Game Thread: ALDS Game 1

[D-train]

Fuck Robbie Ray, comeback complete, rather have Boyd

Leftie Leftie matchup. As usual makes sense but we have rode our luck in the postseason and this might be the moment it goes against us.

And that is playoff baseball. Sometimes you sense a decision however logical is just a stupid thing to do. The series is probably gone in that one decision. 1 up and we might have a chance, this will wipe out the heart and soul from a team that absolutely dominated that game.

Or they respond like champions and win tomorrow......

[D-train]

That feels like the end of the season there.

So did June 19th....

[D-train]

I'm not knocking Sewald here. He is what he is, which is a useful tool, but limited. But broadly, I think we're seeing the limitations of this bullpen. It's a great bullpen for the regular season, but lacking the elite arms for the postseason.

Paul Sewald now has pitched twice this postseason and has an ERA of 40.50

Erik Swanson with a 1.68 ERA .91 WHIP and 11.7 Ks per 9 on the season has pitched ZERO times.

[D-train]

Seworse hasn't done his job in months. So why did anyone think he was going to do it there? I don't get why anyone is surprised he sucked.

Meanwhile Swanson and his 1.68 ERA and .91 WHIP rots in the pen.....

[D-train]

Yeah, in that case, who? Swanson? In hindsight Ray was a bad move, but the moves made weren't the problem, sorry, at what point do we expect players making a shit ton of money to make plays? This isn't Bobby Ayala blowing lead after lead, this is a bullpen that was set up for this, or so they thought. Over use? What? Why are they average now? Seems like the Cubs and Dodgers in recent memory have made playoff game five inning events with some serious powerhouses in the bullpen. Wasn't that what we thought we had? At least until a few weeks ago?

Ray just pitched Saturday, I didn't even think he would be available. If they were obsessed with a lefty, (which is absurd given Alvarez' splits) Boyd has a 1.35 ERA and a sub 1.00 WHIP this season and has also rotted in the pen the entire post season....

[D-train]

The biggest problem with the bullpen was Munoz having to face 6 batters meaning the top of the order came up again.

And he gave up two runs to boot.

Yep, when your best reliever screws up, then its hard to put it on the Manager for mismanaging the game. He does his job, then Seawald faces hitters 5-8.

Everybody deserves the blame. When pitchers fail, Scott can't just say, F it I am going to teach these guys a lesson, I am going to put in a guy that just got shelled 3 days ago back in for the most critical AB in 21 years...

[D-train]

Here is the problem with Munoz. Guy throws 103mph near world record velo yet suddenly throws his slider 2/3 of the time vs. 29% of the time last season. Guess what pitch Bregman hit?

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[D-train]

Here's where Sewald went wrong. It's his second batter, so you can't pull him after this AB, but obviously he has no command here. The basic Sewald playbook is fastballs up - sliders down, but you see the first pitch was a slider and he couldn't get it near the plate. Probably should have tried again, but instead Cal calls fastball, probably to make sure the count doesn't go out of control, and that seems to work. Sewald's 4-seamer is fairly high spin and moves both down and in to a right-handed batter so these fastballs in the middle of the plate aren't the end of the world exactly. But pitch number 6 is another slider and is just too far in off the plate to get a swing. Now the count is 3-2 and here comes pitch #7, a fastball middle-in that gets fouled off and then Sewald hits the rookie.

But then he got Altuve out so you've got two outs with a runner on, which is a manageable situation. In my view, since Altuve was his third batter, SS should have pulled Sewald at that point and brought in a fresh arm to pitch to Pena. I had a similar thought about Sewald's bad inning the other day vs. Toronto. It's not so much that he was terrible, but that he was just left out there too long when he was clearly struggling. The rule is 3 batters. That DOES NOT mean the reliever has to complete the inning.

If you have a 2 run lead in the 9th, give up a HR before you give up a walk. DO NOT PUT THE TYING RUN TO BAT FOR FREE!!!! That just pissed me off to no end. Make him hit the fucking ball.

Absolutely. Completely insane they went with the two guys that sucked Saturday over two totally rested guys that were lights out this season and haven't thrown a pitch this entire post season.

Current ERAs
Sewald: 2 games 40.50
Ray: 2 games 15.00
Swanson: DNP (1.68 in the reg season)
Boyd: DNP (1.35 in the reg season)

Just mind numbing stat lines.....

[D-train]

I’d rather have Bobby Ayala come out of retirement than use Ray again in a crucial situation this series.

I just don't understand why he threw fastballs to one of the best pure hitters in the game. I mean, at least throw a fucking slider since that's supposed to be your signature pitch that helped you win the Cy Young.

That's the biggest problem. That is not the time to c challenge someone with a fastball, especially 2 pitches in a row

I wouldn't be surprised to see a Chicago Black Sox type investigation....Check Ray's bank account for wire transfers to sports books....and bets on the Astros.

[D-train]

That loss is unspeakably painful.

We win we beat their ace and have ours going For game #2.

What a shitty way to lose it.

Yeah, a win would have set the Ms up beautifully, and they were so close to pulling it off. Terrible loss. Just needed that 27th out.

But, on the positive side, the Ms still have their ace going for game 2, and if Castillo pitches like he did versus Toronto, then the Mariners have a good chance of getting right back into the series. Then they can go with Kirby for game 3 in front of the home crowd. The Astros are a tough challenge, but it's not impossible for the Ms to win the next two games and set up a rematch between Verlander and Gilbert on Sunday in Seattle for a chance to win 3 in a row and advance to the LCS.

This loss was as shitty as losses get, but being down 1-0 in a series can be overcome. Let's see how the Mariners respond. There might still be some more Mariner magic left this season!

Yep it is possible that we still win this believe it or not and it is also possible that if we win last night the Astro would have then won 3 straight so....