scored two of the four Mariners runs; one as a result of a sacrifice fly off the bat of LF Carlos Peguero, and another off a solo HR to center field.

Unfortunately, even after accumulating 10 K in 8 IP, 2011 All-Star pitcher Felix Hernandez (8-7, 3.22 ERA) would receive a no-decision after the A’s scored one run in the 9^th inning to take the battle into extras. In the end, the Mariners would secure a win after scoring two big runs in the top of the 10^th inning, giving the victory to fellow All-Star teammate Brandon League, even after the young closer blew his fourth save of the year, and cost Hernandez victory #9 (1-4, 3.44 ERA).

“Perseverance, that’s the first word that comes to mind,” said Mariners reliever Jamey Wright regarding the extra inning victory. “You just work hard and good things happen. Bullpen innings have been tough to come by… I’m just glad that we won the game.”

Hoping to get the sweep, the M’s would send red-hot left-hander Jason Vargas (6-6, 3.57 ERA) to face off against A’s rookie ace Guillermo Moscoso (3-3, 2.51 ERA). However, with his spot in the A’s pitching rotation in jeopardy the young ace’s determination and ability to create fly-ball outs on high pitches proved to be a major problem for Seattle. Moscoso finished the night pitching a total of seven innings, giving up only two hits to 2B Ackley, and 3B Adam Kennedy, and issuing five strikeouts.

Jason Vargas squares off against A's in series finale (Courtesy of Jeff Chiu - Associated Press)

On the other side, Vargas would receive his sixth loss after pitching a complete game with two earned runs allowed and six strikeouts recorded. In addition to the pitching, the M’s defense committed three errors, matching their season-worst record back on April 6^th against the Rangers in Texas.

The Mariners will now travel to Anaheim to face the Angels in the final four games of the first half of the 2011 season. Game one will begin at 10:05 EDT (7:05 PDT) with M’s right hander Doug Fister (3-9, 3.02 ERA) versus Angels All-Star Jered Weaver (10-4, 1.92 ERA).

All statistics and game play-by-play information courtesy of MLB.com (http://www.mlb.com) and ESPN.com (http://www.espn.go.com/mlb) respectively. All photography courtesy of Associated Press (http://www.apimages.com).

Time For a Little “Ack-nowledgment”

Chase Smith — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:21:06 +0000

Among the many rookie players the Mariners have called up as fillers this season, one name stands out among the rest. Young-gun 2B Dustin Ackley has become one of the more productive hitters in the Mariners offense and has been a significant contributor helping put more runs on the board in clutch situations. With strong plate discipline and natural power in his swing, this Arizona Fall League MVP posted a .303 AVG that immediately caught the attention of the Mariners front office. Not only is this young man good with the bat, but he also has responded well defensively. All of this led to Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik making the call to Triple-A Tacoma to bring Ackley to the majors in June.

Like any young prospect, the shift from minor league baseball to the majors is a big one. This graduation brings a change in intensity, as well as whole new set of expectations from coaches, teammates and even the fans.

This former Tar Heel made the transition from college to the minors to the Majors in just about two years - while shifting over to 2B instead of his college and minor league position at 1B. He’s learning one of the most difficult positions at the major league level. To make this change fully work, Ackley would need to quickly adopt the ability to handle the wider range of infield between the two bases, as well as develop his athleticism in order to handle plays from his knees, on the run, and diving to stop groundballs.

In addition to these defensive adjustments, Ackley would also need to acclimate to quicker and trickier pitching from guys like C.C. Sabathia, Josh Beckett, and Justin Verlander at the plate. This will require Ackley to continue fine-tuning his already strong level of discipline at the plate, as well as his aggressiveness when behind in the count.

All of this training would finally be put to the test as the new Mariner was welcomed with an astounding ovation by the Seattle crowd during his debut game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Much to the delight of everyone in Safeco, Ackley did not disappoint, as his first career at-bat yielded a single through the legs of veteran right-hander Roy Oswalt. Ackley would finish the night 1-4 with just that single and the Mariners would go on to win the game 4-2

Image courtesy of Kevin P. Casey - Associated Press

Day two would prove a similar result as Ackley immediately trumped his previous day’s work -hitting his first career home run off Phillies rookie Vance Worley in the 2nd inning. Ackley would experience déjà-vu in the bottom of the 6th inning against Phillies reliever Mike Stutes. Stutes, a former Oregon State pitcher, faced Ackley and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2007 NCAA College World Series final – where the Beavers would emerge as national champions for the second consecutive year. The energy at Safeco was palpable as the two former foes squared off for the first time in four years. Sadly, history would repeat itself as Ackley would line out to 3B, which would later result in a 5-1 loss for the M’s.

Ackley would strike again in game three, hitting his first career triple – off NL Cy Young contender Cole Hamels – as part of an amazing shutout victory for Seattle 2-0.

Since his first ML series, Ackley has become an important factor in the Mariners recent success. His batting average (as of 6/27) currently stands at .303 and his OPS (On-base plus slugging percentage) totals .927 in nine games, seven of those games have included at least one hit. Ackley’s most significant day of hitting occurred on 6/26 in the relocated Marlins series (played in Seattle) where he went 3 for 5 with a single, double, and triple, scoring one of the M’s two runs of the game.

In addition to the stellar batting, Ackley has also been able to fully transition to his new 2B position, especially when there has been no one else available to fill the slot. His ability to quickly react and close the gap alongside SS Brendan Ryan has caused nightmares for visiting teams.

This critical trait has aided in his ability to turn double-plays when the situation warrants. Below is a clip showing Ackley’s athleticism as he initiates a double play against the Nationals:

Ackley turns two against the Nationals

All things considered, it has definitely been a long time coming for the young man from North Carolina. Taken in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft, the M’s made it their goal to make sure Ackley was primed and ready to enter the majors - and to make the lineup work with his arrival. In the end though, only time will tell what awaits this promising young man from Winston-Salem, NC.

All statistics and play-by-play information courtesy of ESPN.com (http://www.espn.go.com/mlb), video courtesy of the Seattle Mariners via MLB.com (http://www.seattlemariners.com), and photo courtesy of Associated Press (http://www.apimages.com)

Young Guns Serve as M’s Backbone for AL West Race

Chase Smith — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 23:49:41 +0000

In the MLB, there are two different types of teams; there are the big-market teams like the Yankees, Phillies, and Cardinals that spend hefty amounts of money in the free agent market, acquiring names like C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Derek Jeter, and Albert Pujols. However, on the other side there are the smaller-market teams like the Royals, Pirates, and the Mariners that, while they do not engage in big time pitching/hitting deals focus more on developing their younger, and often times more promising prospective talent. This has been a perspective that has proved to be a successful strategy for the Mariners this season.

As of June 15, the M’s currently sit in second place in the AL West with a record of 35-34; this after finishing a six-game stretch featuring the Detroit Tigers with whom they finished 2-1, and AL West rival, the LA Angels of Anaheim with a 1-2 series record. This record leaves them only a half-game back of the Texas Rangers. For the last two weeks, many have said the reason for this flourishing number of wins has been because of the idea of calling up young talent from the minor leagues to fill the spots where small-market teams cannot sign big-name players to.

One of those names that has contributed to this rejuvenating Mariners season is second-year 1B Justin Smoak. Playing in his first full season in the MLB, the former South Carolina Gamecock has been performing to the expectations the Rangers were hoping for after he was drafted #11 overall in 2008. With his strong sense of discipline at the plate and sheer power on each swing, “Super-Smoak,” has proven to be a valuable asset for the middle of the M’s batting order. During the six-game stretch against the Tigers and Angels, Smoak batted .260 with 2 HR (12), 4 RBI (38). Smoak will need to be on his guard as he faces off against Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels this weekend.

Another important name in the Mariners offense is none other than the man from Hondo Valle, Dominican Republic, OF Carlos Peguero. In his 30-game rookie season, Peguero has batted .223 with a total of 5 HR and 15 RBI. In the first game of the recent series against the Tigers, Peguero stepped out on the offensive by going two for three with a solo HR to right field, and a deep triple to right-center, thereby having him moved to the cleanup spot in the M’s batting order. Carlos will continue to bat in the cleanup position tonight at Safeco (Click link below to watch the HR capability of Peguero) (Video courtesy of MLB.com)

Carlos Peguero blasts solo HR off Brad Penny

But one name to definitely keep an eye as the weeks progress, is Arizona Fall League MVP 1B Dustin Ackley. This hard-hitting 1B out of North Carolina has been a force to be reckoned with in the Tacoma Rainiers (AAA) batting order, batting .303 with 9 HR, 35 RBI, and an astounding .421 OBP (On-Base Percentage). According to MLB.com, Mariners skipper Eric Wedge felt, “It’s time to get him up here. He needed more experience at second base at Triple-A level, but he’s ready to be up here,” (Quote via MLB.com). Ackley is expected to start at second base in his major league debut tonight against Philadelphia.

Image courtesy of Associated Press (Posted by Geoff Baker - The Seattle Times)

The M’s hope to keep seeing this promising young talent reach new heights as they get set to open a three-game series against the Phillies tonight at Safeco Field at 7:10 PM PDT (Oswalt 4-4, 3.14 ERA vs. Pineda 6-4, 2.72 ERA).

Video and quotations courtesy of MLB.com (http://www.mlb.com) and roster/team statistics courtesy of ESPN.com (http://www.espn.go.com/mlb)

Mariners Take Four of Seven in Back-to-Back Series

Chase Smith — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:39:48 +0000

With baseball season now entering the summer months, teams begin to take stock of every single win as they approach the All-Star break. The Mariners certainly had more reason to be proud after winning four of their last seven games in back-to-back series.

After having won two of three against the Orioles at home, the M’s good luck continued as they welcomed the Rays for a four-game homestand. The first match pitted together Rays ace righty James Shields, versus King Felix and his “royal court.” Hernandez had just come off a rare dismal performance against the Yankees, where he failed to record a strikeout count higher than his walk count (5-4); this game ended in a no-decision having gone extra frames, nonetheless ending in an ironic 5-4 victory for the M’s.

It was clear that court was definitely in session, as Hernandez fanned batter after batter, recording a total of 11 strikeouts, two walks, and giving up only one earned run, taking his ERA down to a low 3.04. This performance proved to be encouraging for the Mariners offense as well, as they put eight runs on the board. Most of the runs came off the bats of rookie LF Carlos Peguero, who went 2-4 with 2 HR (4) and 4 RBI (12), DH Jack Cust, who hit first ever HR in Safeco Field (2), and young gun 1B Justin “Super-Smoak” who hit his ninth HR of the season to score the M’s eighth run, thereby securing a sixth victory for King Felix by a score of 8-2.

Image courtesy of Elaine Thompson (Associated Press)

By the time Saturday’s game rolled around, it appeared the M’s were not quite out of gas yet. This time, veteran left-hander Jason Vargas took the hill to square off against Andy Sonnanstine who was currently 0-1 with a 6.07 ERA. Similar to the preceding night’s performance on both offense and defense, the pitching recorded stellar numbers, while the offense once again put up numbers that were unheard of for the M’s the last few years.

Smoak continued to dazzle the Safeco crowd by sending a 379’ shot to right field, immediately putting the M’s on the board. Following this were three more runs in the third after some poor defense by the Rays, giving the M’s a solid 4-0 lead after three. By the fifth inning, it was once again, in the words of the late Dave Niehaus “a slugfest,” as Mariners C Miguel Olivo and 2B Adam Kennedy hit back to back HRs that gave a the Mariners a 7-0 lead. But once again, the M’s pitching hit all the right notes, as Vargas pitched a CG shutout pitching a total of 115 pitches with 4 K, and 1 BB. This victory marked the Mariners 13^th win in their last 16 games, and put them to a record of 30-27, only 1.5 games back of the Texas Rangers in the AL West.

Hoping to continue this hot streak, the M’s called forth another young arm in the form of Doug Fister to face off against rookie Jeremy Hellickson. Unfortunately, the streak of luck would come to a halt after the M’s suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Rays by a score of 3-2. From the get-go, the Rays had the advantage as Hellickson utilized both his fastball, and utterly deceptive changeup to allow the M’s only two runs on four hits, both runs coming off a pinch-hit HR by Olivo in the eighth, while Fister came out rather shaky giving up all three runs on all seven hits, with all those runs being scored in the 2^nd inning.

Finally, the series concluded with a duel featuring the M’s crafty left-hander Erik Bedard and Rays starter Wade Davis.

The game was a back and forth battle, as the Rays struck first blood in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings scoring three runs total on hits by C Kelly Shoppach, CF B.J. Upton, and 3B Felipe Lopez. These would be the only runs given up by Bedard all game, as he pitched seven complete innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. However, the Rays lead suddenly disappeared in the home half of the third, as the Mariners quickly racked up three runs of their own on a two-run triple by RF Ichiro Suzuki, and RBI squeeze-bunt by SS Brendan Ryan scoring Ichiro from third base. Two more runs were tacked for the M’s by another triple, this time off the bat of rookie OF Greg Halman, scoring both Kennedy and Peguero. On this note, manager Eric Wedge decided to bring in rookie reliever Jamey Wright to keep the Mariners fighting. Unfortunately, after back-to-back RBI doubles by 2B Ben Zobrist and RF Matt Joyce, and a RBI single by 3B Evan Longoria, the Rays regained control taking a 6-3 lead. In the end, it was a RBI single by Kennedy and a three-run HR by Olivo that clinched the final game of the series for the Mariners, taking them to 14 wins out of their last 17 games; a positive note to end on as they immediately departed for Chicago for a three game set against the White Sox.

Image courtesy of Elaine Thompson (Associated Press)

After having lost the nine of the ten games played against the White Sox in 2010, and losing two of three in their first season series against them the Mariners looked to kick off the season battle on a strong note by sending rookie ace Michael Pineda to the bump against a currently winless John Danks. Pineda hoped to finally get another win after having received a no-decision against the Orioles where he went seven complete with seven strikeouts and only one walk allowed.

Unfortunately, the Mariners had a case of déjà-vu as the White Sox got on the board first after a towering home run by All-Star 1B Paul Konerko in the 3^rd inning. This would remain the only run scored for about three more innings until the Sox struck again adding one more run in the 7^th inning on a RBI single by 2B Gordon Beckham. The Mariners would cut the deficit in half in the 8^th with an RBI single of their own off the bat of Ryan, but the effort was a moot point as another RBI single by C A.J. Pierzynski sealed victory number one for John Danks (1-8), while landing Pineda with his third loss of the season (6-3).

However, hope was on the horizon as the M’s would send Felix Hernandez to pitch the second game of the series against White Sox rookie Philip Humber. Once again though, the Mariners were thwarted early on as the team from South Chicago scored five runs off Hernandez, three of them off home runs by Konerko, and RF Carlos Quentin, and two on a strong two RBI triple by former Mariner SS Omar Vizquel. On the other side, Humber, while known more for his ability to throw curveballs for strikes utilized of all the pitches he had in his arsenal, and went a strong 7.2 IP with 5 K, 3 BB and only 1 ER, brining his ERA down to a low 2.87. Hernandez would be taken out after 6.2 IP, recording only 5 K, 2 BB, and 5 ER, shooting his ERA up to 3.29 on the season.

In the end, Wednesday would either mean a sweep for the team from Chi-Town, or a salvage victory for the M’s headed to Detroit. For the final matchup, Wedge once again called on Jason Vargas to go all out against veteran righty Gavin Floyd, who was hoping to keep the Mariners 10-game losing streak at U.S. Cellular Field alive.

Looking like a regular broken record, the White Sox came out swinging in the 1^st inning with a deep homer to left field off of Quentin, giving them the early lead. From there, the tone of the game took the form of a pitcher’s duel, as both Vargas and Floyd kept dealing pitches that could not miss the gloves of the defense. However, that tone quickly changed in the top of the sixth when the Mariners scored on an RBI groundout from Kennedy, and then added two more runs on an RBI double from Franklin “Death to Flying Things” Gutierrez. After a White Sox RBI single by Beckham in the 7^th inning that cut the M’s lead to one, Olivo gave some insurance with a deep HR to left field putting Seattle back up by two. But just when you thought the M’s would get the victory in nine, Quentin struck again when he hit a two-run HR to left-center, tying the game at four a piece. Finally, the M’s would put an end to their Chicago blues, as Olivo and Gutierrez once again stepped up and delivered by hitting a two-run double, and an RBI squeeze-bunt in extra innings respectively. In a postgame interview with the Associated Press, M’s manager Eric Wedge had this to say about Olivo’s reliability, “(Olivo) has always been a guy that’s gotten big hits… I’ve been on the other side against him for a lot of years and he’s a step-up kind of guy.” With three successive groundouts by the Sox, Mariners closer Brandon League recorded a much-needed win for the M’s in extras, as well as save #17.

Image courtesy of Nam Y. Huh (Associated Press)

The Mariners will continue their road-trip this afternoon in the Motor City as they play a three-game set against the Tigers. First pitch begins at 7:05 EDT (4:05 PDT), and will feature Tigers ace Justin Verlander (6-3, 3.04 ERA), against M’s young gun Doug Fister (3-6, 3.29 ERA).

Gameday information and game statistics courtesy of Major League Baseball online (http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp) and ESPN online (http://espn.go.com/mlb); Photography courtesy of Associated Press (http://www.apimages.com)

Mariners Magic Month is May

Chase Smith — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 03:16:42 +0000

Even after a dismal start in the month of April, winning only 13 of 28 games the Mariners have managed to pick up the slack in May winning a total of 15 of the 26 games played (two additional games were postponed due to weather), pushing their overall record above .500 with 28 wins, and 26 losses. True productivity for the M’s in the month of May has not been seen since 2003 when the team accumulated a team high month record of 19-8, and marks the 11^th time the team has had a successful May in the entire 35 years the franchise has been active.

Majority of this success has been attributed to the outstanding pitching staff Manager Eric Wedge has assembled. As of May 31^st, the starting rotation has recorded a record of 9-6 in May with a team ERA of 2.93, making their overall ERA the second highest in the MLB at 3.33. Leading the way for the pitching staff is young gun Michael Pineda who currently stands at 6-2 with a 2.30 ERA, 1.00 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched), and a respectable 73 strikeouts. With a screaming fastball speed of 96 MPH and probably one of the nastiest sinkers you will ever see, Pineda puts himself among the top of his rookie class in 2011.

Image courtesy of Otto Gruele Jr (Getty Images)

However, when you begin to talk about Mariners starting pitching, the main name that comes to mind is none other than seven-year veteran Felix Hernandez. The 2010 Cy Young Award recipient is currently 5-4 with a 3.19 ERA, and a total of 81 strikeouts, which ties for 4^th place in the MLB alongside Tampa Bay Rays starter Scot Shields.

Yet, one thing still has yet to be desired, and that’s for the Mariners bats to finally wake up and create some productivity to keep the wins consistently happening. The team’s batting average currently stands in last place in the MLB at .226, with a 27^th overall run count of 241, and a 28^th overall OBP (on-base percentage) of .299. Fortunately, May has proved to be a ray of hope for the M’s offense, as more players in the batting order have begun sending balls into the field.

Second-year 1B Justin Smoak has helped spark this newfound hope with a 16^th AL-ranked 31 RBIs and a 21^st-ranked 8 home runs, one of which clinched victory for the M’s against the Orioles on May 31^st. Smoak had this to say about Orioles’ pitcher Jeremy Gutrhie’s performance, and the pitch that created his game-winning blast, “He was great today. He stayed away basically all night. I was looking out over the plate and got a changeup middle away and put a good swing on it.” (Quote courtesy of http://www.mlb.com)

Image courtesy of Elaine Thompson (Associated Press)

Another name coming about in the M’s batting order is SS Brendan Ryan, who currently has been batting second in the order. Ryan doubled his hit count from April in the month of May from 14, to 28 and is currently batting .282 with 17 RBIs and a .349 SLG%. The four-year veteran is also in the middle of a ten-game hitting streak that became 11 after he went 2-4 against the Orioles Tuesday night.

While the Mariners have had one of their best May performances in years, their true test will come in the month of June, as they will have to endure big series matchups against teams such as the Tampa Bay Rays, the Chicago White Sox, and even the 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. However, as long as the pitching continues with its stellar performances, and the hitting continues to slowly awaken the M’s are sure to pull the killswitch on each of them come the “midsummer classic”.

Statistics and team information courtesy of Major League Baseball (http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp/) and ESPN (http://www.espn.go.com/mlb/)