Harang's gem overshadowed

Harang's gem overshadowed by A's walk-off homer

The Mariner's right-hander credited his strong outing to an ability to mix in his curveball and changeup effectively, an encouraging carryover from his last outing against Tampa Bay that ended a stretch of poor starts.

"When you can throw it for strikes and also throw it for a put-away pitch, it makes them have something else to worry about. When you can throw a couple different pitches around the zone and get strikes, and also throw chase pitches, it makes it a lot harder for them to start guessing and just sit on one pitch"

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The Mariner's veteran pitcher talked about the things he does when he's not on the mound in order to keep perspective and balance during what can be a very grueling and taxing baseball schedule.

"It's a long season, so yeah, I do have certain hobbies that I enjoy. They help pass the time. I have this precious stone that I like to keep with me in the dugout on off days. When there's a break in the action or a pitching change or whatever, I'll take it out of my pocket and polish it with a very soft, very fine cloth. I think it's microfiber. Tonight I noticed after finishing my shower that my stone was in a dark corner of the clubhouse. You could hardly see it. I don't know who put it there, but it needs to be in the light. I sparkles and looks really neat when it's in the light."

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Seattle's workhorse spoke on his burgeoning skills in the kitchen as a baker of pastries. He credited his time spent in the kitchen as a positive influence on his ability to relax and stay focused in the heat of competition.

"I've really taken a liking to muffins, to be honest with you. There's just something about them that appeals to me. I'm a bit of an old-school guy, so I like to call them gems, actually. Back in the day, the Gem Company made baking and cooking supplies. Their muffin tins were the best around, and really popular, and so people of my grandmother's generation would call their muffins gems. It's like Jello and gelatin, that sort of thing. I got my hands on a vintage gem tin and so I call my muffins gems, too. It just feels right—I'm sorry, could you move over a little bit? I know you're taking notes for a story but I think he's trying to take a picture of my baked goods and you're blocking the flash on his camera."

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The M's strike-thrower opened up about a new purchase he had made recently, expressing excitement for the off-season when he could work on and use his unique contraption.

"It's just something for me, you know? I've worked really hard to pitch in this league as long as I have. I've earned some good money along the way and this is just something like a reward to myself. It's a ground-effect machine, yeah, a hovercraft, that's what most people would call it. It's the real deal, compresses air between the vehicle and the ground, just kind of floats there and all that. I can't wait, man. I can't wait to get it out from under the roofed, open-air storage space where I'm keeping it and really let the new paint job shine under the sun. I'm going to shoot so many ducks from that thing."