April 12; Mariners 8 Angels 3

Another eight run effort gives the Mariners a chance at a sweep today.

Boxscore.

The Good
Richie Sexson had a very good game hitting his second home run of the season off of Jon Garland in the fifth. He went 2-4 adding a single to his home run. He also a a couple of RBI's. Although he did leave three men on base. Coming up on two weeks in the season and Sexson has two homeruns. I guess it could be worse, but how much better do we need it? He's hitting .244 so far this season, which is an improvement. I keep having to remind myself that it's only two weeks in to the season. Raul Ibanez also hit a homerun, his fifth of the season in the eighth inning. He also went 2-4, adding a triple, something almost unheard of for the sluggish Ibanez. He drove in three and walked once. He only left one man on base. Adrian Beltre had a nice 2-5 showing, hitting a pair of doubles, but struck out twice and left three runners on base. Jose Lopez went 2-5 and scored a couple runs. Yuniesky Betancourt also went 2-4 and scored a run.

Carlos Silva gave the Mariners a solid eight innings of work, allowing three runs on eleven hits. He walked only one, but didn't srtike out any. He did give up a homerun though. Silva is now 2-0 on the season, and has done well so far. His 3.27 ERA to start the season looks somewhat promising. Sean Green didn't blow it in the ninth for the Mariners, holding the Angels to one hit while walking and striking out one. Overall a very good performance from the Mariners pitchers. Only one inning didn't from the relievers is very nice. I'd like to see the 12 hits go down, but the two only let in three, and the Mariners won, so I'm not going to be picky.

The fielding was solid. No errors, and three double plays were turned. Ichiro also had an outfield assist.

The Bad
Ichiro's 1-5 performance isn't bad, but it is closer to bad then good. He struck out once as well. Not very Ichiro-like. He's off to a slow start with a .269 AVG. Ichiro has a nice five year deal now, so there isn't the pressure to perform. He'll probably turn a .300 AVG by the end of this season. It would be nice to see him get over the .350 mark, even nicer to get over .400 and enter Ted Williams territory, but that's a pipedream. Or is it?

Kenji Johjima is off to a terrible start, after being regarded as one of the top offensive catchers in baseball. He had a 1-4 day, which helped him improve his season average to .118. Not what I'd expect from Joh to start the season, with his impending free agency, and the fact that Clement is ready to take over for him.

The Ugly
Brad Wilkerson. Those two words say it all. He did get a hit, but went 1-4, and left three men on base, and struck out once. He's only hitting .161 on the season, and has shown little to know power. I'm not saying that I expected a .400 AVG and 40 HR, but I have no confidance in him right now. He hasn't proved anything to me yet, so why should I?