Interesting day today for Ryan Rowland-Smith. He pitched in an exciting, interesting and close game, and did a pretty good job. The Mariners eventually lost the game in the 10th inning, but not before plenty of hits, runs, walks, lead changes, homers, and aggressive exchanges. There is a bit of friction developing between the Mariners and the Rangers, and Rowland-Smith was in the thick of it today. While this goes a bit beyond the 'OzMLBPlayers' theme, it is a story worth telling.
The game started out with the Mariners' ace Erik Bedard facing off against Rangers' veteran Vicente Padilla. So far this year Bedard has not really lived up to the expectations present when the M's acquired him from the Orioles at the end of 07. Padilla on the other hand has had a pretty solid start to the year, going 5-2 in his 9 starts compared to Bedard's 2-2 from 6 starts. The two last met on 7 May, and Padilla and the Rangers won in a close one, 2-0.
The day after Padilla held down the Mariners, the two teams met again. This time round, the game turned into somewhat of a brouhaha. In the fourth inning, 6'8" Mariner's firstbaseman Richie Sexson took offense to a bit of chin music from Rangers starter Kason Gabbard. Sexson charged the mound, smacked Gabbard in the back with his helmet, and then proceeded to tackle him, inciting a clearing of the benches. If you havent already seen the footage, check it out below:
Sexson was then ejected from the game, and has since been suspended for 6 games. The Rangers got the last laugh, going on to win 5-0. Obviously there has been a bit of tension caused by the fracas. During the game, Rangers shortstop Ramon Vazquez compiled 4 hits and 1 RBI from 5 at bats. Ryan Rowland-Smith pitched 3 good innings of relief. He gave up 3 hits and 1 run - one of the hits came off the bat of Ramon Vazquez, and drove in a run in the 6th inning. Vazquez was thrown out at 2nd though, trying to stretch a single into a double.
Fast forward to today, and we have Bedard and Padilla going at it again. Both Bedard and Padilla bled runs early today, with Bedard lasting only 2 and a bit innings. He gave up 6 runs over those 2 digs, before being replaced. Padilla went into the 6th inning, and gave up 6 runs. Ryan Rowland-Smith came on to pitch in the bottom of the 6th, after the Mariners tied it up at 6 all. He worked quicklym retiring Josh Hamilton on a liner to left, striking out Milton Bradley and also Brandon Boggs, using mostly fastballs to Bradley, and plenty of changeups to Boggs.
The Mariners didnt trouble the scorers in the top of the 7th, and RRS came out to face the Rangers in the bottom of the inning. Rangers catcher Gerald Laird caught everyone by surprise and made it to first on a bunt. Rangers first baseman Chris Shelton then sac bunted to advance Laird, with RRS throwing Shelton out at first. With one out, and the go-ahead runner in scoring position, Rangers rightfielder German Duran worked RRS to a full count, before drawing a walk.
Up steps Ramon Vazquez. Rowland-Smith opens with a changeup that misses for a ball. He then throws a wild pitch in the dirt, but somehow drew a swing out of Vazquez. The pitch gets away from catcher Kenji Johjima, and both runners advanced a base. Rowland-Smith threw another changeup, but missed again, taking the count to 2-1. He went to the curve for a called strike, taking the count to 2-2, before missing with the changeup again. On the full count, RRS relied on the changeup yet again, and took down Vazquez as he swung and missed at the pitch for the second out.
Rowland-Smith, fondly referred to by some of his teammates as a 'bulldog' on the mound, pumped his fist in satisfaction at getting his man. This didnt go down too well with Vazquez, who voiced his anger towards Rowland-Smith. Apparently Rowland-Smith had a bit of a nibble back at Vazquez, and tensions were raised, as the homeplate umpire moved to prevent Vazquez from taking things further. It is not known exactly what was said, but perhaps Rowland-Smith was advising Vazquez that the last pitch was a better one to swing at than the one in the dirt earlier.
Anyways, Rowland-Smith was then taken out of the game, as a right handed hitter came up. The Rangers ended up scoring 4 runs in the 7th to seemingly put the game out of reach. However, the Mariners bounced back in the 8th to score 2, and take it to 10-8. But, the Rangers scored another 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th, to go to 12-8. In the top of the 9th, Rangers closer CJ Wilson allowed 1 run, but then had the M's at two out, with two on. Kenji Johjima stepped up, and promptly found himself down in the count 0-2. He then dispatched a high fastball into the left field stand, to bring home 3 runs, and take the game to extra innings, silencing the raucous Arlington crowd.
In the end, Vasquez and the Rangers got the last laugh, hitting a solo shot in the bottom of the 10th to end the game. So the rivalry continues...
Rowland-Smith's line for the day:
1.2 IP, 1 hit, 2 runs, neither of them earned, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts.
No comments:
Post a Comment