After one series, the Seattle Mariners are 2-1. I can pretty much guarantee you that if the M’s win every single series this season, they are going to win the division and go to the playoffs, breaking a fifteen year drought. Of course that pace would ensure at least a 108 win season even without accounting for three out of four from time to time. Probably not going to happen, but, hey, it’s early and Mariners fans can dream.
What will come as no surprise is that after one game, many fans had written off the entire season. Felix Hernandez pitched six solid innings (some control issues aside), giving up just one hit and striking out six. But a Ketel Marte error allowed three runs to eventually score and the Mariners became the first team since the 1913 Chicago White Sox to lose a game while giving up just one hit or fewer. Given all the ways Seattle has failed to support Felix gems in the past, you really can’t blame the fan base for thinking, “here we go again.”
But this 2016 version of the Mariners bounced right back on Tuesday and Wednesday with 10-2 and 9-5 wins over last seasons’ division winning Texas Rangers. After scoring 21 runs in its first three games, the lineup actually seems to resemble a real offense. Robinson Cano continues his second half resurgence from 2015 by starting 2016 hitting .306/.357/1,231 with 4 HR and 7 RBI. Kyle Seager has matched the 4 HR, while newly acquired CF Leonys Martin has flashed some unexpected pop.
And while I don’t expect Cano to record an OBPS to rival Ruth and Gehrig or maintain a 216 HR pace, it is encouraging to see a Seattle Mariners team come out of the box with a functional offense and a winning record this early in the season.
Ironically, with the upcoming home stand in the Pacific Northwest, the Mariners should also avoid any of the weather issues that have plagued the East coast. The New York Yankees have already had a game snowed out and it was clear on Wednesday night that former Mariner, Michael “Pine Tar” Pineda, was having trouble gripping the baseball in the cold. The high for today is forecast to be 74 degrees, cooling off a bit for the opening night game.
Taijuan Walker, who many experts in both fantasy baseball and real baseball are expecting a break out year, takes the mound against the Oakland A’s. It really is just as simple as winning two out of three, two out of three, two out of three.
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