Two years into a five-year, $64 million contract, Adrian Beltre has produced a .262 average, 44 home runs, and 176 RBIs. However, after the All Star break in 2006, Beltre slugged .552 with a whopping 18 home runs. Does this strong second half bode well for a turn-around in 2007, or will Mariners fans have to deal with 'A-Drain' once again? This blog intends to follow the 2007 season for Adrian Beltre, and the Seattle Mariners, and promises to hold no punches.
Yup, it only took two months but Meche finally racked up his long-sought double-digit win of the season, 4-2 against the Blue Jays, the team that he last won against on July 14th. In 5.1 innings, Meche was a two-run Vernon Wells home-run away from keeping the Jays scoreless. Of the 91 pitches Meche threw in tonight's start, 63 went for strieks as heracked up seven strike-outs against the free-swinging Blue Jays. meche was supported from some sterling pitching out of the bullpen, as five relievers combined to keep the Jays scorelss- pitching their way out of two bases loaded jams- with J.J. Putz finishing up for his 32nd save, and preserving meche's tenth victory.
On the offensive side, the Marienrs had a good night with the bats, as they dang near took batting practice in the three innings off the Jays starter, Shawn Marcum. Some baseball experts liken Marcum to the Jays' ace Roy Halladay, but judging by tonight's performance Marcum is a far ways off in following in Halladay's footsteps. Still, let's not forget that after an eye-opening first season, including a one-hitter in his second major league start, in 1998 Halladay found himself back in A ball two years later learning to pitch all over again. So it's probably too soon to pass judgement on the Jays' young right-hander.
Adrian Beltre got the M's scoring starting off with a first-inning solo home-run, which Rick Rizz on the radio tributed to Beltre's new son, Adrian Jr. This is Adrian's 17th home-run of the season, which would be a good number for a slugger, perhaps, in the mid-80s when 20 home-runs was considered a good bench-mark for a slugger. However, when you consider that Beltre's home-run out-put measures less than a third of what the Phillies' Ryan Howard has produced on the season, the differences are quite stark.
Raul Ibanez contributed his 27th home-run, and both Jose Lopez and Chris Snelling (batting in the number nine hole) contributed RBI singles to complete the Mariners' scoring. Still, the Mariners had plenty of lost opportunities on the evening, considering that they tallied twelve hits, two walks, and stranded twelve base-runners. It cannot be denied that the combined efforts by the Mariners' pitching this evening helped bail out an offense that squandered their chances to put this game out of reach.
The victory was a turn-around from the prior evening's game, in which the tandem of Ted Lilly and the Jays' superiro offense proved, to nobody's surprise, to be too much for the M's Jake Woods. Woods once again was unable to manange to pitch through six innings, a mark he has yet to reach in any of his five starts on the season. Through 5.1 innings on Monday evening, Woods allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks, as the Blue Jays eseentially locked the game up with a 5-0 lead in the fourth.
That was in part due to the anemic out-put the M's bats managed against Jays' starter Ted Lilly, who discovered his Mariner-killing ways in holding the M's to two runs in seven innings. Not only was it Lilly's third consecutive strong start, but it also allowed Ted to reach a career high in wins with 13. Beltre did manage one hit against Ted, and with his 2-for-9 performance over the series' first two games- home-run or not- his average has dropped to .255 after reaching a season-hgih of .268 just a scant two weeks ago.
Sigh.....
Luckily, A.J. Burnett is taking the mound for the Jays tomorrow night, and Beltre has been able to hit A.J. pretty well. Over his career, Beltre has a .278 batting average against Burnett in 18 at-bats, with his five hits including three doubles and a home-run for a .927 OPS. The Mariners, as a whole, have rocked Burnett pretty hard in the two career starts he has against them. A.J. has yet to win a game, and holds a 5.73 ERA against Seattle, allowing seven earned runs in 11 innings. Most of the rocking by Seattle's bats against Burnett happened in the last start against he had against Seattle, when Burnett allowed ten hits and five runs in four innings of what would eventually be a 7-4 loss. In his only other start againt Seattle this year, however, Burnett got a no-decision as he limited the M's to two runs over seven innings. So it's evident that Burnett can dominate the Mariners if he's "on."
Cha Seung baek takes the mound for the Mariners in a match-up against Burnett, and the M's radio guys were quite fond of pointing out the fact that the marienrs have won all four games that Baek has started this season, and baek himself has a 3-0 record as he makes a strong case to be in Seattle's 2007 rotation. Obviously, that streak can't continue indefinitely, specially when you consider his last start baek had against Toronto- back in 2004- Baek allowed eight runs in just 2.2 innings, including a home-run to Vernon Wells.
So I find it highly unlikely that either Baek's streak or the Mariners' winning streak will continue in tomorrow's game. Still, I think it will be a fairly tight game, with a final score along the lines of 5-4, with the bullpens deciding the outcome. Still, finishing the home-stand 3-3 is as good- if not better- than could've been expected as it got under way.
Here's hoping I'm wrong, and the M's wind up with a 4-2 home-stand!
On the offensive side, the Marienrs had a good night with the bats, as they dang near took batting practice in the three innings off the Jays starter, Shawn Marcum. Some baseball experts liken Marcum to the Jays' ace Roy Halladay, but judging by tonight's performance Marcum is a far ways off in following in Halladay's footsteps. Still, let's not forget that after an eye-opening first season, including a one-hitter in his second major league start, in 1998 Halladay found himself back in A ball two years later learning to pitch all over again. So it's probably too soon to pass judgement on the Jays' young right-hander.
Adrian Beltre got the M's scoring starting off with a first-inning solo home-run, which Rick Rizz on the radio tributed to Beltre's new son, Adrian Jr. This is Adrian's 17th home-run of the season, which would be a good number for a slugger, perhaps, in the mid-80s when 20 home-runs was considered a good bench-mark for a slugger. However, when you consider that Beltre's home-run out-put measures less than a third of what the Phillies' Ryan Howard has produced on the season, the differences are quite stark.
Raul Ibanez contributed his 27th home-run, and both Jose Lopez and Chris Snelling (batting in the number nine hole) contributed RBI singles to complete the Mariners' scoring. Still, the Mariners had plenty of lost opportunities on the evening, considering that they tallied twelve hits, two walks, and stranded twelve base-runners. It cannot be denied that the combined efforts by the Mariners' pitching this evening helped bail out an offense that squandered their chances to put this game out of reach.
The victory was a turn-around from the prior evening's game, in which the tandem of Ted Lilly and the Jays' superiro offense proved, to nobody's surprise, to be too much for the M's Jake Woods. Woods once again was unable to manange to pitch through six innings, a mark he has yet to reach in any of his five starts on the season. Through 5.1 innings on Monday evening, Woods allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks, as the Blue Jays eseentially locked the game up with a 5-0 lead in the fourth.
That was in part due to the anemic out-put the M's bats managed against Jays' starter Ted Lilly, who discovered his Mariner-killing ways in holding the M's to two runs in seven innings. Not only was it Lilly's third consecutive strong start, but it also allowed Ted to reach a career high in wins with 13. Beltre did manage one hit against Ted, and with his 2-for-9 performance over the series' first two games- home-run or not- his average has dropped to .255 after reaching a season-hgih of .268 just a scant two weeks ago.
Sigh.....
Luckily, A.J. Burnett is taking the mound for the Jays tomorrow night, and Beltre has been able to hit A.J. pretty well. Over his career, Beltre has a .278 batting average against Burnett in 18 at-bats, with his five hits including three doubles and a home-run for a .927 OPS. The Mariners, as a whole, have rocked Burnett pretty hard in the two career starts he has against them. A.J. has yet to win a game, and holds a 5.73 ERA against Seattle, allowing seven earned runs in 11 innings. Most of the rocking by Seattle's bats against Burnett happened in the last start against he had against Seattle, when Burnett allowed ten hits and five runs in four innings of what would eventually be a 7-4 loss. In his only other start againt Seattle this year, however, Burnett got a no-decision as he limited the M's to two runs over seven innings. So it's evident that Burnett can dominate the Mariners if he's "on."
Cha Seung baek takes the mound for the Mariners in a match-up against Burnett, and the M's radio guys were quite fond of pointing out the fact that the marienrs have won all four games that Baek has started this season, and baek himself has a 3-0 record as he makes a strong case to be in Seattle's 2007 rotation. Obviously, that streak can't continue indefinitely, specially when you consider his last start baek had against Toronto- back in 2004- Baek allowed eight runs in just 2.2 innings, including a home-run to Vernon Wells.
So I find it highly unlikely that either Baek's streak or the Mariners' winning streak will continue in tomorrow's game. Still, I think it will be a fairly tight game, with a final score along the lines of 5-4, with the bullpens deciding the outcome. Still, finishing the home-stand 3-3 is as good- if not better- than could've been expected as it got under way.
Here's hoping I'm wrong, and the M's wind up with a 4-2 home-stand!
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