Michael Morse hit his sixth home run for the Seattle Mariners during Spring Training on Monday (March 18). His six homers lead Major League Baseball this spring, showing that he definitely has the power stroke that the Mariners have been missing in the lineup. His solo shot and the contributions from several other hitters on offense propelled the Mariners to a 6-5 win over the Oakland Athletics Monday.
Blake Beavan Pitches Well Again
In 13 Spring Training games, Morse has gone 13-for-35 from the plate for a .371 batting average. In his 39 total plate appearances he now has six home runs and 11 RBIs to show. 34 total bases in just 13 games is also very impressive and it might just give the Mariners that middle-of-the-order hitter that they have been longing to have over the past few seasons.
Adding to the offense, Dustin Ackley went 2-for-4 with two RBIs from the seventh spot in the batting order. Justin Smoak went 2-for-3 with a run scored at first base and Michael Saunders was 1-for-4 with an RBI from the leadoff spot. Casper Wells batted second, but went 0-for-5 and saw his spring batting average dip to just .200 now. That the offense found a lot of success against A.J. Griffin definitely bodes well for the regular season.
On the pitching side of things, Hisashi Iwakuma got the start and went five innings to pick up the win. He had some struggles, though, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks. It was really hot out there, so some of his struggles could be blamed on the extent that he had to pitch in that heat. It's good practice for when the season finally gets started though.
With yet another Spring Training victory, the Seattle Mariners are now 16-7. Next up on the schedule is a much-needed night game in Peoria, coming on Tuesday (March 19) against the San Francisco Giants. Game time is 7:05 p.m. PT.
Interested in reading Mariners news as it happens? Subscribe to this column (right under article title at the top) and receive instant e-mail updates of Mariners breaking news.
More Seattle Mariners News:
Erasmo Ramirez Continues To Look Good In Spring
Jon Garland, Jeremy Bonderman Have Shot at Seattle Mariners Starting Rotation?
Michael Saunders Wins MVP At 2013 WBC
Comments