Game 15, Mariners at Rangers

marc w · April 17, 2014 at 8:44 am · Filed Under Mariners 

Erasmo Ramirez vs. Tanner Scheppers, 11:05am

The first day game of the year comes uncomfortably close to the first really painful blown save of the year. The less said about last night’s ending, the better.

Today, the M’s face another converted reliever; hopefully this game goes a bit better than Tuesday’s shutout. Scheppers was a first-round talent out of college, but he fell a bit due to injury. That’s essentially been the story with him ever since. His stuff never quite missed enough bats in the rotation, but he’s been a solid reliever…when healthy.

Scheppers sat in the mid/upper 90s as a reliever, and while his velo’s down a touch in his first few starts, it’s still 94-95. He relies overwhelmingly on a sinker and a slider, though he’s got a change up that he’ll break out occasionally to lefties.

1: Almonte, CF
2: Miller, SS
3: Cano, DH
4: Hart, RF
5: Seager, 3B
6: Franklin, 2B
7: Smoak, 1B
8: Ackley, LF
9: Buck, C

Andrew Carraway starts for Tacoma tonight, while the Jackson Generals play 2 against the Tennessee Smokies – Stephen Landazuri and Moises Hernandez start. Carlos Missell starts in Clinton, but the biggest prospect taking the hill in the system is Tyler Pike, who’ll navigate the treacherous waters of Lancaster, CA and a pretty good Jethawks lineup.

Comments

54 Responses to “Game 15, Mariners at Rangers”

  1. Westside guy on April 17th, 2014 11:04 pm

    Oh, if the team beats up on the Marlins we’ll hear plenty of stories about how they’ve turned it around and have a winning attitude or something.

    The team is not as bad as they seem right now… I think. They’re not as good as they seemed against the Angels either. They’re likely just a mediocre team. But at least they’re not awful.

  2. MrZDevotee on April 18th, 2014 7:29 am

    Honestly, if we can get through the month at .500 I think we’re doing just fine… 20-something of our first 30 games are on the road, and against Division teams in arguably the toughest division these days. If you had told me we’d be .500-ish after 15 games against the Angels/A’s/Rangers, I’d take that. Especially given we’re a high toss from SS to 2nd, and an ump’s missed strike call away from 9-6.

  3. jak924 on April 18th, 2014 10:35 am

    Does Simms HAVE to return? I like the new combo.

  4. Westside guy on April 18th, 2014 11:03 am

    Hmm… MrZ, I am not sure that the AL West is anywhere near the toughest division in baseball, or even in the American League. But while I am personally not bullish on this team, I think your overall point is a good one.

    A lot will depend on how they fare against the bad teams they’re about to face. Going 4-2 (or even 5-1) against the Marlins and Astros is what a decent team would expect to do.

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