Mariners News and Links
By Ben Renner
The Mariners fell to the A’s at home (again) last night 5-0. Let’s take a look at the game and a few more Mariners news items as the series continues tonight against Oakland.
The Mariners lost again to the Oakland A’s at home, their fourth straight loss to Oakland at Safeco Field this year. Starter Rich Hill scattered eight hits over eight shutout innings, striking out six and walking none last night, earning his seventh win. Mariners starter Taijuan Walker was mostly dominant over his 7.1 innings, only giving up one earned run on four hits, a solo shot by Oakland catcher Stephen Vogt. However, in the eighth inning, his defense failed him.
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Chris Taylor, filling in for shortstop Ketel Marte, who is out with a sprained thumb, committed two errors and flailed miserably at the plate, striking out twice. Taylor will get another chance, and even though he didn’t hit at the major league level last season when pressed into service, he was usually decent with the glove. Look for him in the Mariners’ lineup with Marte out again.
Speaking of Ketel Marte, the young shortstop said that his thumb is already feeling better and has reassured all of us that he will be back on the field immediately after his 15 days on the Disabled List are over. Manager Scott Servais was… a little less optimistic:
It’s just going to take some time to heal and get the swelling out and we’ll go from there. I don’t anticipate him doing a whole lot here, probably not any baseball activity this homestand.
Mariners center fielder Leonys Martin has turned into a nice power-speed combo player this season. He cranked his career-tying eighth home run over the weekend to go with his seven steals. Servais batted Martin in the lead-off spot both Sunday against the Reds and last night against the A’s. In the 5-0 loss, Martin had two hits. It seems that Nori Aoki, the incumbent lead-off hitter, has lost his job, at least for now, atop the Mariners’ lineup.
Put former Mariners reliever Carson Smith in your thoughts tonight. He will undergo Tommy John surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament. The road to recovery will be long for the former M’s fireballer. We all wish him the best.
The Mariners face the A’s again tonight at Safeco Field at 7:10pm.