Big bats help Seattle complete sweep
The Headline: backed by a strong offensive effort, the Seattle Mariners finish off a sweep in Colorado.
Seattle Mariners 6, Colorado Rockies 4
When: 3:10 ET, Sunday, May 20, 2012
Where: Coors Field, Denver
Temperature: 72
Umpires: Home — D.J. Reyburn, 1B — Laz Diaz, 2B — Mike Everitt, 3B — Paul Schrieber
Attendance: 36,662
Love ‘em
1. Great Day for the Bats
Mariner bats have been hot in Colorado, and that leaked in to today’s series finale.
The Mariners scored 6 runs on 9 hits. The team had 3 home runs (Jesus Montero, Justin Smoak and Mike Carp). Tacking on more extra base hits were Dustin Ackley and Ichiro Suzuki — each had doubles — and Alex Liddi — with a triple.
To add even more excitement, Ackley and Kyle Seager each had 1 stolen base a piece.
2. Strong Start from Beavan
It wasn’t just about the hitters today. Starter Blake Beavan had a great performance shutting down one of the National League’s more formidable lineups.
Beavan pitched 5 strong innings on 82 pitches. He allowed 2 runs on 7 hits. His usual control pitching self, Beavan allowed just 1 walk while striking out a season high 7 batters.
3. Seattle Finalizes a Sweep, and Head Home
It hasn’t been the best road trip for Seattle, and three wins in a row against a heavy hitting Rockies team is quite the accomplishment. Seattle finish 4-6 on their road trip, having faced off against the Yankees, Red Sox, Indians and Rockies.
Perhaps more exciting than the sweep is that the Mariners finally head home to Seattle. Monday kicks off a 7-game home stand against the Angels and Rangers.
Clik here to view.
Montero was 3-for-30 in nine games before getting Friday off. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Hate ‘em
1. League Struggles
One player that I’m sure is happy to be leaving Colorado would have to be Brandon League. The Mariners closer pitched a tough 9th inning, giving up 2 runs 4 hits.
It was his second appearance in a row in which he gave up 2 runs.
League is now 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA and 1.846 WHIP in May.
2. Running Through the Arms
Eric Wedge ran through a lot of arms today, and it was tough to see. Beavan was great all day, and pitched a strong 5th inning (his last inning of the day).
He was pulled in the 7th for Shawn Kelley, despite having only thrown 82 pitches.
Seattle went to use four relievers in order to finish off the final four innings of the game. The bullpen management is starting to get disconcerting.
3. Montero’s Defense
Getting a little nit-picky here, but this was a good win so that’s expected.
Seattle played strong defense all day, except Jesus Montero who showed why he’s a DH. Montero, who has allowed 9 stolen bases in 11 attempts, gave up two swipes today.
Like I said, there’s a reason why he’s the DH.
Here’s the BOXSCORE | and Our Editor “Q” has his RECAP
NoteBook
Montero was 3-for-30 in nine games before getting Friday off. In two games since returning to the lineup, he is 4-for-7.
The Rockies recalled RH Adam Ottavino from Double-A on Sunday and optioned LH Rex Brothers.
Todd Helton went 0-for-5 for Colorado and is 1-for-21 over his last five games, dropping his average to .219.
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