Mariners Moose Tracks, 8/24/17: Rich Hill, Robinson Cano, and Lucas Giolito

Good morning everyone! Yesterday was an absolutely crazy day in baseball.

Rich Hill took a perfect game into the bottom of the ninth inning in a scoreless game. The Dodgers had not yet scored a run against the Pirates, putting Hill in a tough spot. The Pirates’ first batter in the ninth reached on an error to the third baseman Logan Forsythe, but Hill got out of the inning with the no-hitter still intact.

In the 10th inning, Hill gave up a walk-off home run and lost both the no-hitter and the game simultaneously.

People were furious about this game for a couple of reasons: first because Forsythe booted a ball that should have been an easy out, losing the perfecto for his teammate. Secondly because the world-beating Los Angeles offense couldn’t pull it out for Hill, a 37-year-old, injury prone lefty who will likely never throw another game like this in his life.

I wasn’t nearly as angry. Baseball is such a strange sport. Unfortunately things like this happen. But I hate to put blame on any particular person. I feel awful for Forsythe, who is likely going to wake up in a cold sweat every night for the next three years thanks to that play. I feel bad for Hill, who had the chance to carve his name into the history books. I feel bad for the Dodgers, who lost the game despite Hill’s efforts.

But I had friends tell me this game made them extremely upset. To me that’s a little silly unless you’re a Dodgers fan. Baseball is beautiful in a lot of ways. Often times its beauty is in its cruelty as well. Hill’s a tremendous pitcher and the Dodgers are a tremendous team. The stars just don’t align perfectly for the best teams and best players even if they should.

The good news for Mariners fans is that Felix Hernandez still has the most recent perfect game, and that’s pretty cool.

Now, onto the links for today.

In Mariners news...

• The Mariners have agreed to a deal with left-handed pitcher Ashur Tolliver, who I’ve never heard of but will probably throw 15 innings for Seattle in September.
• Robinson Cano is now tied with Babe Ruth on MLB’s all-time leaderboard for doubles.

In Mariners minors news...

• The AquaSox won in a close-fought 3-1 game against the Vancouver Canadians. Back-to-back jacks by Greifer Andrade and Onil Pena were the difference maker in the contest.
• The Modesto Nuts had a chance to seal a victory in the ninth inning but blew a save. Then the offense roared back to life in the 11th and the Nuts won 4-3 in an extra-inning thriller.
• The Clinton LumberKings won 1-0 thanks to a helluva start by Steven Ridings.

Around the league...

• Somehow the Twins have figured things out in time to compete in this crazy chase for the second wild card in the American League.
• Ian Kinsler was fined $10,000 for his remarks about Angel Hernandez.
• MLB Trade Rumors tried to figure out which players will be given a qualifying offer in the winter and which ones are likely to accept it.
• Albert Pujols is now the all-time leader in foreign-born home runs.
• Umpires and pitch tracking systems are occasionally at ends with one another. So who should prevail in this battle?
• Top pitching prospect Lucas Giolito made his debut with the White Sox the other day. South Side Sox broke down his performance.
• Nicky Delmonico, a rookie who has been sensational with Chicago this summer, once dealt with an Adderall addiction.
• Carter Capps might never be the same after adjusting his delivery to fit the league’s rules.
• Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal will require Tommy John surgery.
• Many Mariners fans panicked yesterday when word came out suggesting the Red Sox had acquired an outfielder via waivers. Instead of the target being Leonys Martin, it was Rajai Davis, who will head to Boston from Oakland.

Anders’ picks...

• Boston Celtics fans seem to think Isaiah Thomas is to blame for being traded, even though he had no say in the matter.