Tampa’s Pitching Reigns Supreme
The Headline: in a pitcher’s duel to the end, the Seattle Mariners Brandon League lets the game slip away in the 12th.
Seattle Mariners 2, Tampa Bay Rays 3
When: 7:10 ET, Monday, April 30, 2012
Where: Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home — Alan Porter, 1B — Ron Kulpa, 2B — Jim Wolf, 3B — Derryl Cousins
Attendance: 9,458
Love ‘em
1. Middle of the Order Clout
Despite the loss and low score, the middle of the order did their best job tonight trying to keep Seattle in this one.
Tonight, the three through seven hitters went a combined 9-24. Those hits brought in the games 2 RBI, one of which was Jesus Montero‘s 11th inning blast.
2. Basepaths Shutdown
Tampa Bay is one of the MLB’s best running teams, and Seattle has had a tough time shutting down runners this season. Tonight the Rays only nabbed one bag, but Olivo did catch Longoria in the act and finished the night without any errors.
3. Olivo Staying Hot
Miguel Olivo had a slow start to the season, but it seems things are finally turning around for the Ms backstop.
Olivo finished tonight 2-4 with a home run. On that note he is now hitting .310 over his last 7-games, including 3 home runs and 4 RBI.
Hate ‘em
1. Woeful Figgins
Chone Figgins started the season off so well, but has been in a bad slump lately. The Mariners leadoff man is hitting a pathetic .138 over his last 10 games. In that time he has 1 stolen base, 3 walks, and 12 strikeouts. Not exactly what you hope for from your table setter.
Miguel Olivo left in the ninth with a right groin strain...He will be going on the disabled list with what he called a significent injury.
Things continued for Figgy tonight. He finished the game 0-6 with 2 Ks.
2. Imperfect League
Brandon League has been solid all season long, and the Mariners bullpen has certainly needed it. Things didn’t go over so well for the closer tonight.
League pitched 1.1 innings tonight, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits.
The first run kept Tampa Bay in the game — after Seattle went up 2-1 in the 11th — while the second ended up representing the winning run for the Rays in the 12th.
Those runs rose his ERA to 2.77 on the season, while rewarding League with his 2nd loss of the season.
3. Pity for the King
This game was a true pitchers duel, and it’s tough to see Felix Hernandez get a no decision.
The King went 8 strong, giving up 1 run and striking out 9 on 106 pitches.
Here’s the BOXSCORE | and Our Managing Editor “Q” has his RECAP
NoteBook
Evan Longoria appeared to injure himself when he was thrown out attempting to steal second base.
After sliding awkwardly and catching his foot on Seattle shortstop Brendan Ryan‘s cleat, he walked back to the dugout with a slight limp.
League’s blown save was his second in eight opportunities in 2012. … Mariners starter Felix Hernandez has 76 strikeouts in 75 career innings against the Rays.
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