Boxscore Breakdown #153: Salt Lake Bees of Anaheim – Mariners 3, Angels 1

There’s nothing like some crucial September baseball games with playoff implications. That is unless you’ve already clinched your playoff spot and don’t care anymore. In that case, you run out the lineup and starting pitcher for your Triple-A team.

It wasn’t exactly high drama and I suspect a lot of Angels fans took the night off as well, but we almost got ourselves a nice piece of humor as the Salt Lake Bees of Anaheim nearly pulled off the upset against a possible playoff team and the likely AL Cy Young winner. That would have been the highest of high comedy, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Run Expectancy Rundown
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1W1Vc5kgKtmJtpe5C4BLUODh_AlNbOkKaADw1S7yBR5o/pubchart” query=”oid=1976391661&format=interactive” width=”623″ height=”402″ /] Felix Hernandez is very good. He looks even better when he faces the lineup for a Triple-A team that had the second-worst record in their league. That being said, Hank Conger hit a homer as he continues to display at least a modicum of competence with the bat. I still don’t know if he is going to get any starts in the postseason, but at least there is a chance he won’t be totally useless if he does.

[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1W1Vc5kgKtmJtpe5C4BLUODh_AlNbOkKaADw1S7yBR5o/pubchart” query=”oid=1154832181&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”341″ /] The Mariners fielded a real MLB lineup and faced a Triple-A pitcher, yet Wade LeBlanc shut them down just about as well as Felix shutdown the Salt Lake Bees of Anaheim. OK, that’s a slight exaggeration but still, the Mariners can’t feel real good about their inability to get to Wade LeBlanc. If not for a grooved pitch from Kevin Jepsen, they might have actually lost this game and Angels fans would have had all the LOL.

Starting Pitcher Scores
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1W1Vc5kgKtmJtpe5C4BLUODh_AlNbOkKaADw1S7yBR5o/pubchart” query=”oid=161400381&format=interactive” width=”584″ height=”293″ /] King Felix was amazing as usual. It was actually kind of weird that he only went 97 pitches in this game. The only thing weirder was Wade LeBlanc going 5.1 innings and looking solid in the process. He’ll be getting another start before the season is over and could be a factor in the postseason if Shoemaker can’t get healthy.

Bullpen Battle
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1W1Vc5kgKtmJtpe5C4BLUODh_AlNbOkKaADw1S7yBR5o/pubchart” query=”oid=1141913419&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”315″ /] If only Jepsen had gotten LoMo out, the faux-Angels would have had the opportunity to be celebrating a walkoff homer against maligned former closer Fernando Rodney. You had one job, Jepsen! Oh, Joe Thatcher pitched and got the job done, but he did have his customary HBP.

Game Flow
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1W1Vc5kgKtmJtpe5C4BLUODh_AlNbOkKaADw1S7yBR5o/pubchart” query=”oid=41272350&format=interactive” width=”619″ height=”315″ /] The Angels didn’t even get a runner to second base until the sixth inning. The Mariners didn’t have a real threat until that inning either. It was the failure to capitalize on the bases loaded in the eighth where the Bees really saw this game slip through their fingers.

Halo A-Hole

Way to ruin it for everyone, Kevin.