State of the Mariners: Back on the Road
By Ben Renner
The Mariners dropped two of three at home against the Texas Rangers and face New York on the road this weekend.
The Mariners lost two of three against Texas to end their first homestand of 2016 1-5. Colby Lewis stymied the Mariners in the first game, allowing only one run on four hits and one walk in six innings, striking out six. Nelson Cruz was the only effective hitter in the lineup on Tuesday, blasting a home run and a double for all of the Mariner runs in the 7-3 loss.
The Mariners were dominated in the second game, losing 8-0. Things got ugly when Wade Miley loaded the bases in the third inning. After a base hit, scoring two, former Mariner Adrian Beltre whipped a pitch almost at his inside ankle over the left field wall. The Rangers led 5-0 after three. Miley is now 0-1 with a 8.25 ERA after allowing six runs on 10 hits in the loss. Beltre added two more RBIs to finish with five on the night.
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After losing their first five home games for the first time in franchise history to start a season, the Mariners turned to Taijuan Walker to stop the bleeding. Walker delivered, going six innings and holding the Rangers to one run while striking out four. Robinson Cano broke out of his homestand slump with a home run in the fifth inning giving the Mariners a 2-1 lead. But Joel Peralta once again served up a home run in the eighth inning. This time it was Delino DeShields that took him deep for his first of the season and the third of his career.
The game remained tied until the 10th inning, when pinch hitter Dae-Ho Lee stepped to the plate with Kyle Seager on first. Somehow the Korean slugger caught up to a high 97 mph fastball from Rangers reliever Jake Diekman and deposited it over the left field fence. The Mariners walked off and salvaged a game on the homestand.
Next: Seattle Mariners: Time to Panic
The Mariners will start Nate Karns in New York against Luis Severino tonight at 4:05 against the Yankees.