Jason Vargas shines as Seattle Mariners defeat Philadelphia Phillies 2-0 – MLB Update
Jason Vargas put in a brilliant performance as the Seattle Mariners defeat Philadelphia Phillies 2-0 at Safeco Field, Seattle on Sunday, June 19.
Vargas, the starting pitcher for Mariners was impressive with his pitching, striking-out six hitters and conceding only three hits in the entire game. He threw for the entire nine innings at an ERA of 3.75 and was awarded a win for his feat of not conceding
a single run, taking his season tally to five. In total, he threw 119 pitches and managed 84 strikes. Vargas now has two shut-outs for the season, with the Mariners standing at eight for the season and the Phillies recording their fifth clean chit.
It was a tough night for the hitters and the scoring finally broke in the sixth innings, with Ichiro Suzuki scoring for the Mariners. Dustin Ackley added another in the seventh innings, taking the score to two and enough to defeat the Phillies.
Cole Hamels pitched for just over six innings at an ERA of 2.51, striking-out six hitters and conceiving seven hits. During this, he completed his 103 strike-outs for the season and 1000th for his career. Unfortunately, he was denied a 10th
win of the season and brought to an end his career-best five-game winning streak. Hamels, now third in the National League with ERA coming in at 2.51, threw 118 pitches and managed 79 strikes.
Vargas, who restricted the Philadelphia Phillies to only three hits in the entire game, was duly praised by manager Eric Wedge. "I had a pretty good idea what to do but I wanted to look him in his eyes as well. It was his ballgame," said Wedge. Although
the relief pitcher was ready in the dug-out, the manager showed faith in Vargas which boosted his morale.
Vargas, citing his joy said, "It's the first time I've had a manager in the ninth leave me in, it's nice he has that confidence in me."
The Mariners are now at 37-35 for the season, with the Phillies, entering the game with the highest win percentage still on a comfortable position at 45-28. The blank-out, the fifth for the Phillies, may mark the end of their domination this season or may
be act as an eye-opener for the games to come.
It will be interesting to see how the Mariners carry this momentum with them given Vargas has struck form just at the right time for the Seattle side. The Phillies put in a decent performance, but it was not enough to contain the Mariners’ offence. Only
time will tell how long the Mariners can maintain their current run of good form.
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