The Mariners lost to Baltimore 14-4 against all Sportsbook odds which showed Seattle as favorite to win the game on Tuesday; but despite the final score it was a game Seattle could have won. Down 5-4 in the eighth, the Mariners had the tying run on third base with no one out. Seattle didn't get the ball out of the infield.
It was a consistent problem all night, which reflects a problem the Mariners have had all season. In the third inning, the Mariners had runners on second and third with one out and didn't get either man home. In the sixth, the Mariners had the bases loaded with one out and were unable to score.
If Seattle can come through there, perhaps Baltimore's nine-run ninth inning have never come to pass. "We've got to find a way to get that run home," batting coach Jeff Pentland said. "Everything you do in baseball is to set up that situation (man on third, less than two out) as often as you can."
The Rangers are changing the look of their lineup. With designated hitter Phil Nevin in a deep May slump, the club called up hot-hitting, switch-hitting Jason Botts from Triple-A Oklahoma. Tremors were felt all throughout the lineup.
Hank Blalock, who was hitting fifth, Kevin Mench, who was hitting sixth and Mark DeRosa, who was hitting seventh, all move up one spot. Bott, who was hitting .455 over his previous 12 games at Oklahoma, will hit eighth for the time being.
"When somebody is struggling, you always want to put the best nine guys on the field," Nevin said. "Right now, these are who they feel are the best nine guys out there. So you handle it professionally, whether you feel it's the right thing to do. I learned my lesson last year. We have a good group of guys here and good chemistry, and I'm not going to do anything to affect that."
After a productive April, Nevin had fallen into a long slump. He was hitting just .145 for May, and just .118 for the month against right-handed pitching. Nevin also hadn't hit a home run in the month. Nevin sat out the three games played under National League rules at Houston over the weekend, but returned to the cleanup spot on Monday. He was hitless in four at-bats with a pair of strikeouts.
Ranger's general manager Jon Daniels said the club is not actively trying to trade Nevin, who is making $10 million this season and is in the final year of a contract. Since joining the Rangers from San Diego last year in a trade, Nevin is hitting only .209