By Patrick
Last night sucked. The Mariners couldn't touch Dan Haren. Fourteen strikeouts. Fourteen! That's a whole new level of suck. That's almost as bad as the perfect game. Not quite, but it still sucks. The M's really didn't have a swing to call home about the entire game either. They were completely fooled from start to finish. That doesn't bode well as the first game in a four game set.
Jason Vargas was pretty sharp, allowing only Albert Pujols and Kendry Morales to hurt him and getting through seven innings and letting in just three runs. Not terrible. Just pretty decent. That's what Vargas has to do. The hitters didn't hold up their end of the bargain. It was a long night. It's hard to get Albert Pujols out when your offense has no chance of helping you.
May 25: Ham Sandwich (2-4, 4.46) vs. Ervin Santana (2-6, 4.22)
Where have we seen this story before? Oh right, yesterday. Damn it. Another struggling Angels pitcher who traditionally kills the Mariners coming to Safeco to get it all fixed. This doesn't look good folks. Santana doesn't even face a Vargas-like opposition. Against Blake Beavan, the Angels can be guaranteed two or three runs, and probably will get four or five. That's all Santana will need probably. Beavan will have to have his best stuff for the Mariners to win tonight if they come out with anywhere near the lack of intensity of last night's game.
Players to watch:
Kyle Seager: Nothing lately from Kyle Seager. I went to back to back games on Tuesday and Wednesday with my friend who loves the Mariners, but didn't put up the cash for mlb.tv and hadn't seen the M's much this year. I tried to convince him Seager was the next big thing. Everytime I was like, "OK, watch this," Seager would look embarrassing and not even get close to a breaking ball. He's got to turn it around and do it quick, since Liddi (who sucked last night too) has been applying some pressure with his hard hitting lately.
Albert Pujols: Watch Albert because it seems like he's finally exciting again. He hit Vargas hard twice last night. Once. he went deep. The other was a ripped single that almost caught the gap. Tonight, he gets a huge strike thrower in Blake Beavan, and then whatever relievers the Mariners throw at him. It could be another big night for "the Machine."
Prediction:
Angels 6, Mariners 1: This looks too similar to last night for me. Haren and Santana are basically the same pitcher as far as Mariner hitters are concerned, and they'll have to wait till tomorrow for their confidence game with Felix vs. Jerome Williams. This kind of looks like the Lester-Beckett Red Sox mini-series. In that, the Mariner got pounded twice against struggling yet historically successful pitchers. I don't expect anything different tonight. Santana goes eight innings for the Angels and Beavan struggles early in a losing effort. Go M's.
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