Takeaway
The Mariners’ hitting woes continued in a 7-3 loss to the Texas Rangers Monday night (box). In front of a small crowd of 13,468 at Safeco Field, the Mariners tied the club record set in 1992 of four consecutive losses to begin a home season. The Mariners have gone 0-3 (or 0-4) in their first home series five times, last in 2011.
Essential moments
After Nelson Cruz’s RBI double in the first inning, Texas starter Colby Lewis retired 13 consecutive batters. By the fifth inning, he had a 3-1 lead. By the top of the eighth, the Rangers had opened up a 7-1 advantage. Cruz drove in the other runs with a two-run homer.
Pitchers
A week’s worth of games, and still no Mariners starting pitcher has a W next to his name. Hisashi Iwakuma was the latest starter to come up short, allowing three runs off eight hits over six innings. Iwakuma rebounded from some serious trouble in the second, third and fourth innings and was able to do enough to keep the Mariners within striking distance. LHP Mike Montgomery came on in the seventh and had a rough outing (2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER).
Hitters
With a shuffled lineup that had 3B Kyle Seager in the No. 2 spot and SS Ketel Marte hitting eighth, the Mariners didn’t look much different than they have all homestand. They couldn’t generate any momentum from the 1-0 lead. Cruz provided the only offense with his second home run of the season. Through the first four of the six-game homestand, Seattle has seven runs and 22 hits.
Words
“Just to have him here, it means the world. I’ve still got goose bumps. He taught me the game and taught me to love the game. Just to be able to do that in front of him, it’s just a memory I’ll never forget. As far as memories go, that’ll be No. 1.” – Texas C Brett Nicholas, making his debut while playing in front of his grandfather, 92-year-old Frank McCabe, who traveled from his home near Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma
Noteworthy
In three of the years the Mariners started 0-3 at home, they lost 90+ games. In only one year, 1991, did they start 0-3 at home and finish with a winning record, 83-79, after which manager Jim Lefebvre was fired . . . RHP Joaquin Benoit, the main setup man, is expected to be sidelined for a few games while dealing with tightness in his right shoulder and back. Benoit, 38, is in his first season with the Mariners after signing as a free agent . . .Seattle LHP Charlie Furbush took a small step toward returning to the mound Monday when he began throwing on the side. There is still no timetable for Furbush’s season debut. He’s been battling soreness in his shoulder. He missed the final three months of last season . . . Nicholas was promoted from Triple-A over the weekend, after C Robinson Chirinos went on the 60-day disabled list. Nicholas, 26, left tickets for McCabe, a Tacoma-area baseball legend who used to pitch for a civilian team at Fort Lewis . . . Rangers reliever Keone Kela, who came on in the eighth, attended Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle and Everett Community College.
Next
LHP Wade Miley (0-0, 7.50 ERA) makes his Mariners home debut Tuesday night after struggling in his first outing last week. The Rangers tagged him for seven hits and five runs in six innings in Arlington. Miley faces fellow lefty Derek Holland (0-0, 5.40 ERA), who has missed most of the past two seasons with knee (2014) and shoulder (2015) injuries.
20 Comments
So somewhere in a dark cave, an exiled Trader Jack Z laughs at this current version of the M’s. I’m pretty much convinced this team will never score any runs at Safeco until DiPoto moves away every single hold over from the previous regime. These guys are absolutely pathetic at home, they are a joke. They actually get a miracle & score first, in the first inning no less & then Iwakuma predictably goes out there & gives up the lead immediately & then some more. I find it amazing how other teams go into Safeco & score runs with ease. The opposition knows all they have to do is score 2 runs & the M’s are done about 80% of the time. They absolutely refuse to get any hits with runners in scoring position. Nobody can hit there, except maybe Cruz. These guys can’t even steal any bases, when they miraculously get a baserunner & a SB attempt, they get thrown out every time. They’re quickly falling below .500 because of their awful play at home & they’ll be trying to claw their way into some phony contention. They say you don’t make the postseason in April, but you can definitely guarantee yourself not to make it. Let’s get that 1 game Safeco winning streak going tomorrow!
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So thee are 13,000 suckers still out there? Either extremely dense or know nothing of the season to date.
Luckily for me I live in the midwest, or I know I would be one of those suckers going from time to time. I think I’m worse though, because I pay for the MLB package every year. Like an idiot, I plan my life around M’s games, staying up until midnite to watch the same depressing movie over & over again….. game after game, year after year. Good thing about the MLB package is you can channel surf between all the games everyday & watch who you want, when you want. It’s fun to watch good players who can actually get hits & drive in runs both home & away…. the Pittsburgh Pirates come to mind immediately, that’s a REAL damn baseball there. I’m so jealous.
I’m another Mariners fan in (willing) exile. Rj, I understand your pain, and it’s the reason that I no longer make a point of catching Mariner games live. It’s just too depressing.
Instead I listen to Giants games and even go occasionally. Their recent track record is a little better, and I get to hear the melodious sounds of John Miller, who might be the best broadcaster in baseball right now, in my opinion.
No A’s, though. That would be treasonous.
I would say the Giants recent track record has been MUCH better than the sorry sack M’s, haven’t they won the World Series TWICE recently? Which is why it’s so depressing, the Giants play in a pitcher friendly park & don’t cry about it, they play to their park & just flat out win.
Three series wins since 2010…but who’s counting?
The organization has done a really good job of building a team that fits AT&T park. In past years, it’s been very good starting pitching, excellent defense, tough veteran bullpen, and just enough hitting. Not much home run power, but lots of line drives into the alleys.
This year the bats might even get into the act; there are no soft spots in the starting lineup. They’ve hit 16 home runs already. And they didn’t resort to moving the fences in, which was another idiot Mariner move.
I know, they’ve done a good job constructing the team to the park. That’s the difference…. they have smart baseball people & the M’s haven’t. I have confidence in DiPoto, I think it’s going go take a while though after the 7 year train wreck that was Trader Jack. Thanks Z for ruining the M’s.
Going to an under the roof game tomorrow. Free ticket. Where to park? My old spot with the straight shot to south Viaduct is gone. Is the Viaduct really gone? Hmm…how about light rail from SeaTac parking? Doesn’t work. I know! I’ll drive to Tacoma and let my brother drive.
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up. Just remember, it’s early.
Sid Spackle and Sal Bondo are tearing it up in Euphrata. Course, that’s on the town after the game. Still, there’s hope. 88-67 now to make 90 wins. Nothing a 19 game win streak can’t fix. A’s did it once.
Its getting late early. why can we not score runs at home? Hitters seem to let good pitches to hit go, then swing at the pitchers pitch.
It’s the exact same as last year, these goofs were taking pitches down the middle & then swinging at balls.
Well, there’s always the memory of hits & wins during the recent spring training.
Wonder if Steve makes it past Memorial Day?
Face it, a franchise like the Yankees was born to win championships. it’s what they do. It’s in the stars, like a universal truth. On the flip side, we have the Mariners, who are destined to never win anything.
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It’s the curse of Safeco Field. The home team has no advantage playing in the Safe. The Mariners have created an amusement park for families where baseball is a distraction for the home team fan.
I must say it’s great to see LAMO Morrison & Brad Miller up to their M’s shenanigans at a combined 2-35 with 13K’s & ZERO RBI.