So I’m at Safeco Field, where a few minutes ago, it was so quiet you could have heard a pennant drop.
Top of the fourth inning. Vladimir Guerrero check-swings and send a high, bouncing ball into the infield, first-base side. To the horror of the near full house, Felix Hernandez and Ben Broussard collide in the air while leaping for the ball. Broussard’s shoulder buried itself into Hernandez’s left ribs and the ball trickles out of Hernandez’s glove. Guerrero scampers to second.
More important, Hernandez remains on the turf, motionless.
Exactly no one breathes. Has the staff ace broken a rib? What?
After a couple of minutes, Hernandez rolls over, gets up, throws a few pitches and pronounces himself OK. Everybody breathes again.
He gave up a couple of runs, but the Angels ended the half-inning on a double play when Ichiro caught a fly ball and sent a dead-on perfect laser to Kenji Johjima, who tagged out Guerrero. The place goes bananas.
After 41/2: M’s 5, Angels 2.
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