Thiel: From Minneapolis, sports news for Seattle

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By Art Thiel

SPNW Staff
BY SPNW Staff 05:14PM 08/05/2015

Game recap: Rockies 7, Mariners 5 (11 innings)

Takeaway

Fernando Rodney’s absurd meltdown in the ninth inning allowed Colorado to rally from a 5-3 deficit, score twice and tie the score 5-5. Two innings later, Michael McKenry’s two-run homer into the left-field seats off reliever Mayckol Guaipe gave the Rockies a 7-5, walk-off victory over the Mariners (50-59) Wednesday at Coors Field in Denver. The loss snapped Seattle’s three-game winning streak (box score) and marked its 19th loss this season in an opponent’s final at-bat.

Essential moment

The Mariners practically had it won 5-3 when Rodney, throwing for the fifth time in six days, took over in the ninth inning. But the former closer couldn’t seal the deal, allowing a RBI double to Ben Paulsen and a run-scoring single by Kyle Parker to send the game into extra frames. Rodney threw 21 pitches in his ill-fated ninth, only eight for strikes, and came away with his sixth blown save.

Hitters

Although Nelson Cruz failed to extend his home-run streak to six consecutive games, he stretched his hitting streak to 16 contests with a 2-for-5 afternoon. A homer would have made Cruz the first since Chris Davis Sept. 22-Oct. 2, 2012 to go deep in six consecutive games.

The Mariners, who took a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning on five hits, totaled 23 runs in the three-game series, the most in any three-game set this season. Franklin Gutierrez went 3-for-5, including a two-run homer in the seventh that gave Seattle a 5-3 lead, Gutierrez finished with three hits while Austin Jackson had two.

Top prospect Ketel Marte started at shortstop (first time in his career at that position) in place of Brad Miller and went 0-for-4 with a pair of walks. Hot a week ago, catcher Mike Zunino extended his hitless streak to 0-for-13 and is batting .175. The Mariners had 12 hits, but left 13 runners on base and went 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

Pitchers

Coming off a one-hit, complete-game shutout of Minnesota, Walker worked 7.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Walker’s RBI double in the fourth was his first career hit and the first two-bagger by a Mariners pitcher since Felix Hernandez against San Diego June 12, 2012.

After Carson Smith and Joe Beimel collaborated for a scoreless inning, Rodney was in position to record his first save in more than a month, but couldn’t deliver.

Words

“He left a slider up and hit it with authority. That happens in this ballpark. It’s a shame because I used a thin bullpen and they all came through (except Rodney). This was a tough situation and a tough park” — Lloyd McClendon, Mariners manager, after McKenry’s walk-off homer off Guaipe.

“I didn’t feel like my stuff was really working today. I got the base hit, but it would have been nice to get the win” — Walker.

Noteworthy

The Mariners have eight walk-off losses this season and played an American League-high 16 extra-inning games (8-8) . . . The Mariners were trying to match their season-high four consecutive wins, set in May against Oakland and San Diego . . . The Mariners are 28-28 on the road, 11-16-8 in series played and 15-20 in day games. Sixty-two of Seattle’s 109 games have been decided by two or fewer runs . . . Although Vidal Nuno lasted only 3.2 innings in his start against Colorado Tuesday, he will get another turn in the rotation. McClendon said Wednesday that Nuno will probably start against the Baltimore Orioles Monday at Safeco Field.

Next

The Mariners are off Thursday and will start a three-game series with the Texas Rangers Friday at Safeco Field. RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (2-2, 4.47) will pitch for Seattle against LHP Cole Hamels (0-0, 1.17), who will make his second start for the Rangers after his acquisition from Philadelphia.


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YourThoughts

  • Topcatone

    Ok Art, when is enough? I think it is time to fire manager McClendon? I like his managing style and almost all of his game decisions, but he.. seems be too close to the players? If we had a closer, would be in the wild card race. It is so discouraging now that the starting pitching is doing fairly well, and we are getting clutch hitting finally. It is more than Rodney’s blown saves. Giving up such wins discourages the team play, thinking, no matter what they do it is not good enough. Obviously they could get nothing for Rodney at the trade deadline. He is straightened up his stupid crooked hat, but now has that orange goatee thing. It is not professional. If you are dominating hitters, ok, have a little swagger. But not the way he is pitching.

    • Kevin Lynch

      Jack Z needs to cut Rodney tomorrow, on Thursday. Will he? No. Lloyd has worked with Rodney to help him along. But Fernando needs to move along. Jack needs to help him. We’ll see. Is Jack still in the game?

  • Trygvesture

    Fire the manager? Like this lousy team for the zillionth year in a row is a manager’s fault? Or hitting coach’s fault? Or bat girl’s fault? Or ticket seller’s fault?
    Starts at the top. Lincoln took the helm and annointed himself to be the smartest guy in any frikkin room in the universe ( as he apparently did in earlier careers according to reliable sources); became King of the Klownship. The record speaks for itself. HIS record speaks for itself. He’s a hopelessly pathetic and incompetent leader of a baseball franchise– except to manage equity appreciation and zero cash calls– and only hopelessly pathetic synchophant baseball people will work for him. Ask Wedge. Or Lou. Or Gillick. Or Hargrove. Or anybody else with baseball sense.
    But– The comments to Mariners reports here since the Seahawks put on pads have dropped to near zero. Pretty much says it all. Z has re-emerged, strutting his almost-there/not-my-fault , corporate-endorsed mantra again.
    Changing ownership would only help. The venue, the market and TV rights would never encourage a move. NEW oewnership is the key.

    • Effzee

      This is totally the 80’s, all over again. Is there some sort of secret deal with MLB that says the Seattle franchise basically exists as a Major League farm system for the “Real” teams, except when a new stadium is needed?

      You’d think Nintendo ownership could be a good thing. Sadly, it would only work in an alternate universe where HL was not on the board of whatever-something. Since he won’t fire himself, and apparently nobody else in the group has the guts or wisdom to shame him into resigning on his own, we are simply left to wait this thing out. He seems totally oblivious and completely insulated from any sort of criticism whatsoever.

      Maybe some of the local media have taken him to task over the years over isolated foot-in-mouth incidents, but that’s simply not enough. Its not like the reason for the M’s malaise and incompetence isn’t obvious. I know that sports writers and radio personalities have to maintain relationships and all that, but I have heard *plenty* of criticism at players, GMs, owners, etc., over the years, seemingly without regard for the consequences. For some unfathomable reason, Lincoln seems utterly immune to this.

      If there were ever cause for a media-driven witch hunt to save a fan base from the clutches of an evil turnstile-driven bobblehead mastermind who holds the city’s sporting franchise hostage for his own nefarious purposes, this is it. Fergawdsakes, won’t somebody THINK OF THE CHILDREN!?!

      • Trygvesture

        Same page with ya, Effzee. Except I’m a geezer, Art’s generation.
        It is a mystery, the lack of Lincoln-looking. See the failures, see Lincoln. But only Art, when really personally aggravated by being duped with in-his-face dishonesty, or Geoff with his somewhat ill-educated and unconvincing prose style, or, lately, sportsmouth Softy have ever pointed a finger– or even been affronted by the disservice to the community Lincoln and his lackies foist on us year after year. I mean, really. The M’s have a stadium lease– just a lease, they’re just plain old tenants– renters from the city, from US. They are obliged, by the explicit terms of the lease, to operate the ballpark for the benefit of the community. It says so. They signed it. Bobblehead nights and America’s biggest LED collection does not benefit the community. A competently run baseball club benefits the community: it’s a BASEBALL stadium we’ve let to them. It’s for BASEBALL for the benefit of the community. It’s not for Howard and Company self-enrichment. It’s not. It’s to be a place where Major League Baseball is played, where viable competition should exist and be on display, where the community can come together and share experiences, community pride and the Joy of the Game. Fail. Fail. Fail — on all counts under Lincoln. All. 0.000 over his fulkl career in the game. If the Nats win it all this year, the Ms end up being the only Official Total Losers in the game. That would seem to define non-competitive, non MLB-level play, and non fullfillment of the terms of the lease. They don’t use for what we had it built for! They use it to get personally, avariciously richer. We built it for our MLB baseball enjoyment. Is it difficult to see those are not the same thing?
        At least we all know nobody works forever. (although, he may have a very ugly picture up in his attic… our very own Mr. Gray).

  • Rj Smith

    The M’s need to do/pay whatever it takes to bring in Dave Dombrowski. Create the title of Pres. of Baseball Operations if need be. Let him hire a new GM. Let him oversee the hiring of new scouts, running the draft, player development, etc. I know it’s a pipe dream with this sorry azz ownership group, but one could wish.

    So when are Trader Jack Z & Lloyd McMuffin going to get axed? Why does he continue to run that clown Rodney out there in save situations? I understand not going with Smith everytime, but the Rodney nonsense has to end completely. I don’t care if Wilhelmsen, Beimel, Rasmussen or whoever else blows the save, just NOT RODNEY! He gives them ZERO chance to win the game, and forget about a clean inning from that goof, that is totally impossible. You waste 3 hours of your life watching these guys actually have a last inning lead & its all for not because of one jabronie. Lloyd McMuffin is so unbelievably stubborn when it comes to awful players killing the team…… remember the Abraham Almonte lead off the game & strike-out every single time stupidity? He is just so painfully awful….. make it stop! Wonder how the M’s brass feels about all the attention shifting from their team to the Seahawks with TWO months left? They probably don’t care, people will still fill up the so-called Kings Court for some insanely strange reason, so that’s all that matters. Sigh.

  • Long-Time Mariners Fan

    Key Words Above: “absurd,” “throwing/threw.”

    Yes, Rodney’s meltdown was “absurd.” He was not pitching, he was “throwing.” What is even more absurd is that the coaching staff cannot tell the difference and he gets sent out there game after game.

  • Kevin Lynch

    Strange specialty. The walk off loss. Rinse and repeat. No changes. It used to be “two outs, so what?”. Now it’s “two run lead in the 9th, so what? We can still blow it!” Anti-clutch. A car without a clutch cannot change gears. Until we get a fine new ‘clutch’ of front office people there will be…no changes. Rinse and repeat.

  • notaboomer

    more jesus!!!!

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