Mariners Drop Three of Four in Chicago to White Sox

The Mariners lost their second consecutive series after losing three of four games in Chicago to the White Sox. The next series will be in Texas against the first-place Texas Rangers.

Game One:

A seventh inning error by Ketel Marte allowed Chicago to get back in the ballgame and eventually walk it off in the 9th.

James Paxton made his first start since returning from injury and threw five innings while giving up three runs and striking out five. On the opposite end, Anthony Ranaudo started for the White Sox and gave up six runs in 5 and 1/3 innings of work on the mound.

The Mariners jumped out in front early with a Seth Smith RBI double to right field and a Nelson Cruz sacrifice fly to give Seattle an early 2-0 lead.

Jose Abreu quickly answered in the bottom of the 1st with an RBI single, and Avisail Garcia tied it at 2-2 a few at-bats later. Dioner Navarro hit a sacrifice fly to left field and the White Sox had a 3-2 lead after the first inning. Paxton settled down after that and didn’t allow any more runs.

Aug 25, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano (22) is greeted by catcher Mike Zunino (3) after scoring against the Chicago White Sox during the sixth inning at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /

Robinson Cano hit a solo home run, his 29th bomb of the season, to tie the game up in the top of the fourth inning.

Adam Lind and Leonys Martin each had RBI singles, with Martin’s scoring two, in the sixth and the Mariners had a 6-3 lead.

Arquimedes Caminero came in to work the 7th inning and things started to fall apart for Seattle.

J.B. Shuck reached on an error by Marte, and after retiring the next batter, Adam Eaton walked, and Tim Anderson hit a ground-rule double scoring Schuck. Steve Cishek came in next and struck out Jose Abreu, but Todd Frazier singled and scored both Eaton and Anderson. The game was tied at 6-6 and the three runs were all unearned.

With the game still tied in the 9th, Nick Vincent came on to pitch and try to get the game to extras.

Game One Notes:

It was nice to see Paxton recover after a rough first inning in his first start since getting hit on the left elbow with a liner.

When Marte didn’t score in the ninth and the top of Chicago’s order coming up, there just didn’t seem to be a lot of confidence that the Mariners could pull this one off, especially after they allowed Chicago to tie it in the seventh.

Being able to manufacture six runs on only seven hits is pretty good. Too bad it wasn’t enough for this game.

Game Two:

A highly-anticipated pitching matchup between Felix Hernandez and Chris Sale delivered as both men had wonderful performances in the Mariners’ 3-1 win.

“The King” gave up just one run, a Todd Frazier solo home run in the seventh, over 7 and 1/3 innings and he struck out five.

Chris Sale gave up three runs, a Franklin Gutierrez home run in the second, Guillermo Heredia grounded into a double play in the third which scored Shawn O’Malley, and Adam Lind doubled to score Nelson Cruz in the fourth. Sale also struck out 14 batters while walking none and going the distance for Chicago.

In the bottom of the 8th inning, Avisail Garcia led off with a single and JB Shuck hit into a fielder’s choice in the next at-bat. Tyler Saladino singled to left and Felix walked Adam Eaton to load the bases with one out in the 8th. Scott Servais went to Edwin Diaz to record a five-out save. The first batter he faced, Tim Anderson, hit a slow roller to Shawn O’Malley who played third base for the injured Kyle Seager. He fielded the ball and threw a strike to Zunino at the plate to get the runner by a step and prevent the run from scoring. Jose Abreu fouled out in the next at bat and the Mariners got out of the bases loaded jam unscathed.

Diaz returned for the ninth and promptly struck out the side to secure the 3-1 victory for Seattle.

Game Two Notes

Player of the Game: It’s the King, again. Everyone knew that he and Sale were going to have a pitcher’s duel and he may not have had the flashy 14 strikeouts, but he gave up just one run and had some help from O’Malley and Diaz in the 8th to protect his lead. He sure looks like he’s returning to form.

It’s so nice to have someone like O’Malley who can play so many different positions at a high level, especially when one of your top guys in Seager needs a few days off to rest a sore foot.

Gutierrez getting the home run was really nice to see because he really hadn’t been doing much of late.

After this game, the Mariners made a few roster moves. They recalled reliever Dan Altavilla from AA Jackson and switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from AAA Tacoma for additional bullpen help. They also brought Dae Ho Lee back up as they face a lot of lefties in their upcoming stretch of games, and they placed Tom Wilhelmsen on the 15-day Disabled List and optioned Norichika Aoki and Mike Freeman to AAA Tacoma to make room for the two new bullpen additions.

Game Three

Ariel Miranda and Vidal Nuno got roughed up by Chicago’s lineup in this very one-sided affair in which the White Sox won 9-3.

Miranda gave up three runs in four innings and didn’t have a great feel for the strike zone. Nuno allowed six runs on 10 hits in three innings of mop-up duty.

Aug 25, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Seattle Mariners designated hitter Nelson Cruz (23) beats out an infield single as Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (79) can /

Cano hit a sacrifice fly in the first to give the Mariners and early lead, but Melky Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly and Jose Abreu hit a home run, both in the bottom of the first, to give Chicago a 2-1 lead and they didn’t look back after that.

Tyler Saladino singled to score a run in the fourth, Justin Morneau tripled and scored Todd Frazier in the fifth, and Avisail Garcia and Alex Avila each hit home runs and the White Sox had a 7-1 lead after five innings.

Guillermo Heredia drove in Ketel Marte in the sixth and made it 7-2. and Tyler Saladino answered with a two-run home run in the seventh to make it 9-2.

Franklin Gutierrez added another run in the ninth with a sacrifice fly but that was not nearly enough as Seattle fell 9-3.

Game Three Notes:

Nothing like a good old-fashioned butt-whooping.

Kyle Seager returned to the lineup after missing a few games due to a sore foot.

Dan Altavilla had a great debut, striking out Todd Frazier and pitching a 1,2,3 inning for Seattle in the 8th.

Jose Quintana was dominant again. Man that guy is dirty, just like his fellow southpaw Chris Sale.

Game Four

The Mariners tried to no avail to try and salvage a split in the fourth game of the series and lost in a battle of young arms.

Taijuan Walker faced off against young lefty Carlos Rodon in a battle of two of the top young arms in the American League.

Walker pitched 7 and 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on four hits. Justin Morneau hit a single that drove in Adam Eaton and Melky Cabrera in the 4th inning to give Chicago a 2-0 lead. The White Sox added two more runs in the 8th inning thanks to a Melky Cabrera RBI triple and a Jose Abreu sacrifice fly, both charged to Walker after he was pulled.

The Mariners’ lone run came in the sixth when Robinson Cano hit his 30th home run of the season off of Carlos Rodon.

Rodon ended the game with six innings pitched and just the one run allowed and he gave up just five hits. The White Sox won the game 4-1 and took the series three games to one.

Game Four Notes:

Rodon is dirty. I remember watching a game of his in college and knew he had plus stuff that would translate to the bigs. The White Sox have three very talented lefties in him, Sale and Quintana.

Seager had three hits and he’s now hitting .290. Any chance he ends the season over .300?

Only three players had hits and each of them had at least two (Cano, Seager, Gutierrez).

Other Notes:

The Mariners travel to Texas and to send Hisashi Iwakuma to face Yu Darvish in a battle of Japanese right-handers on Monday night on a game that will be on ESPN’s Monday Night Baseball.

Next: Seahawks Beat Cowboys in Dress Rehearsal

After the Chicago series, the Mariners are tied with Houston for second place in the American League West and are three games back of the Baltimore Orioles for the second Wild Card spot.

The Mariners, after being one of the hottest teams in recent weeks, are 4-6 in their last 10 games.

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