Seattle Mariners: 3 Things We Learned Last Night In Seattle

The Mariners went into yesterday’s home series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays with the chance to be in good standing for a Wild Card Spot if they swept. Well, a sweep is no longer in the cards. In fact, the Mariners now must win tonight to ensure they don’t lose the series. If they lose one or both of the next games, the M’s could sit as far back as five games (depending on how the Baltimore Orioles play).

It was the kind of game where the Mariners were beaten up statistically and physically. The 3-2 score-line doesn’t due justice to how the game actually played out.

All game long the M’s struggled to reach base. The M’s didn’t take a bag until Robinson Cano drew a walk in the fourth inning. They would get their first hit when Cano singled in the seventh.

But, it wasn’t just an offensive struggle for the Mariners. Here are three things we learned in the unfortunate 3-2 loss.

Walker Was Roughed Up

Sure, you could look at his line-score and think, “this was a tough outing for Walker”. And you’re right, it was. But he also faced some unforgiving physical pain that help inflate his numbers because his game was off.

In the first inning, after easily striking out the first two Blue Jays batters, Walker took a liner off the

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arm. It was a come-backer that drilled the Mariner pitcher square the forearm. The sound of the ricochet was so loud, you could hear it in the seats.

This was the first of a handful of times Walker would need to be examined by the team’s trainer. In the third, as Walker was fielding a swinging bunt, he miss-planted his foot and slipped slightly on the throw to first, causing irritation in the groin area.

In the fourth, on a nearly identical play, Walker would slip again, re-aggravating the previous irritation. As a result of both plays, the Mariners medical staff would check on the right-hander.

Throughout the night you could tell the injuries had their affect. Due to the location of the damage, Walker could not properly use his newly worked on mechanics.

Because of the groin pull, Walker couldn’t make a complete turn during each pitch, as he did so well in his last outing. Therefore, he also couldn’t get enough power behind his pitches.

Hopefully Walker heals up well because the M’s will need him in the next series when they face the Minnesota Twins.

More Mariners Feel The Pain

Aside from just Walker taking hits for the M’s, the rest of the lineup faced their own problems as well. Most of the pain (and near pain) came in the fourth.