Mariners tame Tigers
Felix Hernandez returned home and showed why Seattle recently gave him $78 million, and the Mariners’ usually quiet bats made their most noise in eight months in an 11-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Seattle.
Hernandez (1-0) struck out nine — Seattle’s season high — while allowing just four hits and two runs in 6 2-3 innings in his home debut.
Franklin Gutierrez had three hits and three RBIs, and Jose Lopez drove in two as the Mariners improved to 28-9 with King Felix starting since the beginning of 2009. Last season’s runner-up for the Cy Young Award turned 24 a week ago.
Detroit’s Jeremy Bonderman (1-1) flopped in his second start after missing most of the last year and a half because of a blood clot in his pitching shoulder.