Mariners chase Darvish early...

Mariners chase Darvish early, beat Rangers

By Geoff Baker / The Seattle Times
Tuesday, May 22, 2012 

SEATTLE — Six walks is usually something the Mariners spend two or three games trying to compile.

And yet, there they were just three-plus innings into Monday night’s clash with Yu Darvish having already piled up a half-dozen freebies. The Mariners took full advantage of the goodwill by one of baseball’s better pitchers and turned an expected mound duel into a 6-1 laugher over the Texas Rangers.

Darvish was forced from the mound just four innings into the game, leaving Felix Hernandez as the last ace standing in front of 18,672 fans at Safeco Field. Hernandez had been blown out of a prior start in Cleveland last week, but had far better command this time in notching seven strikeouts over eight innings of one-run ball for the victory.

Hernandez didn’t allow a run until Mitch Moreland led off the eighth inning with a home run to center. Ian Kinsler then singled to left on Hernandez’s 103rd pitch and his night seemed down to a final batter
in Elvis Andrus with Josh Hamilton on deck and a left-hander warming up in the bullpen.
But Hernandez got Andrus to ground one back his way to begin a 1-6-3 double play. That earned Hernandez the right to face Hamilton and he dispatched him with his seventh and final strikeout.
Hernandez had offensive help from unusual sources.
Not only did the Mariners—running the sixth-lowest walk rate in all of baseball at 7.2 percent coming in—manage to walk their way on base seven times total, but they also saw Ichiro drive in some runners. Ichiro opened the scoring in the first inning with a triple down the right-field line to score Michael Saunders after a one-out walk.
It was the first run batted in for Ichiro in a week and his first RBI on a hit since May 8. Darvish survived further damage that inning by finishing it off with a pair of strikeouts.
But he got himself right back in trouble again in the third inning by issuing a walk to Dustin Ackley after a leadoff single by Brendan Ryan to move a runner into scoring position. Saunders hit into a force-out at third, but then Ichiro lined a single to center to make it 2-0.
But the fun didn’t stop for the Mariners on the play as center fielder Hamilton tried to nab Ackley going from first to third on the play. The throw was air-mailed about 10 feet over the head of third baseman Adrian Beltre and into the Texas dugout.
Another run scored on the error to make it 3-0 while Ichiro took third, having secured his first multi-RBI game since May 5. Jesus Montero then drove a ball to deep center for a sacrifice fly that brought Ichiro home with Seattle’s fourth run.
Darvish just couldn’t stop walking people, though, and it eventually drove him from the contest. He opened the fourth inning by walking the first three batters he faced to load the bases and then Ackley hit a single to right field to make it 5-0.
The Mariners couldn’t add on from there as Darvish escaped on two fielder’s choice force-outs at home and a strikeout on Kyle Seager. But the damage was done and Darvish was pulled after the inning ended, his pitch count bulging at 96.
In two starts against the Mariners, Darvish has now lasted just 92/3 combined innings while giving up nine earned runs for an 8.38 earned-run average with 10 walks allowed. Against all other teams, Darvish has compiled a 1.94 ERA.
Jesus Montero closed out Seattle’s scoring in the seventh by doubling to left field off reliever Yoshinori Tateyama. That brought Seager home after he had reached base with a two-out walk—the seventh free pass issued to the Mariners on the night.