May 5: Here Come The Mariners, A's Salvage Series, Rangers Avoid Sweep

The Mariners have one of the best records in the AL over the last 10 games. Insert maritime reference to "righting the ship" here. Scores and boxes below, notes and links if you Read More.

Mariners 11, Angels 3

After losing the first game at home, the Mariners took two in a row and the series from the Angels, powered in part by strong performances from two young players: right fielder Ben Gamel and starting pitcher Ariel Miranda. 

The Angels pitching staff that held together (for the most part) in April blew apart last night, with Alex Meyer giving up six runs in four innings and Daniel Wright giving up five in four innings.

The box

Athletics 8, Twins 5 

Jharel Cotton, who has struggled since a dominating performance in Kansas City on April 10, dominated again last night in a 9-strike performance that allowed the A's to avoid the sweep in Minneapolis.

The box

Rangers 10, Astros 4

A.J. Griffin and his hair came off the DL and give the Rangers what they (in part) needed: a strong starting pitching performance.

The Astros need another ace starting pitcher, ya'll. Just saying.

The box

Astros (19-10)

Still the best team in the AL even with the loss. They didn't manage the sweep of the Rangers, but the Astros certainly established in the first leg of the Lone Star Series that they are not the little brother team in Texas, anymore. Joe Musgrove struggled yesterday, and starting pitching remains an issue that many people in Houston think the Astros need to address. Then again,. the Astros have "Ground Control" and data so good that the St. Louis Cardinals hacked it. One feels they know what they are doing.

Here's an example of what people are saying about the pitching issue in south Texas. 

Angels (15-15)

As noted above, the patchwork pitching staff caught up to the Angels last night. Alex Meyer never really looked comfortable  before he looked really bad in what amounted to a tryout for a rotation spot. The Angels will open this weekend's important series against the Astros with Jesse Chavez and then J.C. Ramirez on the mound. You know who is pitching tonight for the Astros.

No need to panic, but Mike Trout took the night off due to hamstring tightness. 

Mariners (13-16)

Yes, still three games under .500. But the Mariners have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games and it feels, on some nights, like a turnaround is happening. With Ben Gamel playing well, that batting order looks formidable as we pointed out yesterday. The stars seem aligned with the struggling Rangers coming to town. The Mariners swept the Rangers April 14-16.

Mariners fans are starting to get that winning feeling again.

Athletics (12-16)

I've liked Jharel Cotton since watching him pitch that game against the Royals. A screwball? How unusual. How Oakland A's. Even Pedro Martinez thinks the guy is good. Cotton may have been pitching to remain in the rotation against the Twins on Thursday, and he passed the test.  However, Frankie Montas, another young guy with great potential, continued to struggle.

Who should hit leadoff? Thinking Man Bob Melvin still has not answered this question. But I don't question Bob Melvin. This guy argues Stephen Vogt is the key to the A's young, full-of-potential pitching staff.

Rangers (12-17)

Sweep avoided! But Rangers fans getting up today had to feel a bit beaten up - the Astros really took it to them and now they fly to the Pacific Northwest for a series against a team that swept them there in April.

Nothing demonstrates the testy tone of the Rangers vs. Astros thing better than this column from the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. Somewhat related: a very underrated alternative band back in the 1980s wrote a song about hanging out, reading the Star-Telegram. Beat that, Dallas Morning News.

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