Mariners notebook: Martin, Marte and Iannetta team up a huge out
May 6, 2016, 5:12 PM | Updated: 5:13 pm
Chris Iannetta applied the tag to prevent the Astros' Jason Castro from scoring a big run on Thursday. (AP)
(AP)
HOUSTON – The Mariners go for their fifth win in a row tonight, something we saw just once last year (Sept. 1-6).
Thursday night, we saw a little bit of everything with strong offense, good starting and relief work, good baserunning, and a critical play on defense to end the seventh inning and prevent the Astros from taking the lead on a 425-foot Jose Altuve double.
“That kind of got overlooked,” said Scott Servais of the 8-6-2 play that resulted in Jason Castro being thrown out at the plate. “(Leonys) Martin made a great throw – he’s 430-some feet away, grabbing the ball and throwing downhill on a slope. You don’t realize how steep that is and your front foot isn’t hitting, and still makes an accurate throw. And our relay guy is probably relaying 220, 225 feet and got it over the mound. If it hits the backside of the mound there is no play. We were fortunate on a couple of things but we made the play. That’s what you have got to do.”
Martin to Ketel Marte to Chris Iannetta, complete with a start on Tal’s Hill and a collision at the plate to finish. Certainly a play that should not be overlooked. It in fact wasn’t at the time as the collision was challenged. Iannetta was ruled not to be blocking and the call stood. Some have asked why the challenge was allowed as the Astros had challenged and lost earlier in the game. According to Servais on Friday and Chris Iannetta after the game last night, teams can ask for any play at the plate to be reviewed and the umpires are likely to grant the request.
“They want to get the calls right,” said Servais.
Friday night we see a repeat of the pitching matchup we saw April 25 at Safeco Field with Taijuan Walker and Doug Fister squaring off. The Mariners won that game 3-2 with Walker throwing seven innings of one-run ball while striking out 11.
Lineup!
Norichika Aoki, LF
Seth Smith, RF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nelson Cruz, DH
Kyle Seager, 3B
Adam Lind, 1B
Chris Iannetta, C
Ketel Marte, SS
Leonys Martin, CF
Taijuan Walker, RHP
Not all bad for Seager and babip?
After a tough month at the plate, Kyle Seager has put together a nice six-game hitting streak in which he’s gone 10 for 25. We have seen him hit some balls down the left-field line against the shift, but we have also seen him pull a few to the right side as well. In a conversation I had with bench coach Tim Bogar about shifts that will run on the postgame show Saturday, he explains how Seager earned those hits.
“He has,” he said. “Because he has hit some balls the other way. I think there are four or five balls he hit rockets right at the third baseman that was playing shortstop, so now they can’t get over as far as they want to and now he has been able to pull a ball through the hole. He got one last night.”
So the seemingly hard-luck hard outs to the left side with the shift on counted for something?
“Definitely,” said Bogar. “The bottom line is every ball that is put in play we know how it’s hit, where it’s hit and who catches it. We use that against the other teams, obviously I think the other teams would use that against us.”
Notes
• The Astros will be with out left-handed reliever Tony Sipp, who is on paternity leave.
• Robinson Cano has been on a tear. His 30 RBI in the first 28 games of the season are second in Mariners history only to the 33 Ken Griffey Jr. racked up in 1997.
• The Mariners now have the best run differential in the American League at plus-32. The starters have the second-best ERA and innings per start in the AL. As for two outs, so what, the Mariners lead the AL with 54 two-out RBI.
