#38: Beavan Out To Salvage Something In Boston

GAME: Mariners (16-21, 3rd AL West, – 7.5 GB) at Red Sox (16-19, 5th AL East, – 5.5 GB). GAME #: 38. SERIES: 2nd of 2 games. MEETING: 2nd (Red Sox lead 1-0). WHEN: Tuesday, 1:05 p.m., Fenway Park, Boston. PROBABLE PITCHERS: RHP Blake Beavan (Seattle, 1-3, 4.32) vs. RHP Josh Beckett (Boston, 2-4, 5.97). STREAKS: Mariners L 1; Red Sox W 4. TV: ROOT Sports, MLB TV. RADIO: KIRO 710 (Seattle), Mariners Radio Network.

The Mariners don’t have much of a history of success at Fenway Park, the latest example a 6-1 loss to the Red Sox Monday in a game in which Boston raked Jason Vargas for five earned runs, including a pair of homers. In a Tuesday matinee, Blake Beavan contests Josh Beckett.

Beavan hasn’t pitched in a week, since taking a line drive to his elbow (Miguel Cabrera, Detroit). Beckett struggled in his last start, lasting just 2.1 innings and has shown signs of vulnerability. A closer look:

MARINERS: RHP Blake Beavan (1-3, 4.32 ERA, 1.23 WHIP)

The 23-year-old Beavan, in his second major league season and second with the Mariners, will be making his seventh start and first against the Red Sox.

A native of Irving, TX., the 6-7, 240-pound Beavan was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the first round (17th pick) of the 2007 amateur draft.

After pitching in the minor leagues from 2008-11, Beavan made his major league debut July 3 against the San Diego Padres. He worked 7 IP, allowed three hits, two walks and one earned run in a 3-1 Seattle victory at Safeco Field.

Beavan became a Mariner July 9, 2010, when the Rangers traded him, along with Matthew Lawson (minors), Josh Lueke and Justin Smoak to Seattle for Cliff Lee, Mark Lowe and cash.

Beavan, who had 15 starts for the Mariners in 2011, has a career record of 6-9, 4.28.

• LAST START: May 7 at Safeco Field, took a no-decision in a 3-2 Seattle victory over Detroit; left the game in the third inning when he was struck by Cabrera; allowed one earned run on four hits prior to the injury.
• LAST VS. RED SOX: Aug. 12, 2011, was the losing pitcher in Boston’s 6-4 win at Safeco Field; allowed six earned runs on 11 hits in 6.1 innings; struck out three, walked one and gave up three home runs.
• CAREER VS. RED SOX: 0-2, 6.23 ERA in two starts, covering 13.0 innings; all nine runs allowed earned; struck out five; three home runs.
• AT FENWAY PARK: 0-1, 4.50 ERA in one start covering 6.2 innings; struck out four with no walks; no home runs.
• LOVES TO FACE: Ryan Sweeney (0-for-6, .000 BA), Kevin Youkilis (0-for-3, .000 BA).
• HATES TO FACE: David Ortiz (3-for-7, .429 BA), Carl Crawford (2-for-6, .333 BA), Dustin Pedroia (2-for-6, .333 BA).
• CURRENT RED SOX VS. BEAVAN: 15-for-47, .319 BA, 1 HR, 5 strikeouts.

Beavan / 2012

• April 12 (L, 0-1): Worked 6.1 innings and allowed one earned run, but couldn’t overcome the start by Texas’ Neftali Feliz, who had eight shutout innings.
• April 15 (W, 1-1): Outdueled Graham Godfrey in a 5-3 win over the Oakland Athletics; three earned runs on six hits over 7.0 innings; seven ground-ball outs and 16 fly-ball outs.
• April 21 (L, 1-2): Losing pitcher in Philip Humber’s perfect game at Safeco Field; allowed three runs on seven hits over 6.0 innings; one home run among his 101 pitches, 70 for strikes.
• April 27 (ND, 1-2): Allowed three earned runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings, taking a no-decision in Seattle’s 9-5 win at Toronto.
• May 2 (L, 1-3): Suffered a 5-4 loss to Tampa after allowing five earned runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings; struck out one, walked two and gave up two home runs (Sean Rodriguez, Luke Scott); threw 86 pitches, 51 for strikes.
• May 7 (ND, 1-3): Took a no-decision in a 3-2 Seattle victory over Detroit; left the game in the third inning when struck by Miguel Cabrera; allowed one earned run on four hits prior to the injury.at Tampa Bay.

RED SOX: RHP Josh Beckett (2-4, 5.97 ERA, 1.38 WHIP)

The 31-year-old Beckett, in his 12th major league season and seventh with the Red Sox, will be making his seventh start and first against the Mariners.

A native of Spring, TX., the 6-5, 225-pound Beckett was selected by the Florida Marlins in the first round (second pick) of the 1999 amateur draft.

Beckett began his pro career in the Florida system in 2000 and pitched in the minors for one year when he made his major league debut Sept. 4, 2001 by defeating the Chicago Cubs 8-1 in a game in which he did not allow an earned run over 6.0 innings.

Beckett became a fixture in the Florida rotation in 2002 and pitched for the Marlins through 2005, when he won 15 games and lost eight with a 3.38 ERA.

On Nov. 24, 2005, the Marlins traded Beckett to the Red Sox with Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota for Jesus Delgado, Harvey Garcia, Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez.

Beckett since made three American League All-Star teams, in 2007, 2009 and 2011.
He had his best year in 2007 when he went 20-7 (led the league), 3.27 ERA and finished second in the AL Cy Young voting. Beckett was also named the 2003 World Series MVP and the 2007 ALCS MVP.

Beckett has a career record of 127-85, 3.88 ERA.

2012: Beckett pitched into the sixth inning in four of his six starts, and was hit hard only twice, April 7 at Detroit (seven earned runs) and May 10 vs. Cleveland (seven earned runs). He enjoyed his best outing April 13 vs. Tampa Bay, allowing one earned run over 8.0 innings.

• LAST START: Lasted just 2.1 innings in an 8-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians; allowed seven earned runs on seven hits and allowed two home runs.
• LAST VS. MARINERS: Aug. 13, 2011, at Safeco Field, sustained a 5-4 loss in a game won by Felix Hernandez and featuring home runs by Casper Wells and Ichiro, both off Beckett; allowed five earned runs on eight hits over 5.0 innings.
• CAREER VS. MARINERS: 6-2, 3.39 ERA in nine starts, covering 58.1 innings; has 58 strikeouts to 22 walks, but has allowed 13 home runs; strikes out 8.9 batters per 9.0 IP.
• AT FENWAY PARK: 40-24, 4.33 ERA in 88 games, all starts, covering 565.2 innings; averages 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings; has given up 66 home runs.
• LOVES TO FACE: John Jaso (0-for-6, .000 BA), Justin Smoak (0-for-5 (.000 BA), Ichiro (7-for-30, .233 BA).
• HATES TO FACE: Dustin Ackley (3-for-6, .500 BA), Casper Wells (1-for-2, .500 BA), Mike Carp (2-for-5, .400 BA).
• CURRENT MARINERS VS. BECKETT: 27-for-103, .262 BA, 4 HRs, 32 strikeouts.

AL WEST STANDINGS

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road	Last 10	Streak
Rangers	23	13	.639	—	10-7	13-6	6-4	Lost 1
Athletics	19	17	.528	4.0	9-10	10-7	6-4	Won 1
Mariners	16	21	.432	7.5	7-8	9-13	5-5	Lost 1
Angels	15	21	.417	8.0	9-9	6-12	5-5	Lost 2

MARINERS / STATS NOTES

• CURRENT ROAD TRIP: Three vs. New York, two in Boston (Monday-Tuesday), two in Cleveland (Wednesday-Thursday), three in Colorado (Friday-Sunday).
• MARINERS VS. RED SOX: Mariners are 158-216 all-time vs. the Red Sox, including 71-115 at Fenway Park. Red Sox won 2011 series 5-4. Mariners have not won a season series from Boston since 2009 (4-2). Mariners have never swept a series. Boston’s last sweep of the Mariners occurred in 2011 (three games).
• LATEST: After going 2-for-20 on the most recent homestand, Justin Smoak went 8-for-14 in New York and Boston including 2-for-4 Monday when he hit a run-scoring double . . . Dustin Ackley, 1-for-4 Monday, extended his hitting streak to 10 games, longest by a Mariner in 2012 . . . Brendan Ryan is in an 0-for-15 slide and batting .140 . . . At .235, the Marines have the worst batting average in the American League . . . By the time the Mariners return to Seattle May 21, they will have played 28 road games vs. 15 at home.
• SERIES/STREAKS: Series Record: Won 5, split 0, lost 6; Sweeps: 1; Swept: 1. Longest Win Streak: 4 (April 24-27). Longest Losing Streak: 7 (April 28-May 4). Vs. AL East: 2-9; Vs. AL Central: 8-7; Vs. AL West: 6-5.
• BATTING: Mariners rank 10th (AL) in runs (136), eighth in hits (293), seventh in doubles (62), ninth in triples (5) and ninth in home runs (32) . . . Rank 13th in batting average (.235), 14th in on-base percentage (.290), 12th in slugging (.370) and 13th in OPS (.660) . . . batting 68-for-295 (.231) with runners in scoring position after going 0-for-6 Monday . . . out-homered 41-32 . . . left 227 men on base, opponents 225 . . .scored 136 runs, opponents 149 . . . scored 74 of 136 runs in the first four innings . . . Mariners 13-5 when scoring 4+ runs . . . Mariners have homered in 13 of last 20 games . . . batted around three times: April 7 at Oakland (4th inning), April 9 at Texas (1st), and April 17 vs. Cleveland (4th) . . . shut out four times (April 10 at Texas, April 13 vs Oakland, April 21 vs. Chicago, April 27 at Toronto).
• BATTING EXTRA: Dustin Ackley has Seattle’s longest hitting streak at 10 consecutive games (May 3-present). Jesus Montero and Miguel Olivo had eight-game hitting streaks, Montero from March 29-April 14, Olivo from April 22 until he went on DL list May 1 . . . Mariners have recorded four bases-loaded walks (Kawasaki, Ryan, Montero, Smoak) . . . Kyle Seager’s single in the fourth inning April 17 marked the 50,000th hit in Mariners’ history, and Brendan Ryan’s walk in the same frame scored Justin Smoak with the 25,000th run in franchise history . . . Montero’s 13 RBIs in April were the most by a Mariners’ rookie since 1986 . . . Three Mariners, Ichiro (March 28 vs. Oakland), Justin Smoak (April 17 vs. Cleveland) and Jesus Montero (May 1 at Tampa) have four-hit games . . . Walk-Off Wins: May 7, their first since Sept. 14, 2011 vs. New York, and their first via a sacrifice fly since Sept. 14, 2007 vs. Tampa Bay (Jose Guillen).
• PITCHING: Mariners rank seventh in ERA (3.94), fourth in hits allowed (293), sixth in runs allowed (149), 10th in home runs allowed (41), fourth in walks (104), seventh in strikeouts (258) . . . Felix Hernandez has 17 career no-decisions while throwing 7.0 or more innings and allowing one or fewer runs . . . Closer Brandon League has two blown saves after not blowing his first save of 2011 until May 10.
• ICHIRO (2-for-4 Monday) has 764 multi-hit games, which ranks fourth among active players, and No. 1 since his debut in 2001. Ichiro’s 47 games with four or more hits leads all active players . . . Three-hit game April 30 marked the 226th of his major league career . . . Ranks T99 on career hits list (2,470), one behind No. 98 Joe Medwick . . . Since 2001, has recorded 99 outfield assists. Only Jeff Francouer, with 100, has more . . . With 96 career home runs, needs four to become the 12th Mariner with 100. Breakdown: 94 as a leadoff hitter, one batting second, one batting third.
• ODDS/ENDS: The Mariners will play 15 games in the next 15 days. Their next day off is June 7 . . . Mariners have three more bobblehead nights: May 25 (Dustin Ackley), June 15 (Felix Hernandez), July 28 (Dan Wilson and Randy Johnson).
• DEBUTS: Munenori Kawasaki (April 7), Lucas Luetge (April 7), Erasmo Ramirez (April 9), Hisashi Iwakuma (April 20).
• DISABLED LIST: Miguel Olivo (15-day, May 1, strained right groin), George Sherrill (15-day, April 13, strained flexor bundle), Franklin Gutierrez (15-day, March 28, torn pectoral muscle; plantar fascitis), Adam Moore (15-day, March 28, fractured wrist).

2012 RECORDS / MILESTONES

• April 24: Catcher Miguel Olivo matched the franchise record  when he was charged with three passed balls in a 7-4 win at Detroit. Jerry Narron let three balls get by him Oct. 4, 1980, and Jeff Clement did likewise Aug. 10, 2008 (Clement was catching knuckleballer R.A. Dickey).
• April 27: Michael Saunders joined Donnie Scott (April 29, 1985) and Jimmy Presley (April 8, 1986) as the only Mariners to hit two home runs in a game in the ninth inning or later (solo homer in the 9th, grand slam in the 10th).
• April 30: When both Miguel Olivo and Jesus Montero homered, it marked the first time in franchise history that two players had homered in the same game as a catcher.
• May 2: Ichiro set a club record for most putouts by a right fielder in a nine-inning game, registering 10 in a 5-4 loss at Tampa.
• May 3: The Mariners featured a lineup at Tampa Bay that included seven left- handed hitters and two switch-hitters. It marked only the third time in club history that the Mariners used an all left-sided lineup. Others: Aug. 13, 1983 at California and Aug. 9, 1983 at Oakland.
• May 5: Combined one-hitter by Felix Hernandez and Steve Delabar vs. Minnesota was the 13th in Mariners history. Ten have been thrown by one pitcher, three combined. Most recent combined: Michael Pineda, Jeff Gray and Brandon League vs. Tampa, July 30, 2011. Most recent by one pitcher: Jarrod Washburn, July 6, 2009.
• May 9: When John Jaso batted leadoff against Detroit, it marked the first time since 1978 that a catcher had hit first for the Marines (Bob Stinson). Oddly, lefty Jaso led off against Tiger lefty Drew Smyly.

MARINERS WON-LOSS BREAKDOWN

Rec.	Home	Road	Day	Night	vs. RHP	vs. LHP	Hit HR	No HR
16-21	7-8	9-13	3-7	12-16	11-19	5-3	12-9	4-12

MARINERS BATTING PROFILE

Avg.	Home	Road	R	HR	OBP	SLG	OPS	RISP
.235	.205	.253	136	32	.290	.370	.660	.231

MARINERS PITCHING PROFILE

Rec.	ERA	IP	R	ER	HR	BA	OBP	SLG
16-21	3.94	326.1	149	142	41	.240	.304	.394

PROBABLE PITCHERS

Date	Day	Opp.	Probable Pitchers
5/15	Tue	at Bos	Blake Beavan (1-3, 4.32) vs. Josh Beckett (2-4, 5.97)
5/16	Wed	at Cle	Felix Hernandez (3-2, 2.29) vs. Ubaldo Jiminez (3-3, 5.18)
5/17	Thr	at Bos	Hector Noesi (2-4, 6.32) vs. Zach McAllister (1-1, 4.15)

MARINERS 2012 SCHEDULE/RESULTS

March

Gm.#	Date	Opp.	W/L	Rec.	Win / Loss
1	3/28	at Oak	W, 3-1	1-0	W: Wilhelmsen (1-0); L: Carignan (0-1)
2	3/29	at Oak	L, 4-1	1-1	W: Colon (1-0); L: Kelley (0-1)

April

Gm. #	Date	Opp.	W/L	Rec.	Win / Loss
3	4/6	at Oak	W, 7-3	2-1	W: Vargas (1-0); L: McCarthy (0-1)
4	4/7	at Oak	W, 8-7	3-1	W: Hernandez (1-0); L: Colon (1-1)
5	4/9	at Tex	L, 11-5	3-2	W: Darvish (1-0); L: Noesi (0-1)
6	4/10	at Tex	L, 1-0	3-3	W: Feliz (1-0); L: Beavan (0-1)
7	4/11	at Tex	W, 4-3	4-3	W: Luetge (1-0); L: Nathan (0-2)
8	4/12	at Tex	L, 5-3	4-4	W: Holland (1-0); L: Vargas (1-1
9	4/13	vs Oak	L, 4-0	4-5	W: Colon (2-1); L: Hernandez (1-1)
10	4/14	vs. Oak	W, 4-0	5-5	W: Noesi (1-1); L: Milone (1-1)
11	4/15	vs. Oak	W, 5-3	6-5	W: Beavan (1-1); L: Godfrey (0-2)
12	4/17	vs. Cle	L, 9-8	6-6	W: Perez (0-1); L: Furbush (0-1)
13	4/18	vs. Cle	W, 4-1	7-6	W: Vargas (2-1); L: Lowe (2-1)
14	4/19	vs. Cle	L, 2-1	7-7	W: Tomlin (1-1); L: League (0-1)
15	4/20	vs. CWS	L, 7-3	7-8	W: Sale (2-1); L: Noesi (1-2)
16	4/21	vs. CWS	L, 4-0	7-9	W: Humber (1-0); Beavan (1-2)
17	4/22	vs. CWS	L, 7-4	7-10	W: Danks (2-2); L: Millwood (0-1)
18	4/24	at Det	W, 7-4	8-10	W: Vargas (3-1); L: Scherzer (1-2)
19	4/25	at Det	W, 9-1	9-10	W: Fernandez (2-1); L: Wilk (0-3)
20	4/26	at Det	W, 5-4	10-10	W: Furbush (1-1); L: Porcello (1-2)
21	4/27	at Tor	W, 9-5	11-10	W: Furbush (2-1); L: Perez (2-1)
22	4/28	at Tor	L, 7-0	11-11	W: Morrow (2-1); L: Millwood (0-2)
23	4/29	at Tor	L, 7-2	11-12	W: Alvarez (1-2); L: Vargas (3-2)
24	4/30	at TB	L, 3-2	11-13	W: Howell (1-0); L: League (0-2)

May

Gm. #	Date	Opp.	W/L	Rec.	Win / Loss
25	5/1	at TB	L, 3-1	11-14	W: Moore (1-1); L: Noesi (1-3)
26	5/2	at TB	L, 5-4	11-15	W: Shields (5-0); L: Beavan (1-3)
27	5/3	at TB	L, 4-3	11-16	W: Niemann (2-3); L: Millwood (0-3)
28	5/4	vs. Min	L, 3-2	11-17	W: Pavano (2-2); L: Wilhelmsen (1-1)
29	5/5	vs. Min	W, 7-0	12-17	W: Hernandez (3-1); L: Marquis (2-1)
30	5/6	vs. Min	W, 5-2	13-17	W: Noesi (2-3): L: Blackburn (0-4)
31	5/7	vs. Det	W, 3-2	14-17	W: Delabar (1-0); L: Dotel (1-1)
32	5/8	vs. Det	L, 6-4	14-18	W: Verlander (3-1); L: Millwood (0-4)
33	5/9	vs. Det	W, 2-1	15-18	W: Vargas (4-2); L: Putkoen (0-1)
34	5/11	at NYY	L, 6-2	15-19	W: Kuroda (3-4); L: Hernandez (3-2)
35	5/12	at NYY	L, 6-2	15-20	W: Hughes (3-4); L: Noesi (2-4)
36	5/13	at NYY	W, 6-2	16-20	W: Millwood (1-4); L: Pettitte (0-1)
37	5/14	at Bos	L, 6-1	16-21	L: Lester (2-3); L: Vargas (4-3)
38	5/15	at Bos	—	—	—
39	5/16	at Cle	—	—	—
40	5/17	at Cle	—	—	—
41	5/18	at Col	—	—	—
42	5/19	at Col	—	—	—
43	5/20	at Col	—	—	—
44	5/21	vs. Tex	—	—	—
45	5/22	vs. Tex	—	—	—
46	5/23	vs. Tex	—	—	—
47	5/24	vs. LAA	—	—	—
48	5/25	vs. LAA	—	—	—
49	5/26	vs. LAA	—	—	—
50	5/27	vs. LAA	—	—	—
51	5/28	at Tex	—	—	—
52	5/29	at Tex	—	—	—
53	5/30	at Tex	—	—	—