Seattle Mariners Continue To Drown in a Sea of Futility in 7-1 Loss To Padres

The San Diego Padres beat the Seattle Mariners  7-1 in Interleague play at  field in front of 30,019 fans. This game was actually closer than the score indicates as Cliff Lee  once again had a strong outing, as both teams collected 10 hits on the night. In reality the writing was on the wall for this one in the first inning as the Mariners managed to load the bases with the 1-2 punch of Ichiro and Figgins collecting singles followed by a walk to Gutierrez to load the bases. What followed was indicative of the entire Mariners season as Jose Lopez watched a first pitch strike down the middle by Padres starter Wade Le Banc, then hit into a double play. Josh Wilson had two hits on the night but in the first he popped up to leave the bases loaded, and the Mariners who seem to lack the “Killer instinct” came away with a big goose egg despite  having the bases loaded and no outs.

  The surprising Padres came back in the bottom of the first and picked up two runs off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez who hit a 2-run homer which put the Padres up for good. The Mariners picked up their only run in the second inning when Ichiro drove in Rob Johnson with a flare to left field. Cliff Lee gave up a run in the fourth but otherwise pitched well enough to win for most Major League teams, and I’m sure by the end of July he will get a chance to go somewhere where his skills will be better utilized.

    In the 8th inning the Mariners managed to load the bases with one out and brought in Michael Saunders to pinch-hit. It was painful to watch the lanky young  fella stare at the first two called strikes as even Mike Blowers pointed out that in this situation you need to go the plate and be ready to hit when coming off the bench late in a tight ballgame. Saunders did manage to run the count full before swinging at strike three. Casey Kotchman who I though had been delegated to a role as a late inning defensive replacement rather than offensive, came in a hit and weak dribbler to drown any hopes for a comeback in this one.

   Sean White and Brandon League managed to give up 4 runs between themselves, including a 2-run shot off the bat of Salazar to put icing on the cake. So the Mariner continue to drown in the Sea of Futility for the fifth game in a row and we still have 100 games to go. I hope those of you still paying attention have like myself started to figure out a way to detach emotionally from the Mariners to save your sanity, and if not there is always a new season starting tomorrow as our good friend Jack Z told the press Friday. http://jeffsmariners.com