Shohei Ohtani is set to make his return to the mound after being announced as the Los Angeles Angels’ starter for Sunday’s series finale against Seattle. He went through a bullpen session on Friday and came out of that without issue.
Albert Pujols became the 32nd member of the 3,000-hit club with a broken-bat single in the fifth inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ 5-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night., then added another hit to pass Roberto Clemente on the career list.
Day 2 of Ichiro Suzuki, Special Assistant to the Chairman, began without the formal press conference and moved straight into the meat of his duties at Safeco Field: Starting with ... shagging batting practice flies.
Ichiro Suzuki has not officially retired from baseball. But his move to the front office of the Seattle Mariners is seen by many in Japan as the beginning of a long “Sayonara” for a national treasure. News of Ichiro dominated Japanese TV talk shows and social media. His father says he was “choked up” as he watched his son’s surprise announcement.
Dee Gordon had a big night on the bases, Nelson Cruz hit a two-run home run and the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 4-1 on Thursday night in their first game since Ichiro Suzuki was moved from the roster to the front office.
Ichiro’s last game as a Major League Baseball player for the 2018 season came on Wednesday night at Safeco Field in a 3-2 loss to the Oakland A’s. The longtime icon and outfielder was removed from the Mariners 25-man roster on Thursday and assigned a new job in the organization – “Special Assistant to the Chairman.”
James Paxton struck out a major league-high 16 in seven dominant innings, but the Seattle bullpen blew a late lead and the Oakland Athletics rallied past the Mariners 3-2 Wednesday night.
Nelson Cruz hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning, Dee Gordon had five hits, and Felix Hernandez pitched six solid innings, propelling the Seattle Mariners to a 6-3 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.
The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will play an opening two-game series in Tokyo on March 20 and 21, the fifth time Major League Baseball will start its season in Japan.
Ryon Healy hit two home runs and had four RBIs, Robinson Cano and Mitch Haniger also homered, and the Mariners defeated the Cleveland Indians 10-4 on Sunday in Cleveland.
The Mariners should put Ichiro Suzuki in right field. Bat him leadoff. Give the 44-year-old Japanese legend a chance to face his nation’s newest phenom and his 100-mph fastball. Let Seattle fans shower Ichiro with applause every time he steps to the plate or jogs to his position.
