The M’s bats come alive, beat Royals 11-6

Okay, okay.  So I was wrong.  I guess John Bale was the perfect remedy for the Mariners’ struggling offense, as they battered him for seven hits and five innings over three innings on their way to racking up 13 hits (and six walks) and scored a season high in runs to beat the Royals 11-6.

Jose Lopez celebrated Tax Day by lofting three sacrifice flies, tying a major league record,  giving him 13 RBIs so far in 14 April games.  While no Mariner went yard, the M’s doubled the Royals to death, hitting six over all, including two in the fifth inning in which the Mariners combined three hits and three walks to score four runs and put the game out of reach.  The offensive explosion helped Miguel Batista pick up his first win of the season, despite Miguel laboring to make it through five innings, allowing seven hits and four runs.  However, the most celebratory performance of the evening might have been by the M’s bullpen, with Sean Green, Arthur Rhodes and Mark Lowe combining to toss three scoreless innings.

The M’s head off to Oakland for a quick two game series against the A’s, a team that the Mariners took 14 out of 19 games against last year.  Currently sitting atop the AL West, the M’s have Oakland squarely in their sights and need to take advantage of this series.  And tonight’s pitching match-up will definitely help the Mariners have an advantage, with Felix taking the hill against the team’s arch nemesis,  A’s ace Joe Blanton.

Both pitchers have enjoyed success against the opposing teams.  Felix has won five of seven decisions, with a 2.29 ERA in 51 innings tossed against Oakland.  Joe Blanton, meanwhile, has won seven of ten decisions, with a 3.07 ERA in 82 innings against Seattle.  The erstwhile ace of the Oakland staff was dominating against the M’s a couple years back, winning all four match-ups in 2006 while holding the M’s to just five runs over 29 innings.  The Mariners got some token of revenge last season, however, when they took two of three decisions from Blanton, while scoring 14 runs in 28 innings.  Despite Yuniesky and Ichiro combining to hit .361 in 61 at-bats against Blanton, Joe has neutralized the M’s power bats as Beltre, Sexson and Ibanez have combined to hit .192 with eight extra base hits in 104 at-bats.

Although Felix has the obvious edge in a match-up against Blanton, the M’s have struggled to provide the young King with dependable offensive support, and Blanton has a history of shutting the M’s offense down.  My pick is going to be with Oakland on this one, squeezing out a 3-2 victory.