Another night, another player making a huge play to keep the season alive. They already had the big hit and the big catch, and now they have the uhh… big hustle(?) and are just one big pitch away from the clutch cycle. It’s no secret that Brad Miller isn’t a real center fielder, but it still took some serious chutzpah for Johnny Giavotella to challenge his arm on what would have been a simple single up the middle for just about anyone else. It was an incredibly risky gambit, but man do those look good when they pay off.
Run Expectancy Rundown
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1umkh5FaV4qR-BoY49Yb93ZGeQGO8pzu_AGmOulz4mtI/pubchart” query=”oid=1976391661&format=interactive” width=”623″ height=”389″ /]I’m not entirely sure why David Murphy‘s RBI single gives him the best RE24, but why not! Kole Calhoun continues to heat up at just the right time, notching his third multi-hit game in the last four. David Freese went deep again while Johnny G continues to rake—he’s now 4-for-8 with three extra-base hits since returning from the DL.
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1umkh5FaV4qR-BoY49Yb93ZGeQGO8pzu_AGmOulz4mtI/pubchart” query=”oid=1154832181&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”341″ /]The Mariners were again mostly nonexistent on offense. Jesus Montero tallied an RBI single in the fourth, and Mark Trumbo hit the cover off the ball in the eighth for his 22nd homer, but otherwise the M’s did a whole lot of nothing. They managed just two hits in the final four innings and had only three PAs with runners in scoring position all night.
Starting Pitcher Scores
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1umkh5FaV4qR-BoY49Yb93ZGeQGO8pzu_AGmOulz4mtI/pubchart” query=”oid=161400381&format=interactive” width=”584″ height=”293″ /]Hisashi Iwakuma pitched deep into the game against the Angels for the third time this season, but didn’t have his usual swing-and-miss stuff working. He had just one K on the night and, with eight hits allowed, was lucky to limit the Halos to just three runs. Jered Weaver fared well at home again, but made it only through five innings and 71 pitches due to shoulder tightness.
Bullpen Battle
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1umkh5FaV4qR-BoY49Yb93ZGeQGO8pzu_AGmOulz4mtI/pubchart” query=”oid=1141913419&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”315″ /]Fernando Salas continues to have a tough time of it while everyone else in the ‘pen does nothing but put zeroes on the board. The Angels bullpen allowed just two runs in nine innings in the series, with Salas surrendering both runs. Cory Rasmus threw an impressive 1⅔ scoreless on Sunday. Boy would it be great to have him throwing well again. For the M’s, Carson Smith was in just long enough to allow his inherited run to score.
Game Flow
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1umkh5FaV4qR-BoY49Yb93ZGeQGO8pzu_AGmOulz4mtI/pubchart” query=”oid=451609002&format=interactive” width=”619″ height=”316″ /]A slow climb to victory. Still tense, but not quite as stressful as Saturday’s walk-off win.
Halo Hero
The Magic (Now-Bearded) Cajun Elf is at it again. Give in to his charms.
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