Nightcap: 8/15/07 vs. Twins

Ouch. This afternoon the Mariners dropped the third and final game of this series against the Twins, 6-1. It wasn't a great one to watch; or atleast I don't think it was... I fell asleep myself. I woke up in the 8th inning to find that the game was still within reach at 2-1, but saw the highlight of the second run that came around to score for the Twins and I was not happy about it. Though a throwing error was charged to Washburn on a play to first base, Jose Lopez, who was covering the bag, actually just flat out missed the ball. The throw was low but still a good foot off the ground and should have been caught. If the game would have ended 2-1, you might point to that play as the reason that we lost. Everyone complains about Jose Vidro's defense at second base but what I've been trying to tell people all along is that errors aren't terrible unless they directly contribute to a loss. Washburn pitched a fine game; seven innings of seven hit ball. He gave up two runs, only one of those being earned, and struck out five. In the top of the ninth the Twins busted it open when Torii Hunter took Sean Green deep after Mauer was walked intentionally to load the bases. Some are going to be critical of this move, but it was the right move to pitch to the right-handed bat of Hunter. He only hits .275 off of righties, whereas the left-handed bat of Mauer hits righties at a .321 clip.

The offense that was so good on the road trip has cooled significantly as the Mariners only had eight hits today with only a single run, an Ibanez solo shot, on the scoreboard at the end. Six Mariners struck out today; Lopez (1), Guillen (2), Beltre (2), Sexson (1), Jones (3), and Betancourt (1) for a total of ten. If I were to criticize a John McLaren decision today, which I will, it's the fact that Jose Vidro (who has been on fire) was not in the lineup today. I don't know what the reason for that was since we have an off-day tomorrow, but I would have liked to have one of our most reliable hitters, especially w/ RISP, to be in the lineup in the rubber game of a three game series.

Now we have the off-day tomorrow to think over our two consecutive losses to a .500 team.
Umpires: HP--Gary Cederstrom 1B--Lance Barksdale 2B--Jim Reynolds 3B--Tim Welke

Ejections: MINNESOTA's Gardenhire by Cederstrom (6th) (I was sleeping)

Time: 2:37 (Typical Washburn game)

Attendance: 42,921 (Nice crowd on what looked to be a beautiful day)

Weather: 73 degrees, partly cloudy (Wow. I'm jealous over here in Maryland)

Wind: 3 mph, left to right.