Seattle Mariners Opening Day Live Blog

It’s Opening Day. If you’re at Safeco Field right now, ignore this post. If you’re watching from home, hi there! Welcome to the ECS Opening Day Live Blog. The festivities are underway in Seattle, and soon there will be a baseball game, too. Here’s the lineup!

CF Austin Jackson
RF Seth Smith
2B Robinson Cano
DH Nelson Cruz
3B Kyle Seager
1B Logan Morrison
C Mike Zunino
LF Dustin Ackley
SS Brad Miller
P Felix Hernandez

Dreamy lineup. Go M’s!

1:18 – Felix vs. Mike Trout is my favorite matchup in the world right now. We just got our first taste this year of the two greats facing off, and Trout won, if only by a hair. When Felix froze him with a strike in the top of the zone to make it an 0-2 count, it looked like the King had him beat. But Trout fought back, fouling off a few pitches and taking two balls before blasting a fastball to deep center. Austin Jackson lept up but hit his shoulder on the wall, letting the ball get right past his outstretched arm. Home run Trout, Angels lead 1-0. Had the jump been timed better there’d still be no score, but alas.

1:21 – You’re Felix Hernandez. You just allowed a homer to the best player in the world. Are you rattled? Of course not! Felix has three strikeouts through one inning, fanning Albert Pujols and Matt Joyce after the Trout blast. The King looks filthy so far.

1:32 – We’ve officially gotten our first glimpses at both Seth Smith and Nelson Cruz, and gotta say, Smith looked great at the plate. He laced a hard double to center, but was stranded after Cano grounded him to third and Cruz popped out. Cruz looked at three balls from Jered Weaver before what should have been ball four was called a strike. He fouled one, then popped out. Good eye, at least.

1:39 – Felix is still on fire. Strikeout, groundout, infield fly. Against C.J. Cron, Felix had to work behind in the count for the first time today. Dude is amazing.

1:43 – One-two-three go the M’s. I hate Jered Weaver, especially when he’s succeeding in Seattle.

1:50 – Felix just had his first zero-strikeout inning of the year. Didn’t allow a baserunner.

2:03 – Runs! We have Mariner runs! Jackson blasts a double just over the glove of David Freese after having barely missed a base hit to the same spot on the previous pitch. Smith then tripled the other way, scoring Jackson. Cano wasted no time giving the M’s a lead, smashing a first-pitch single up the middle. Seattle 2, Anaheim 1, and now it’s time for Felix vs. Trout.

2:05 – Got him! Felix strikes out Mike Trout. Love it. Love it so much.

2:11 – Pujols drew a walk, the first issued by either pitcher. But he also nabbed another strikeout, this time getting David Freese swinging at a ball in the dirt. M’s still lead. Felix forever.

2:27 – Felix plunks a guy. Oh no! Is he rattled? The joke here is that Felix is never rattled. His response, of course, is a strikeout. He’s got seven so far, and really isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Well, aside from the guy he plunked, that is, but never mind that.

2:38 – Heck of a bottom of the fifth! Ackley led off with a towering homer to right, and I mean a true no-doubter off the bat. Miller followed with a base hit through the smoke from the home run fireworks, and then Seth Smith – your hero and mine – powered a massive ground rule double over the wall in center. Four to one! Nelson Cruz remains hitless.

2:45 – Here’s what Felix just did to Mike Trout: nothing in the zone until he’d stolen two strikes, then a high and tight fastball for a swinging strikeout. Maybe Felix Hernandez is the best player in baseball. Trout who? Kershaw who?

2:57 – Lloyd McClendon has come to the mound with Felix Hernandez at 92 pitches. He’s got a strikeout and a groundout this inning, but his throw to first was so lazy after fielding the grounder that staffers had to make sure he was okay. Felix is the best. Felix is the best.

3:01 – That’s probably it for Felix, who’s closing in on 100 pitches. His line: seven innings, ten strikeouts, one walk, two hits, one homer, one earned run. Darn you, Mike Trout, though I’ve gotta say aside from one pitch Felix owned him today. What the hell, Felix is so good.

3:09 – You know who’s looked really good today? The Seattle Mariners.

3:30 – It’s bullpen time, and we’ve gotten glimpses at a few critical relievers so far. Danny Farquhar pitched… well, he didn’t look particularly awful, but he did allow a couple of hits. He yielded to Charlie Furbush, who got a big strikeout before handing the ball to Carson Smith. Smith beat out Dominic Leone for a bullpen spot at the last second despite having been sent to the minors, and came in to today’s game with two on and two out to face Mike Trout. And he struck him out!!!! Struck him out swinging on an absolute beauty of a pitch. Carson Smith is a bullpen ace in waiting.

3:39 – Facing Fernando Salas with two outs, Logan Morrison hit the ball to deep center. Trout timed his jump and robbed what would have been a home run. Trout is just such a jaw-dropper that it’s easy to forget how hard this play is. We’re used to seeing Trout do this kind of stuff – he always comes to Seattle and wrecks our lives with this kind of insanity. But earlier in this very game it was Trout hitting the ball and Jackson failing at the same play Trout just made. Amazing hitter, amazing center fielder.

3:46 – Fernando Rodney shoots his arrow, while Logan Morrison stands at his side, watching for it to land. Absolutely beautiful. The Mariners win it 4-1! Felix wins! The Angels lose!!!!

That’s it for our Live Blog. We’ll have more from this game shortly.