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For three innings the Mariners resurrected against the Baltimore Orioles reminding us of the Mariner team we once knew-the Mariner team that drove in runs with two out, the Mariner team with twenty-five players who all contributed, and the Mariner team that came from behind to win. It's been a while.
Last year it was a slogan-"two out...so what!" This year there seem to be a lot of two out...no hits. The M's are not getting as many clutch hits throughout the lineup to score runs. They are leaving more runners on base. On Sunday, June 2, in Baltimore, the Mariners hit with two out again. Davis and Cirillo did it in the sixth inning with two consecutive singles to score three runs. Then, in the seventh, Relaford and Davis drove in two more runs with two out. Everyone Contributing Last year we saw every player contributing an important piece to the team. Sometimes there was a different hero every night. This year several key players are trying to crawl out of a slump. Boone, Cameron, Olerud and Cirillo are all batting below their averages of 2001, as well as below their career averages. But in Baltimore, we saw slumping players contribute with their bats. In the seventh inning, Boone, Cameron and Olerud smacked singles. Boone also doubled in the sixth and hit his third career grand slam in the eighth. Before the game Boone said he was "officially tired of this bleep," and that he was "not a .248 hitter."* There is power in passion. Last year and at the beginning of 2002, the M's thrived on the comeback. They lost that edge in May. A few times lately they did the reverse, scoring early and then losing their lead. But against the Orioles we saw the comeback again. They rallied from a 7-1 deficit at the top of the sixth inning to win 11-8. The Future It is early in the season. There are some young players on the team. There are some injured players out. Nothing is set. The M's could look quite different by September. They won't win every game the way they did on Sunday, but they showed us they still have that fighting spirit. Maybe the tiger within is stirring. Maybe the heartbeat is getting stronger. Maybe the Mariners are awakening. *See the article: "M's slam door on Birds"- http://www.heraldnet.com/Stories/02/6/3/... Go To Page: 1
The copyright of the article Awakening in Baltimore in Seattle Mariners is owned by C. A. Wright. Permission to republish Awakening in Baltimore in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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