First off, I apologize for not writing. The Baseball Historians network had some system wide net problems that prevented us from posting so I was kind of in the dark for a while. Things are fixed though so it’s back to work.
And just in time because Felix Hernandez made his return. He threw two shutout innings before giving up a run in the third and then two more in the fourth. He ended up throwing 78 pitches, which was right around what his pitch count was set at and while the end result wasn’t all that great, just getting Hernandez on the mound is big news. He couldn’t work most of his pitches other then his fastball and once the Angels saw him a second time, they began to hit him.
The good news is, the Mariners put eleven runs on the board in the 11-3 win. And while the Mariners sit a game out of first, they’re two UP in the loss column. With two more games against the Angels this week, now is the time to get it done.
Ichiro had a huge day with five hits and that bumps his batting average back over .300. He now has an eight game hitting streak in which he’s scored eight runs and his batting average has climbed from .260 all the way to .312.
Still, the Mariners are playing pretty much .500 ball and if they want to break away from the pack, they need to pick it up. Cha Seung Beck gets the start tonight and he’ll face a tough John Lackey.