Published: Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Little things add up to another big loss for Mariners
Errors, passed balls, weak hitting all add up to 11-4 loss to Jays
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John Froschauer / Associated Press
Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells (10) slides in to home plate to score as Mariners catcher Rob Johnson loses the ball during the sixth inning of Monday night’s game in Seattle. Wells’ run was the first of four in the sixth inning that broke the game wide open.
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners got together Monday afternoon and talked about doing the little things that made them one of the surprise teams in baseball the first half of the season.
Then they went out and let the little things beat them again in an 11-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Safeco Field that continued their most rugged stretch of the season.
Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez made a bad throw on a potential double play ball. Center fielder Franklin Gutierrez dropped a fly that led to a run. Reputedly sure-handed third baseman Jack Hannahan backpedaled and then was gobbled up by a chopper during the Blue Jays’ four-run sixth inning. And catcher Rob Johnson committed a passed ball in the eighth that allowed one run to score and set up another on a sacrifice fly.
Even Hernandez, who has become a slump stopper, couldn’t meet the standard he has set this season in his shortest outing since May 19. He gave up 11 hits and seven runs in 52/3 innings.
All together, the problems that continue for the Mariners added up to a double-digit yield in runs for the third straight game. This homestand, they’ve allowed 42 runs in four games and scored just 10.
“Four days is not a season,” manager Don Wakamatsu said. “We’ll continue to work; these guys are trying. It goes back to doing the little tings. We talk about the starting pitching, but it also goes back to the defense and the baserunning.”
Along the way, the Mariners learned again that power is a problem with their offense, not their stadium.
All of the Mariners’ 12 hits were singles, and the Blue Jays hit two home runs to give opposing teams a 13-0 edge in home runs through four games of this homestand.
“You look at the amount of runs and you get down a little bit,” Wakamatsu said. “But those are things we’re trying to figure out. We’ve got too much left to play. That’s our message. We’ll keep grinding through this.”
It didn’t help that the Mariners were missing two of their bigger bats, first baseman Russell Branyan and second baseman Jose Lopez, both out with back problems for what the M’s hope is one day. Those are two of the only three regulars with more than 30 RBI this season.
The Mariners, who had four left-handed hitters in their lineup Monday, are 0-4 against left-handed starters on this homestand with another scheduled to face them today in Marc Rzepczynski.
With a lineup that included Chris Shelton at first base, Chris Woodward at second and light-hitting regulars Hannahan (.199) at third and Ronny Cedeno (.174) at shortstop, the Mariners managed 10 hits and four runs off Blue Jays starter Rick Romero.
Through five innings, that was enough to give the Mariners a 4-3 lead and, for the first time in the homestand, a sense of comfort with Hernandez pitching.
This wasn’t the Hernandez who’d won seven straight decisions.
He gave it all up in the sixth with an unlikely succession of bloops, bleeders and Blue Jay runs.
Hernandez retired the first two hitters, Adam Lind and Scott Rolen, before Vernon Wells looped a single into left field and Lyle Overbay walked. Alex Rios singled to left field to drive home Wells, and rookie left fielder Michael Saunders’ throw was so high over the cutoff man that runners advanced to second and third.
Rod Barajas, who homered in the fifth, dribbled a single to shortstop to score a run, Joe Inglett bounced a base hit to right field for another run, and Marco Scutaro’s high chop had Hannahan twisting and backpedaling so badly that the ball glanced off his glove and into left field.
That scored the fourth run on Scutaro’s fourth hit and, trailing 7-4, Wakamatsu pulled Hernandez.
White got the final out and pitched two more innings, giving up three more runs as the Mariners went into survival mode to save a tiring bullpen.
Mariners relievers have pitched 161/3 of the 36 innings on this homestand. That included David Aardsma’s ninth inning Monday, when Wakamatsu used him just to get him acquainted with the mound again. Aardsma hadn’t pitched since last Thursday.
“I wanted to get Aardsma into the game,” Wakamatsu said, “but this isn’t the situation I wanted to get him into.”
The only glimmer of good news was that the Mariners didn’t lose any more ground in the American League West, where the Angels lost to the Indians and kept their 71/2-game spread over the Mariners.
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com\marinersblog
Then they went out and let the little things beat them again in an 11-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Safeco Field that continued their most rugged stretch of the season.
Starting pitcher Felix Hernandez made a bad throw on a potential double play ball. Center fielder Franklin Gutierrez dropped a fly that led to a run. Reputedly sure-handed third baseman Jack Hannahan backpedaled and then was gobbled up by a chopper during the Blue Jays’ four-run sixth inning. And catcher Rob Johnson committed a passed ball in the eighth that allowed one run to score and set up another on a sacrifice fly.
Even Hernandez, who has become a slump stopper, couldn’t meet the standard he has set this season in his shortest outing since May 19. He gave up 11 hits and seven runs in 52/3 innings.
All together, the problems that continue for the Mariners added up to a double-digit yield in runs for the third straight game. This homestand, they’ve allowed 42 runs in four games and scored just 10.
“Four days is not a season,” manager Don Wakamatsu said. “We’ll continue to work; these guys are trying. It goes back to doing the little tings. We talk about the starting pitching, but it also goes back to the defense and the baserunning.”
Along the way, the Mariners learned again that power is a problem with their offense, not their stadium.
All of the Mariners’ 12 hits were singles, and the Blue Jays hit two home runs to give opposing teams a 13-0 edge in home runs through four games of this homestand.
“You look at the amount of runs and you get down a little bit,” Wakamatsu said. “But those are things we’re trying to figure out. We’ve got too much left to play. That’s our message. We’ll keep grinding through this.”
It didn’t help that the Mariners were missing two of their bigger bats, first baseman Russell Branyan and second baseman Jose Lopez, both out with back problems for what the M’s hope is one day. Those are two of the only three regulars with more than 30 RBI this season.
The Mariners, who had four left-handed hitters in their lineup Monday, are 0-4 against left-handed starters on this homestand with another scheduled to face them today in Marc Rzepczynski.
With a lineup that included Chris Shelton at first base, Chris Woodward at second and light-hitting regulars Hannahan (.199) at third and Ronny Cedeno (.174) at shortstop, the Mariners managed 10 hits and four runs off Blue Jays starter Rick Romero.
Through five innings, that was enough to give the Mariners a 4-3 lead and, for the first time in the homestand, a sense of comfort with Hernandez pitching.
This wasn’t the Hernandez who’d won seven straight decisions.
He gave it all up in the sixth with an unlikely succession of bloops, bleeders and Blue Jay runs.
Hernandez retired the first two hitters, Adam Lind and Scott Rolen, before Vernon Wells looped a single into left field and Lyle Overbay walked. Alex Rios singled to left field to drive home Wells, and rookie left fielder Michael Saunders’ throw was so high over the cutoff man that runners advanced to second and third.
Rod Barajas, who homered in the fifth, dribbled a single to shortstop to score a run, Joe Inglett bounced a base hit to right field for another run, and Marco Scutaro’s high chop had Hannahan twisting and backpedaling so badly that the ball glanced off his glove and into left field.
That scored the fourth run on Scutaro’s fourth hit and, trailing 7-4, Wakamatsu pulled Hernandez.
White got the final out and pitched two more innings, giving up three more runs as the Mariners went into survival mode to save a tiring bullpen.
Mariners relievers have pitched 161/3 of the 36 innings on this homestand. That included David Aardsma’s ninth inning Monday, when Wakamatsu used him just to get him acquainted with the mound again. Aardsma hadn’t pitched since last Thursday.
“I wanted to get Aardsma into the game,” Wakamatsu said, “but this isn’t the situation I wanted to get him into.”
The only glimmer of good news was that the Mariners didn’t lose any more ground in the American League West, where the Angels lost to the Indians and kept their 71/2-game spread over the Mariners.
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com\marinersblog
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