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Geoff Baker covers the Mariners for The Seattle Times. He provides daily coverage of the team throughout spring training, and during the season.
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Mariners' road trip: So far, so bad
Posted by Larry Stone
That was a big dud. The Mariners were completely dominated by the Dodgers, who showed what a big step up in class Seattle is making on this trip. There's no weak portions of the batting order, as with Arizona and San Diego.The Dodgers are tough one through eight -- and Clayton Kershaw even delivered an RBI single.
Just compare five through eight:
Hitting fifth, the Mariners have Franklin Gutierrez (.258, 7 homers, 25 RBI). The Dodgers have James Loney (.281-5-49).
Hitting sixth, the Mariners have Kenji Johjima (.239-3-10). The Dodgers have Russell Martin (.249-1-21 in a down year).
Hitting seventh, the Mariners have Wladimir Balentien (.231-3-9). The Dodgers have Andre Ethier (.268-14-49).
Hitting eighth, the Mariners have Ronny Cedeno (.121-2-7). The Dodgers have Matt Kemp (.312-9-40).
It's simply no contest. And while the Mariners' five through eight hitters were 0-for-13 with six strikeouts tonight, the Dodgers' five through eight hitters were 8-for-15 with six runs and six RBI. Ethier did most of that damage with three homers and six RBI, but Kemp also had three hits, including a double.
Wakamatsu, by the way, remembers Ethier attending his hitting school in Phoenix when he was a pre-teen. When I told Ethier that, he smiled.
"I'm surprised he remembers me, because I was probably 11 or 12 years old at that time,'' he said. "Maybe I should give a little credit to him for the coaching he gave me at those camps. Maybe he had some flashbacks sitting in the dugout.''
This is one the Mariners need to sweep under the rug and forget immediately. Having Felix Hernandez on the mound Saturday should help.
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
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