Was anyone else excited to see the Seattle Mariners start off the season the way that they did?
The 2014 season began with a three game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels on the road. It was the first time that the Mariners began a season 3-0 since 1995, which most remember as the historic season with the famous play dubbed as “The Double”. The Seattle Mariners have not made the playoffs since 2002 and have had a run of historically bad seasons over the past decade. The lack of success has led to a decline in attendance, unless of course King Felix is pitching, the Mariners top pitcher who won the Cy Young Award in 2010.
During the offseason, the Mariners had a few ups and downs. They have a group of young players that have performed well over the last couple years and are expected to mature into great ballplayers. The young group includes shortstop Brad Miller, first baseman Justin Smoak, third baseman Kyle Seager, catcher Mike Zunino, and outfielder Dustin Ackley. They also added former Yankees’ second baseman Robinson Cano in free agency to a 10 year, $240 million contract.
On the downside, the Mariners experienced a plague of injuries. All-star pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma began the season on the disabled list along with up and coming pitcher Taijuan Walker. The group of Seattle pitchers on the opening day roster looked much less than spectacular, however they have gotten off to an amazing start posting an earned run average of under 2 over the first two series.
The opening series of the season pitted the Mariners against the Angels for three road games. The Mariners managed to win each game outscoring the Angels by a total score of 26-8. It was a very dominant run for the team and a great way to build up confidence heading into the long season. The second series was supposed to be a four game series on the road against the Oakland Athletics; however game two was postponed due to poor field conditions. The Mariners lost the first game of the series in extra innings. There were a lot of complaints from both sides that the umpire made some bad calls but ultimately, the A’s took the most advantage of their opportunities. The Mariners then won game two with Felix on the mound and then lost the final game.
A 4-2 record over a road series against two division rivals is an excellent start to the season and now the Mariners head home to Safeco Field for their next five games where they will play two against the Angels and three against the Athletics before hitting the road once again.
