California League action: High Desert Mavericks drop 4-0 lead, lose 5-4

In single-A action yesterday, the High Desert Mavericks, the M’s affiliate in the Class A California League, stormed out to a quick 4-0 lead against the Padres’ affiliate Lake Elsinore storm.  The first five batters reached in the Storm’s bottom half of the fifth inning, however, against Mavericks starter Keith Renaud.

Renaud has yet to go further than five innings or given up less than three earned runs in a start so far this season, and is now sporting a 7.58 in 19 innings over four starts.  Despite limiting opposing batters to a .232 with just 16 hits allowed, a lack of control has done Renaud in, evidenced by a 17:12 walk-to-strikeout ratio.  To little surprise, a lead-off walk got things rolling for the Storm in their big five-run fifth innings yesterday.

Three players picked up two hits for the Mavericks:  Carlos Triunfel went 2-for3 to raise his average up to .119; Carlos Peguero also went 2-for-3 with a couple RBI and is now batting .316 with an .843 OPS on the young season; and Greg Halman also went 2-for-3.  All base hits went for singles, however, as the four Lake Elsinore limited the Mavericks to just eight scattered singles for the game.

Although the loss was the Mavericks’ fourth in a row, it brought them into a first place tie in the Cal League Southern Division.  Hopefully the Mavericks can right their ship in the second game of the three-game series at Lake Elsinore.

Welcome Back, J.J.!

Ah, such a sight it is to see the goatee’d Big Plug come out from the bullpen to preserve a 4-2 lead.  Just imagine what J.J.’s impact would’ve been on that series at Camden in a couple of weeks back, and where the M’s would be in the standings right now.

So with the return of J.J. Putz from the disabled list, that means no more “closer by committee.”  No more ice-water vein stare downs, with M’s fans chewing their nails down to nubs.  No more fill-in closers walking the bases loaded before hitting the showers.  No more Eric O’Flaherty.  No more (hopefully) sure wins slip from the M’s grasp.  Nope, with the return of J.J.- as well as Brandon Morrow, and Erik Bedard’s expected weekend return- the Mariners’ biggest strength, its pitching staff, will be at full strength very shortly.

Of course, that strength has little say over the influence of the team’s offense, as Felix knows all too well.  Although he didn’t pitch a dominating ballgame in a losing effort last night, for the third time in five starts, Felix pitched well enough to win but walked away with a no decision.  In those three no-decisions, Felix struck out 16 batters in 22 innings while allowing three runs- two earned- for a 0.82 ERA.  But the M’s managed to score all of 10 runs in those three games, dropping two of them.

The M’s bats struggled against Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie in last night’s game, managing only five hits.  But they made those hits count, as Jose Vidro actually managed to deliver a clutch two-out bases-loaded single to drive in the go-ahead two runs in the eighth inning.  Now Guthrie and Oriole fans know what it feels like to pitch a dominating effort in a losing cause.

With the win- and a loss by both Oakland and Los Angeles last night- the M’s inch up a game in the standings.  The M’s will try to make it three in a row tonight, as they send Carlos Silva to the mound against Daniel Cabrera.  Silva is looking to remain undefeated in four decisions, as he is fresh from a dominating seven-inning, one-run outing in a 8-1 victory over the A’s.  In his only start against the Orioles this year, Silva allowed four runs in seven innings, including a two-run home run to Melvin Mora, and while he avoided picking up the loss, the bullpen coughed up the game as Baltimore won by a 5-4 score.

Silva was matched up against Cabrera in that start, and despite the Oriole right hander allowing four walks and home runs to Ichiro and Raul Ibanez, Cabrera managed to escape further damage as he limited the M’s to just four runs in six innings, giving the Orioles a chance to come back and win the game.  Over his last two starts- against the mighty Yankees and the perplexing Rays- Cabrera has allowed three runs in nearly 13 innings, allowing just five walks compared to nine allowed in his first two starts of the season.  Cabrera has also found Safeco to his liking, as he is undefeated in three decisions while allowing just 30 base runners in 27 innings.

This will be a close one, but I’m skeptical of the M’s winning streak to continue.  I’m calling for the Orioles to come out on top, by a 6-5 score.