AL West: Hapless in Seattle

Baseball Betting Lines

06/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The good news is the Seattle Mariners have been able to score some runs here and there.

The bad news is they enter play Tuesday cemented in last place in the American League West, eight games back of the first-place Oakland Athletics. Seattle is also 5 1/2 games behind the third-place Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Mariners are no doubt happy to turn the page on May, a month that began with a six-game losing streak and ended with three straight defeats. Those three straight losses have underscored the fact that Seattle has managed to score at least four runs in five of its last six games. Of course, with interleague play set to begin next weekend, the M's pitchers will now be taking their hacks as part of baseball's least intimidating lineup.

Manager Don Wakamatsu sent a message with a bullpen shakeup following Monday's 5-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Relievers Kanekoa Texeira (5.30 ERA) and Jesus Colome (5.29) were designated for assignment after both had some major control issues in Sunday's 9-7 loss to the Angels. In their place, the team recalled left-hander Garrett Olson and right-hander Sean White from Triple-A Tacoma.

The move gives Wakamatsu added flexibility with a bullpen that has been stretched thin. According to a report on the team's website, the M's bypassed Triple-A prospects Luke French (1.76 ERA) and Steven Shell (3.00) so they could continue their development as starters rather than be thrust into a big league bullpen role.

In terms of the lineup, Wakamatsu has stopped relying on Ken Griffey Jr. (.184) and Casey Kotchman (.192) in everyday roles, instead giving more opportunities to Mike Sweeney (6 HR) and Michael Saunders. After only two months of play, it seems the M's manager has tried just about everything to jumpstart his team. Still, he's not about to give up now.

"Sometimes guys get to a point where they're pressing so much that they just give up," Wakamatsu told the Seattle Times. "And all of a sudden, there's a freedom in that. Where you stop the pressing."

NO CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION IN ANAHEIM

The mob-scene celebrations at home plate following a walk-off home run have become commonplace these days in Major League Baseball. But that has begun to change after Angels' star first baseman Kendry Morales broke his ankle in one of those celebratory scrums following his walk-off grand slam against Seattle on Saturday.

Morales was leading the team in batting average (.290), home runs (11), total bases (94) and RBI (39). He was expected to undergo surgery on Sunday, but that procedure was pushed back a week because of a high level of swelling in his fractured left ankle. He will be out of the lineup indefinitely.

"When you lose a player of Kendry's status, much like when we lost Torii Hunter and Vlad Guerrero last year, the players around them have to play at a certain level to absorb and create the production," manager Mike Scioscia said.

On Sunday, less than 24 hours after Morales' freak injury, Howard Kendrick belted a walk-off home run in a 9-7 win against the Mariners. This time around, Scioscia had put in place some guidelines for post-game celebrations. There was still a celebration at the plate, but the players waited on the grass, and there was no wild pileup.

"We were just trying to be careful that time," Hunter said. "When I saw (Kendrick) hit the home run, I saw him running around the bases and I saw everybody running out. I'm like, 'Calm down! Calm down! Wait, let him touch the plate.' And I was screaming, 'Two-jump minimum!'"

RANGERS TRYING TO STOP THE BLEEDING

Thanks to a four-game skid, the Texas Rangers (26-24) have lost their grip on the AL West lead. But that's not all they've lost.

Adding to the team's frustration is the addition of starting pitcher Derek Holland to the disabled list with a mild case of left rotator cuff inflammation. Holland (2-1, 4.19), who exited Sunday's start after 43 pitches, is expected to be shut down for about a week before he begins throwing again.

According to assistant general manager Thad Levine, the team will likely bring up Triple-A reliever Pedro Strop until Saturday, when a starter will be called up to fill Holland's spot in the rotation. That call is expected to go to right-hander Tommy Hunter, although he struggled in Monday's start for Oklahoma City, allowing five runs on 10 hits in five innings of work. Hunter is 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA in six starts with Oklahoma City this season.

In other injury news, right fielder Nelson Cruz was sent to the DL on Saturday with a torn left hamstring. He is eligible to return June 13, at which time the team hopes he can rejoin the lineup. The Rangers can ill-afford an extended period without Cruz, who was hitting .327 with 10 homers and 34 RBI in 32 games. The injury occurred while he was legging out a ground ball against the Royals on Wednesday. He was already on the DL this season from April 27-May 14 with a strained right hamstring.

A'S MISSING PRODUCTION FROM LEFT SIDE OF INFIELD

The Oakland Athletics (28-24) hold a slim one-game lead atop the AL West, despite very little production lately from third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff or shortstop Cliff Pennington.

Pennington was given the day off this past Thursday, breaking up a string of 92 consecutive starts dating back to last season. He entered Thursday in an 0- for-15 skid, having seen his batting average drop from .272 to .156 over a 20- game span.

His counterpart on the left side of the infield, Kouzmanoff, has endured similar struggles. Through the first seven games of the team's 10-game road trip, Kouzmanoff is hitting just .111 (3-for-27).

Manager Bob Geren downplayed Kouzmanoff's hitting, though he did drop him from fourth to sixth in the lineup for Monday's game.

"He's hit balls pretty good," Geren said. "Just no luck. Sometimes when you look at one week or a span of 10 days, the numbers don't exactly indicate how well they're swinging the bat."