Royals Rain Runs on Mariners, Ruin Their Fun

Winning is more fun than not winning. The first two games of Spring Training were quite a bit of fun. Today, the weather and the game outcome weren’t so sunny. Instead of dwelling on the negative, I’d like to keep the positive vibes of spring going, so we’re going to look on the bright side of today’s 14-3 not win.

Casey Stengel famously said, “There are three things you can do in a baseball game. You can win, or you can lose, or it can rain.” Today, the Mariners accomplished two of the three. Their game outcome batting average isn’t too bad.

Yovani Gallardo had the start for the Mariners. We can all agree it’s unfair to have to work on your birthday, right? With that in mind, we can hardly blame him for getting his work done in one inning and taking the rest of the day off. He was supposed to bring veteran presents to his thirty-first birthday. Instead, he brought thirty-five pitches, which he doled out for four runs in the first inning. His strategy is a little questionable considering he’s only scheduled to make two starts before joining Team Mexico for the World Baseball Classic.

Nick Vincent followed with a quick second inning in which he struck out two batters and threw only two balls. Marc Rzepczynski had his first outing of the spring and it was a little rough. His job in the regular season will be to face lefties, so the right-handed heavy Royals starters aren’t the best gauge of what he’s capable of. The two lefties he did face reached base, so we’ll chalk that up to a small sample size. Jonathan Aro and Dan Altavilla followed with 1-2-3 innings. Rob Whalen’s appearance was marred by tricky defense in the wet weather.

On the offensive end, a question coming into the season is how well Jean Segura will hit. He went 3 for 3 today, a triple short of a cycle. Here’s video of his home run in the second inning:

Jarrod Dyson in the leadoff spot reached base on a first inning single and scored on Segura’s double. Ben Gamel wasn’t happy with the accolades bestowed upon Guillermo Heredia in the first two games. He had a single in his only at bat and ended the game with a diving catch.

The game was mercifully called after seven innings due to rain.

Notes:

• This is my first ever game recap. Please be kind! Remember, it’s Spring Training for recappers too. (It is also Spring Training for hackneyed sayings.)
• If you are a fan of the letter Z, today’s game must have been a thrill for you. Marc Rzepczynski and the Royal’s Jonathan Dziedzic both made relief appearances.
• Our old friend Jason Vargas got the start for the Royals. Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Kyle Seager are the only current Mariners to have been on the roster during Vargas’ time with the team. His last season was 2012, which speaks to the turnover since Jerry Dipoto has taken over.
• Mariners hitters only drew two walks today (Seager and Mike Zunino). Walking is the best thing you can do in baseball, so that alone probably explains the loss.
• Eric Hosmer struck out in the third inning, but reached base on a wild pitch. It’s one of those baseball oddities I get a kick out of.

The Mariners wrap up February tomorrow at 12:05 against the Chicago White Sox.