The Seattle Mariners hosted the Oakland Athletics in their home opener on Friday night. The M's were hoping that they would be able to turn things around after two straight losses and give the home crowd something to celebrate behind their ace Felix Hernandez, but he found himself outpitched and Seattle could only muster three hits in the game as they were shut out, 4-0.
Oakland starter Bartolo Colon was exceptional, giving up just three hits and one walk through seven innings, while striking out five. He combined with Ryan Cook and Grant Balfour for the shutout.
The A's opened the scoring in the top of the third inning, when Cliff Pennington doubled in Daric Barton for the first run. Two batters later, Coco Crisp drove in Pennington with a single.
The Mariners suffered from a couple instances of awful luck. In the fourth inning, Ichiro Suzuki led off with a double and Jesus Montero singled him to third with two outs. Michael Saunders came up with runners at the corners and absolutely crushed a ball to right field that hooked foul by just a few feet. Saunders would strike out looking to end the inning and the most significant Seattle rally.
In the seventh inning, Kyle Seager led off and hit a sinking liner. Yoenis Cespedes appeared to make a spectacular diving catch and Seager was called out, but replays showed that the ball bounced before going into Cespedes' glove.
Oakland added their third run on an eighth-inning Kurt Suzuki sacrifice fly that scored Josh Reddick. Jemile Weeks added the explanation point in the top of the ninth with a solo home run into the left field bullpen.
Besides Suzuki and Montero, Dustin Ackley was the other M's player to get a hit. Justin Smoak was the only Seattle player to draw a walk. Felix Hernandez finished with a quality start, giving up two runs in seven innings, walking three and striking out six.
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.
