Haniger homers, M’s rout A’s in 1st official spring game

Published 1:30 am Friday, February 22, 2019

By Ryan Divish / The Seattle Times

PEORIA, Ariz. — Mariners 8, Athletics 1 at Peoria Stadium

Notable

This time the Seattle Mariners early offensive explosion counted in the semi-meaningless statistics of spring training. Shortly after Seattle wrapped up an 8-1 win over the A’s, the foreboding gray skies on an unseasonably cold day finally opened up with a mixture of heavy rain and hail.

The Mariners jumped on Oakland starter Daniel Mengden in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Dee Gordon worked a walk and Mitch Haniger started his spring off in impressive fashion, smashing a two-run homer to left-center for a 2-0 lead. Seattle continued to add to its lead, loading the bases in the third inning for Ichiro Suzuki, who blooped a single into right field to score two runs.

“He found a hole and he has a knack for getting hits,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said of the 45-year-old outfielder.

Seattle starter Mike Leake pitched two scoreless innings. Mariners pitchers combined for eight shutout innings while allowing just two hits. Oakland’s other two hits and only run came in the ninth off of Nick Rumbelow.

Player of the game

Tim Lopes, who returned to the Mariners organization as a minor league free agent, had a big game as a reserve. Lopes replaced Dee Gordon in the third inning and went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Lopes, 25, was a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft by the Mariners.

Quotable

“It was a good day for some guys offensively. We’re shaking the rust off a little bit. Certainly, Haniger is ready to go. It was a good ballgame. We got a lot of good at-bats. We got everybody in there. It’s big to get these guys first inning under their belt and go from there. ” — Scott Servais.

On Tap

The Mariners should have slightly better weather when they host the Padres in a battle of spring training complex rivals on Saturday. Right-hander Felix Hernandez will get the start for the Mariners, while right-hander Bryan Mitchell will start for San Diego. Also slated to pitch for the Mariners are left-handers Roenis Elias and Tommy Milone and right-handers Hunter Strickland, Cory Gearrin and Brandon Brennan. First pitch is set for 1:1o p.m. in Peoria and 12:10 p.m. in Seattle. The game will be televised live on Root Sports and broadcast live on ESPN 710 and Mariners.com.