Seahawks versus Bears: White Sox Series Preview Part 3

By Patrick

Everyone's favorite closer, hard at work

Sure, the 21-8 win over the Rangers was great, but something about Saturday's 10-8 win over the White Sox felt more like the best game the Mariners have played all season. Consider that even though they connected for four home runs in four innings and led 5-3 through three and a half frames, they still trailed 6-5 after Hector Noesi blew up and hung a curve to Gordon Beckham. In an error laden seventh inning, the White Sox extended their advantage to 7-5. However, the Mariners got the tying and go ahead runs from the most unlikeliest of sources, as Brendan Ryan hit a two-run double and then took home after the throw on his attempted steal of third skipped by Orlando Hudson. 

But even then, a homer from Dayan Viciedo off of Stephen Pryor in the eighth evened the score again. Usually, the Mariners would have rolled over and conceded by this point in the game. But poised future closer Tom Wilhelmsen did anything but that, as he pumped out three scoreless inning where he faced the minimum nine batters. Inspired by Wilhelmsen's performance, Jesus Montero, John Jaso, and Chone Figgins delivered hits in the 12th that extended the Mariner lead to 10-8, an advantage that Hisashi Iwakuma would preserve for his second save in three games. 

Overall, this win showed signs of a promising future for the M's. Justin Smoak and Michael Saunders homered, and even Ichiro decided to show off some power, going deep in his first two at bats. Pryor showed that he can dominate if he doesn't throw his slider too much. Wilhelmsen solidified the closer role with his fantastic performance in the 9th, 10th, and 11th innings. Only Kyle Seager and Dustin Ackley, a combined 0-for-11 with five strikeouts, struggled for the Mariners in their impressive streak-busting win.

June 3: Old Man Jenkins (3-4, 3.56) vs. Chris Sale (6-2, 2.34)

Damn, Sale has some great numbers. Good thing he's not a lefty who gets a ton of strikeouts. What? He is? Shit. Introducing the Mariners' kryptonite. And he's got momentum too, after he struck out FIFTEEN Tampa Bay Rays in his last outing, which lasted just 7.1 innings. That's 22 outs. And 15 strikeouts. He's not fucking around. Neither is Kevin Millwood however. He saw the writing on the wall, and knew his job and his career were on the line, so he started delivering. His last four starts, during which he has an ERA of .66, have vaulted him into a secure spot in the Mariner rotation. Before this stretch, the Mariners had lost five consecutive Millwood outings. Quite the turnaround. Will he be able to keep it up and keep his pitch count down against the hard hitting White Sox however?

Players to Watch:

Michael Saunders: It's about time people started watching Saunders. The Condor went deep again on Saturday for the fifth time in 2012. That homer, a big two-run shot in the fourth, was one of his four hits that came just a day after he had a rough 0-for-4. He has raised his average to .256, and provides the Mariners with needed pop from the bottom of the order. If he continues to hit, he will likely become the starting left fielder once Franklin Gutierrez returns from injury.

Paul Konerko: Duh. Konerko is the leading hitter in the American League in 2012. But an insight I gained through the first two games in the series has highlighted his importance. Sure, Konerko is 0-for-7 in the series, but on Friday, the Mariner pitchers approached him tentatively, and he drew two walks. On Saturday, Noesi, Charlie Furbush, Pryor, and Wilhelmsen all controlled Konerko, who went 0-for-5. As Konerko goes, so go the White Sox. Hopefully, Millwood can control him this afternoon.

Prediction:

White Sox 3, M's 2: This pick is brutal. On the one hand, the White Sox have a high-powered offense, and the Mariner offense has a ton of momentum, with three double-digit run outputs in their past four games, so this should be a slugfest. On the other hand, Millwood has limited damage well and avoided big flies lately and Sale beat the Mariners earlier in 2012 (striking out 11) and has the kryptonite formula in him. Damn. Gonna have to flip a coin here. Both flips came up tails, which means Sale out duels Millwood and the Sox take the series. Go M's.