Their All-Star closer, Brandon League, had (pitched) twice, both times trailing by at least four runs. Their pitching staff, which entered Monday holding the lowest earned run average 3.53 in franchise (history), had a 5.97 E.R.A. during this streak, better than only Baltimore, another woeful team in last place. Their right-handed phenom, Michael Pineda, was (shelled) for seven runs in four and a third innings Sunday, his third poor outing in a row, and the Mariners believe he might have been tipping his pitches.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Smoak, the first baseman, said.
Not in (checkers). Not in table tennis. Not in Yahtzee, polo or competitive basket-weaving, either. To change their mojo, Wedge has tried conventional methods. He has called team (meetings). He has juggled lineups — 15 times, with a 16th planned for Monday night. When those failed, he opted for superstition, shaving his droopy handlebar mustache after Saturday’s game to get a (reaction)from his players. They noticed.
“Pretty drastic,” Kennedy said.
