GAME INFORMATION Safeco Field • PO Box 4100 • Seattle, WA 98194 • TEL: 206.346.4000 • FAX: 206.346.4000 • www.mariners.com Friday, April 6, 2012 SEATTLE MARINERS (1-1) at OAKLAND ATHLETICS (1-1) Game #3 (1-1) Oakland Coliseum LH Jason Vargas (0-0, 1.42) vs. RH Brandon McCarthy (0-0, 1.29) Road #3 (1-1) UPCOMING PROBABLE PITCHERS…all times PDT… Day Date Opp. Time Mariners Pitcher Opposing Pitcher TV Saturday April 7 @OAK 6:07 pm RH Felix Hernandez (0-0, 1.13) vs. RH Bartolo Colon (1-0, 1.13) ROOT Sunday April 8 Off Day Monday April 9 @TEX 5:05 pm RH Hector Noesi (2-2 4.47 in ‘11 w/NYY) vs. RH Yu Darvish (MLB Debut) ROOT Tuesday April 10 @TEX 5:05 pm RH Blake Beavan (5-6, 4.27 in ‘11) vs. RH Neftali Feliz (2-3, 2.74 in ‘11) ROOT Wednesday April 11 @TEX 5:05 pm RH Kevin Millwood (4-3, 3.98 in ‘11 w/COL) vs. RH Colby Lewis (pitches today) ROOT Thursday April 12 @TEX 11:05 am LH Jason Vargas (0-0, + tonight) vs. LH Derek Holland (pitches Saturday) ROOT All games broadcast on 710 ESPN Seattle & Mariners Radio Network TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners (1-1) resume the regular season tonight with the first of a two- HITS LEADER VS. OAKLAND Since the A’s moved to Oakland in game series vs. the A’s (1-1)…Seattle will travel to Texas for a four-game series with the Rangers 1968, no player has recorded more following Saturday’s game and take a rare Sunday off…the Mariners and A’s split a pair of games hits against the Green & Gold than to open the 2012 season March 28-29 at the Tokyo Dome as part of the Gloops Japan Opening Ichiro…in 203 games vs. Oakland, Ichiro is a career .330 hitter (284x861): Series 2012…tonight’s game will be televised on ROOT Sports in high definition & broadcast live on 710 ESPN Seattle & Mariners Radio Network. Most Hits vs. Oakland (since ‘68): 1. Ichiro ....................................284 SPRING TRAINING ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners finished with a 16-9-1 record (.635), the 12th 2. Rod Carew ............................282 3. George Brett .........................271 winning spring in club history…3rd-best spring winning percentage in club history (21-9/.700 in 4. Michael Young ......................253 1994, 18-10-1/.638 in 2004)…see more on spring training on pages 9-10 of the game notes. 5. Garret Anderson ...................248 • Seattle led all MLB teams with a .297 spring batting average (269x907, 2B – 55, 3B – 11, HR – 28). FIRST OPENER • Munenori Kawasaki won spring batting title, leading both the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues with a Although it seems like forever ago, the .455 batting average (20x44, 2B, 3B, 13 RBI). following players were listed of their • 7 players hit over .300 in Cactus League play (Kawasaki - .455, Ichiro - .415, Smoak - .378, Liddi - first Opening Day roster: pitchers .370, Seager - .360, Saunders - .356, Montero - .326). Blake Beavan, Steve Delabar, • What Jet Lag? - in the four games featuring the regular players after returning from Japan, the Mari- Charlie Furbush, Hisashi Iwakuma, Lucas Luetge, Hector Noesi, ners combined to bat .353 while averaging over 7 runs and 10 hits per game. Erasmo Ramirez, catcher Jesus HAPPY ANNIVERSARY…today is the official 35th Anniversary of the Mariners first game in club Montero, infielders Dustin Ackley, Munenori Kawasaki, Alex Liddi, history, April 6, 1977 vs. the California Angels…throughout the 2012 season, the Mariners will Kyle Seager, outfielderMike Carp. celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Mariners baseball in Seattle. THE ROSTER DOWN ON THE FARM…the Mariners four full-season minor league affiliates opened the 2012 The Mariners had to trim the 28-man roster for Opening Day in Japan to 25 season yesterday and combined to go 2-2…AA Jackson (3-2 over Birmingham) and A High Desert players earlier this week…LHP Charlie (9-7 over Lancaster) recorded Opening Day victories, while AAA Tacoma (3-2 loss vs. Salt Lake) Furbush, RHP Shawn Kelley and OF and A Clinton (8-2 loss vs. Burlington) dropped to 0-1. Carlos Peguero were optioned to AAA Tacoma as the final roster moves… SEATTLE VS. ATHLETICS…tonight is the third (1-1) of 19 games between the Mariners and A’s the current active roster includes 12 in 2012…will open home schedule against A’s on April 13-15…the Mariners went 10-9 against the pitchers, 3 catchers, 7 infielders and 3 outfielders…additionally, 3 players A’s last season, including 4-5 at Oakland Coliseum…have dropped 5 of last 7 games…Seattle is are currently on the disabled list 54-42 vs. Oakland since 2007…Mariners trail the all-time series 218-293, including a 92-163 mark (Mike Carp, Franklin Gutierrez, Adam at Oakland Coliseum. Moore)…the youngest player on the roster is RHP Erasmo Ramirez ROAD WARRIORS…18 of the Mariners first 27 games of the 2012 season will be played on the (5/2/90) at 21 years, 10 months+…the oldest is OF Ichiro Suzuki (10/22/73) road (and 28 of first 43)…Seattle will play 8 road games before playing a game at Safeco Field. at 38 years, 5 months+. OPENING DAY WINNING STREAK…with the 3-1 win over the A’s on Opening Day March 28 in OPENING DAY IN SEATTLE Tokyo, the Mariners have won 6 consecutive season openers (a club record), the longest current The Mariners will play their home opener streak in the Majors…the D-backs carry an active 5-game Opening Day win streak into today. on Friday, April 13 (Friday the 13th) hosting the Oakland A’s at Safeco KING FELIX…Felix Hernandez made his 5th career Opening Day start for Seattle on March 28 Field (7:10 pm)…Seattle is 21-14 all- in Tokyo (also 2007 vs. A’s, 2009 vs. Twins, 2010 at A’s, 2011 at A’s)…Felix joins Randy Johnson time in the first home game of the season, including going 6-4 after (6 - 1992,1993,1994,1995,1996, 1998) as the only pitcher in franchise history to make 5 or more starting the season on the road. Opening Day starts…Felix’s 3 career Opening Day wins are the most in Mariners history (R. Johnson TICKET INFORMATION - 2)…in his 5 OD starts, Felix is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA (7 ER, 39.2 IP) with 33 strikeouts. Single game tickets for the 2012 Seattle Mariners season are on sale NOW… NOW BATTING 3RD…Ichiro will be the Mariners #3 hitter this season, a role that will be new to tickets are available without a service him…he has played in 1,751 games with the Mariners, making 1,735 starts (including 2 games this charge at the Safeco Field Box Office season), and batted leadoff in 1,720 of those games…has made 15 starts batting 3rd in his Major and at Seattle Mariners Team Stores… Opening Day tickets are available League carer, last (prior to this season) being June 23, 2004 at Texas…although we don’t have and good seats tickets remain for accurate records, we have been told Ichiro batted 3rd more than leadoff during his 9-year career every Mariners home game: with Orix in Japan…when he started batting 3rd on Opening Day vs. the A’s, it snapped a string www.mariners.com/tickets of 1,203 consecutive starts batting leadoff…that was the longest streak of a player batting leadoff ON THE AIR dating back to 1974, with the previous long being Kenny Lofton (1,078). Mariners will again use a rotation of announcers this season, all former TIME TRAVELERS…Tom Verducci (SI.com) points out that after the Mariners trip to Japan “… partners of HOF announcer Dave Seattle goes to Arizona to play five more spring training games, then leaves for two games in Niehaus…Rick Rizzs, Dave Sims and Mike Blowers will work nearly Oakland and then four more in Texas. That’s a 19-game, 22-day, 14-time zone trip. The Mariners all the games, while Ron Fairly, Ken finally get to Seattle for their home opener April 13 -- two months and two days after their first Levine, Ken Wilson, Dave Valle, Dave spring training workout.” Henderson, Jay Buhner and Dan Wilson will mix in…Rizzs and Ron FOUR!…Ichiro went 4-for-5 in the March 28 season opener vs. the A’s in Tokyo, becoming just the Fairly will be in the radio booth for second player in Mariners history to collect 4 hits in the season opener…he joins Ken Griffey Jr., this road trip, with Sims and Blowers calling the action on TV. who had 4 hits on OD, 1990…Ichiro now has 17 career Opening Day hits, most in Mariners club history (Griffey Jr. is 2nd all-time with 14). MARINERS BLOG You can follow all the Mariners news AS YOU KNOW…Jason Vargas makes his second start of the season tonight vs. the A’s… on our new blog, From the Corner of Edgar & Dave…blog posts will he also started the Mariners last game March 29 vs. the A’s in Tokyo…DID YOU KNOW?…he go behind and beyond the headlines becomes the first Mariner to start consecutive team games since Gil Meche July 9 & July 14, with news and information about Club 2006 (surrounding the All-Star break)…he will become just the 5th pitcher since 1980 to start events, activities, priorities and daily updates.