One day after Joel Pineiro labored through his shortest outing of the season, manager Mike Hargrove said the right-hander’s status in the rotation won’t change.
Not only that, Hargrove said Pineiro had good stuff and looked strong Saturday despite allowing seven runs in 22/3 innings.
“He just overthrew,” Hargrove said.
The Rockies scored all seven of their runs with two outs, and Hargrove said it’s a sign that Pineiro was trying to muscle up too much. He spoke with Pineiro about it after the game.
“No matter how long you’ve done something or how experienced you are at it, there are still things that you learn,” Hargrove said. “The lesson that came out of last night was that even when you’re feeling strong and throwing well and have good stuff, that’s probably the time you really need to pay attention to stepping back and not trying to overthrow. Nobody tries to overthrow, but you’re trying to be so dominating that you do. If you’re going to overthrow, it’s usually with two outs when you’re trying to close an inning.”
Energy synergy: The Mariners’ road success on their last trip translated into some loud crowds at Safeco Field over the weekend, and the Mariners noticed.
“Our fans have always been good,” Hargrove said. “They’ve suffered through some pretty bad baseball and still been good, but (Saturday) night’s crowd was special.
“Players will tell you they don’t hear the fans, and they’re lying like a dog. They hear the boos. They hear the cheers. They hear the, ‘You ignorant bum.’ They hear that and it does affect to a certain degree the way they play.
“I don’t know if it has a direct effect on how they play, but they can have a direct effect on their energy.”
Of note: One day after fans loudly booed Pineiro, they were onto DH Carl Everett in the sixth inning Sunday after he didn’t run on a ground out to first base. The reaction for Everett wasn’t as loud as the brief burst of boos when the Rockies brought Jose Mesa, who pitched for the M’s in 1999, into the game in the eighth. … When Todd Helton stole second off Jarrod Washburn in the sixth inning, he became the third runner to steal while Washburn has been on the mound this season. Nobody stole off Washburn last year with the Angels. … Catcher Kenji Johjima’s wife, Maki, gave birth Friday in Japan to the couple’s third child, which hasn’t yet been named. “I tried to talk him into Grover and he just won’t go for it,” Hargrove said. Johjima won’t leave the Mariners to be with his family until after next Sunday’s game, which begins the All-Star break. … Ichiro Suzuki is hitting .442 in his first at-bat of a game. He’s 34-for-77 with four doubles, two triples and two home runs.
Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer
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