Mariners Mid-Season Report
The Seattle Mariners are in a battle with the Oakland A’s and the Los Angeles Angels for the AL West title; as evidenced by a recent 22 inning affair with the A’s this war is going to be fought to the end. The Mariners enter the All Star break tied for the best record in the American League at 60-35. Pitching and defense are highly contributing factors to that record. The M’s have a 3.36 ERA which is second best in the league, with the bullpen posting a league best 2.41 ERA and anchored by Tom Wilhelmsen who has 30 saves and a 1.67 ERA. Perhaps the best story out of the bullpen is Charlie Furbush who has a 0.94 ERA in 47 2/3 innings of work and has not allowed an earned run in his last 20 appearances. The starting rotation is led by All Star Doug Fister, acquired in the off season; Fister is 9-5 with a 2.73 ERA. Felix Hernandez and Hiroki Kuroda also have 9 wins each and a 3.83 and 4.20 ERA respectively. The Mariners have also received quality work from their #4 and #5 starters Blake Beavan and Erasmo Ramirez whom both started the year at AAA Tacoma.
Offensively, the Mariners are lead by Justin Smoak – who has 24 home runs and 62 RBI’s. Dayan Viciedo has been a spark plug in the lineup, and the Mariners wouldn’t be their current position without the contributions from Dexter Fowler, Kyle Seager, and Mike Zunino. The club also has been given a lift by speedster Jonathan Villar who sets the table from the #9 hole in the lineup.
The Mariners are expecting significant contributions from Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedrioa, and James Jones in the second half of the season and hope for the continued pitching success to brighten the battle.
