Mariners 7 .....
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AIN'T LIFE GRAND!, Dept.
The M's have a 3-0 sweep of the star-studded Detroit Tigers, they are clear Next-Up in the Wild Card race by themselves, He Who Must Not Be Named has been voted off the rotation island by DiPoet, and his replacement is Andrew Moore. In the 4-0 game.
The game's on TV. And a few miles away. What, you want Dr. D to butter your toast for you?
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5 INNING, 1 OUT, 0 ON - JARROD DYSON BUNT SINGLE
Let's just go with favorite moments. Justin Verlander had thrown a perfect 5.0 innings with about 15 strikeouts, the kind of game that makes you wonder how base hits ever occur. Verlander fanned Mitch Haniger to start the sixth, and the game was all but over. Jarrod Dyson pulled this aesthetic bunt hit. The first hit of the game.
Verlander, rattled and a bit gassed, let down from there, pitching from the stretch. Dyson's bunt had been, emotionally, like Rocky's first punch in Apollo I where he cracks the champ's rib with a lucky shot. Apollo gets wide-eyed, backs up, and it's game on.
Well, you didn't KNOW it was game on at the time. Turned out it was, though. Zuumball then worked a walk. Consider that Mike Zunino worked an impossible walk against a Justin Verlander who wasn't going to walk anyone? Check how Verlander painted the black in this AB:
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Sudden Jean then caught a break on a popup single behind the SS, and it was game on.
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FAVE MOMENT TWO - INNING 5, BASES LOADED, 1 OUT, GAMEL MIGHTY GAMEL WAS ADVANCING TO THE BAT
Bases loaded, down 4-0, the first threat of the game and there are piles of baserunners all over the field. Suddenly the TV guys realize who's coming up. "Here comes the Mariners' hottest hitter!", Blowers said. Right or wrong, so sue me if you want, the moment felt like the 1997 Mariners had sustained a rally SO THAT Junior could hit. Well, so that Edgar could hit, at least. HE'll save us!
Gamel worked the count to 2-2 ... probably will never get to write that sentence again? ... and fouled two pitches off. Defensively, real late swings, just flicking the strikes away Boggs-style. On 2 and 2 Verlander comes at him with a screaming 96.3 MPH fastball, challenge pitch.
Gamel jumps out of his shoes and smokes a low 1-iron that the center fielder catches on one hop. Mariners on the board! Rally gaining. It's been a long time for Verlander on the mound and his pitch count ain't great for an elderly guy.
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MOMENT THREE - INNING 5, BASES LOADED, 2 OUT, HEEERE'S BOOOMSTICK
Nothing way out of the ordinary. Just an 0-1 curve from Verlander, got it a little up. Booooom took two hands and a sledgehammer, and bludgeoned it on a deep line into the LF corner. It's at the 0:32 point on this video. It looked very boom on him.
Cruz now with 58 RBI in 70 games, if you're still keeping track. There used to be a player that was known, back in the day, as a "Cleanup. Hitter." The Mariners have one. They usually don't.
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MOMENT FOUR - INNING 7, GAME-TYING RBI
In an 0-1 count, if Shane Greene crossed you up with a 95 fastball letter high, sucker pitch, could YOU foul it back? Mitch Haniger not only caught up to the ball, not only got on top of it, but got the bat head out in front. Here's the vid of that one.
Home run power alley. On a 95 fastball, high, even. In a pitcher's count. Thath high quality H20
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HOW SWEET IT IS
There were other excellent moments too - Cano's power-alley double to put the M's in front, Juan Segura scoring two runs, other stuff. The above four are my top 10, as it were, for sheer beauty and joy. If I coulda only seen one?
The Gamel one. Then the Haniger one. Then Cruz' mighty double ... but Jarrod Dyson was really the cause of this win. We start to see why the KC fans loved him.
Be Afraid,
Dr D
Awesome Photo: SportsCanyon.com