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The Seattle Mariners will return to Safeco Field for the first time in 2012 to kick off their opening homestand on Friday. They'll be hosting the Oakland Athletics in a three-game series. The game on Friday will mark the fifth time the Mariners have faced the A's in their first nine games. The A's are fresh off a home series win over the Kansas City Royals, while the M's dropped three of four to the Texas Rangers.
The Mariners, however, opened the season by taking three of four games against the Athletics. They'll hope to repeat that performance beginning on Friday, as ace Felix Hernandez will make his third start of the season ... all against the A's. He'll be going up against Bartolo Colon, who also will be making his third start against the Mariners. Colon put together a quality start in his first appearance against Seattle, but was roughed up for seven runs in 4.1 innings the last time he saw the Mariners bats. You can bet that some of the players in the lineup will be hoping to continue to pad their stats against him.
Friday's game will begin at 7:10 p.m. PT and will be televised on ROOT Sports. You can listen to the radio broadcast on 710 ESPN.
For all news and information regarding the Seattle Mariners, please visit Lookout Landing. For updates and perspective on the Oakland A's, head on over to Athletics Nation or check out SB Nation Bay Area.