Mariners Game Recap: Shoemaker Shuts Down M’s in Anaheim

Matt Shoemaker was in a groove through his 7 innings on the mound tonight forcing the Mariners to a series split versus the Los Angeles Angels.

Robinson Cano did his best in his first plate appearance, taking the first pitch he saw from the Angels starter deep. The one run in the 1st would only be half of the Mariners run support on the night, an unusual occurrence when Hisashi Iwakuma is on the mound, who has gotten nearly 6 runs of help in his outings on average.

The M’s would give up 2 runs in the bottom half of the frame as Iwakuma struggled early, surrendering 2 hits,1 walk and the lead. The M’s would never get back on top this evening, but would have chances later in the ball game to make some noise, only to be drowned out by Shoemaker’s excellence.

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By the 5th inning both pitches had settled in and retired a string of batters each with very little harm throughout that span. The M’s would have their shot to change the momentum of the game in the 5th by putting 2 runners in scoring position following an unusual missed tag play that was challenged and lost by Angels Manager, Mike Scioscia. But to no avail, Leonys Martin and Mike Zunino would be stranded.

Jett Bandy of the Angels would spoil Iwakuma’s night and capitalize when the Mariners couldn’t by hitting a home run that was nearly identical to his screaming line drive solo shot on Tuesday. Bandy’s 8th homer of the season- a quarter of those coming against the M’s- padded the Angels lead to 3-1.

The M’s would answer back in the top half of the 6th, when their home run leader, Nelson Cruz crushed his 31st long bomb of the year. The two homers from the M’s studs were part of only a handful of hits they could pick out versus the right-hander all night. Shoemaker would finish with a line of 7IP, 5H, 2ER, 2BB, 5K.

The Mariners would have another golden opportunity in the 8th to tie it up- this time facing the bullpen- only to miss out once more. Nori Aoki reached second on a double that ricocheted off Andrelton Simmons knee with no outs. By the end of the inning, Aoki would be no closer to home plate then he had been with a goose egg in the out column, adding another missed chance to the M’s list.

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After an explosive performance versus the recently hittable M’s bullpen that brought in 3 runs in the bottom portion of the 8th, the game was nearly out of reach. The score was 6-2. An Albert Pujols 2-RBI double was the highlight of that frame. It was his 94th and 95th RBI’s on the season, bringing him 5 shy of the century mark, a milestone which he has only hit 2 times in the past 5 years.

The Mariners did add a couple of useless runs in the 9th via a Zunino 2-run shot over the taller wall at Angel Stadium, but it wasn’t enough to overcome their deficit. The 6-4 loss meant the teams would split the 4-game series.

Next: M’s Come Overcome Early Deficit vs. Halos

The Mariners begin their next series tomorrow against the Milwaukee Brewers back at Safeco Field during the highly anticipated Star Wars weekend. They will need the force to be with them if they want to continue to slim the gap in the Wild Card race.