Still fighting
The Seattle Mariners have been fighting the second half of the season to get to .500. While they’ve had one hell of a rollercoaster ride on that journey, they still find themselves 4 games away from that desired .500 record and are holding steady in the basement of the AL West.
That stat doesn’t speak for the entire team, though, as the offense hasn’t been able to find its way consistently while the pitching staff has been nothing but dominant over that time.
Sure, a few games slipped away, but winning several 1-run games where 3 or less runs were scored by the Mariners is a solid effort nonetheless.
While the tony glimmer of hope of a wild card berth disappeared as fast as it came, this team – this pitching staff – still have a whole lot to play for.
How’d they do this week?
The team went 3-2 in their last 5 games. The pitching staff allowed only 1 run in 3 of those games. The other 2 were big blemishes by the pitching staff, allowing 4 and 5 runs. The biggest blemish of the week surprisingly belonged to Felix Hernandez. Hey, nobody’s perf…nevermind.
Hisashi Iwakumahas been solid since being names a starter and Blake Beavan has really picked it up from his disappointing start to the season.
Hisashi Iwakuma has been a breath of fresh air the second half of this season, winning again this week.
And I cannot forget to mention The Bartender picking up 3 saves in the last 5 games alone.
The young guys and future of the bullpen, Carter Capps and Stephen Pryor have been up and down, but seem to be here to stay. They’re still young and are getting some valuable playing time and experience as this team plays for next season.
And hey…even Kevin Millwood picked up a win this week. What dimension did we spin off to this week?
This Week
- Kevin Millwood: 6 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 3 strike outs, Win
- Blake Beavan: 5 2/3 innings, 8 hits, 4 runs, 0 walks, 1 strike out, Loss
- Jason Vargas: 7 innings, 6 hits, 1 run, 0 walks, 5 strike outs, Win
- Hisashi Iwakuma: 7 1/3 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 7 strike outs, Win
- Felix Hernandez: 7 1/3, 9 hits, 5 runs, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 7 strike outs, Loss
- Tom Wilhelmsen: 4 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 3 walks, 3 strike outs, 3 saves
Last time through the rotation
- Kevin Milwood: 5 innings, 9 hits, 5 runs, 4 earned runs, 4 walks, 1 strike out, Loss
- Blake Beavan: 7 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 1 strike out, Win
- Jason Vargas: 4 2/3 innings, 8 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned runs, 2 walks, 5 strike outs, Loss
- Hisashi Iwakuma: 6 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 0 earned runs, 4 walks, 4 strike outs, Win
- Felix Hernandez: 9 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 5 strike outs, Win
- Tom Wilhelmsen: 1 1/3 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 1 strike out, 2 saves
News, Notes, Injuries
- Felix Hernandez was awarded the American League Pitcher of the Month for August after going 4-0 with 1.08 ERA, 31 strike outs and 3 shutouts including the perfect game. He is the second Mariner this season to take home Pitcher of the Month honors (Jason Vargas)
- Outfielders Michael Saunders and Franklin Gutierrez were both pulled from the September 7th game with groin injuries
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About Brandon Choate
