On Monday night, the Seattle Mariners headed to the Ballpark in Arlington to kick off a series against the two-time defending American League champions the Texas Rangers. It was the regular season MLB debut for Yu Darvish, the new Rangers pitcher who was a star in Japan. The Mariners jumped out to an early lead but were unable to hold it, as Texas hit bomb after bomb and picked up the 11-5 win.
In the early going, the Mariners made themselves look great and Darvish look awful. They touched the Rangers starter for four runs in the top of the first inning on RBI singles by Kyle Seager and Miguel Olivo and a bases-loaded walk. The Rangers got two of those runs back in the bottom of the inning on singles by Michael Young and Nelson Cruz.
The M's tacked on another run in the top of the second on an RBI double by Seager, stretching the Seattle lead to 5-2. It would be the last run the Mariners would score, but the Rangers were just getting started. Mariners starter Hector Noesi got himself into a jam but the M's seemed to catch a huge break when Josh Hamilton was called out at the plate on a fielder's choice. The sigh of relief was short-lived as Noesi then hung a pitch to the next batter, Nelson Cruz, who promptly swatted it into the left-field stands for a three-run home run to tie the game at 5-5.
The Rangers took the lead with a two-run homer from Mitch Moreland and a solo shot by Hamilton in the fourth. The fearsome mashers in the Texas lineup weren't done, however, as Ian Kinsler decided to hit a three-run homer of his own in the eighth.
Darvish went 5.2 innings, giving up eight hits, four walks and five earned runs while striking out five. An inauspicious debut, but Noesi's line was even worse. Noesi went just three innings but gave up three walks and six hits and was tagged with seven earned runs.
Ichiro Suzuki had another solid night at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.
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