After starting the season in Japan, Oakland and Texas, the Seattle Mariners finally played their home opener Friday night against the Athletics. The result, however, was a bit too reminiscent of what M's fans saw last year.
Crowds at Safeco Field last year had seen too many wonderful pitching performances unrewarded due to a lack of hitting, and Friday night likely seemed like a extension of a 2011 season that displayed one of the worst offenses in baseball. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez gave up just two runs in seven innings, but was out-dueled by Oakland pitcher Bartolo Colon, who gave up just three hits in seven shutout innings. The 4-0 victory for the A's marks the 16th career win for Colon against the Mariners, and the second time in four games that the M's have been shutout.
While on the road in Texas, the Seattle had a stretch of 23 innings without scoring a run.
The Mariners biggest threat came in the 8th inning when A's pitcher Ryan Cook walked leadoff batters Miguel Olivo and Brendan Ryan. But Chone Figgins grounded back to Cook for a double play and Dustin Ackley ended the inning with a ground ball to first base.
The M's will try to bounce back tonight as they take on the A's again at Safeco at 6:10 PM, playing Oakland for the the sixth time in their first 10 games.
