The streak and the pen
Aug 23, 2012, 4:22 PM | Updated: 4:22 pm
By Gary Hill
The red hot Seattle Mariners have won eight games in a row. It is the thirteenth time in franchise history the M’s have won eight or more. One more win will make it a tie for their fourth longest streak in team history. They have won eight games in a row for just the seventh time in their history. During their eight game streak in 1996 they scored 76 runs (which is the high) and in 1985 they plated 41 runs (which was the previous low). In ’85 Edwin Nunez pitched 6 1/3 innings in the 8 games and nailed down 5 saves. In ’96 Dan Wilson paced the M’s by hitting .392 (11-28) with 3 HR 13 RBIs and 8 R scored in the streak. They also won eight games in a row in 2007, 2001, 2000 and 1991.
In this particular streak M’s pitching has been sensational and the catalyst to the impressive play- 8-0 1.50 ERA 72 IP 55 H 12 ER 21 BB 56 K 3 HR. Their pitching has been so good they only have needed 30 runs scored during the course of the streak which blows away the previous low of 41 in 1985. The bullpen has been absolutely dominant- 4-0 1.02 ERA 3 SVs. They have only given up 2 runs in 17 2/3 IP during the streak. Solo homers by Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham in the 8th inning last Friday have been the only runs coughed up. This is what the bullpen has done in the last 8 games:
Tom Wilhelmsen (1-0 3 SVs) 0 runs in 3 1/3 IP
Stephen Pryor- (2-0) 2 runs in 4 IP
Lucas Luetge- (1 SV) 0 runs in 2 IP
Charlie Furbush- (1-0) 0 runs in 2 2/3 IP
Oliver Perez- 0 runs in 1 2/3 IP
Josh Kinney- (1 SV) 0 runs in 2 2/3
Carter Capps- 0 runs in 1 1/3
For the season the bullpen boasts an ERA of 3.17 which is the 8th best in all of baseball. They have been even better since August 10th (4 runs 24 2/3 IP 1.46 ERA).
Of course, the starters have not been bad during the streak either. Felix has yielded 1 run in 16 2/3 IP and Iwakuma has given up 1 earned in 12 2/3 IP. In fact, during the last 8 games Kevin Millwood has given up 5 earned runs and the rest of the pitching staff combined has only been scored on 7 times.
