MARINERS 3, ATHLETICS 1: Dustin Ackley snapped a tie with an RBI single in the 11th inning and Japan's Ichiro Suzuki thrilled the home fans by going 4-for-5 and driving in a run as Seattle won the 2012 season opener at the Tokyo Dome.
Brendan Ryan greeted Andrew Carignan (0-1) by leading off the 11th inning with a double to left center. After Ryan advanced to third on Chone Figgins' sacrifice, Ackley brought him home by driving a high fastball to shallow center field. Ackley had also opened the scoring with a homer in the fourth inning.
Ichiro capped the uprising by plating Ackley for the Mariners, who have defeated Oakland four times en route to winning their last six season openers. Ichiro's infield chopper up the middle with two outs in the first inning resulted in the first hit of the 2012 season.
Brandon League stranded Seth Smith at second base in the 11th to preserve the win for Tom Wilhelmsen (1-0), who worked two scoreless innings in relief of starter Felix Hernandez.
Hernandez yielded one run on five hits and struck out six in eight solid innings. He retired his first nine batters before Cliff Pennington's double to center field in the fourth inning. Pennington moved to third on groundout and scored on Kurt Suzuki's two-out double. Left fielder Mike Carp made a diving effort, but came up empty as Pennington tied the game at 1-1.
Signed to a four-year, $36 million deal, Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes went 1-for-3 in his major-league debut. Cespedes deposited Hernandez's curveball into center field for a double in the seventh inning.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ken Griffey Jr. is the only other Mariner to have four hits in a season opener. Griffey accomplished the feat in 1990. ... Making his first career Opening Day start, Brandon McCarthy permitted one run on six hits and struck out three in seven innings. ... Ackley opened the fourth inning by depositing a McCarthy offering over the wall in center field. Ackley had six homers in 90 games last season after being called up from Triple-A Tacoma.
Seattle | Oakland | |
Felix Hernandez | Player | Brandon McCarthy |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
8.0 | IP | 7.0 |
6 | Strikeouts | 3 |
5 | Hits | 6 |
1.12 | ERA | 1.29 |
Seattle | Oakland | |
Ichiro Suzuki | Player | Cliff Pennington |
4 | Hits | 2 |
1 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
4 | TB | 3 |
.800 | Avg | .400 |