There’s definitely a buzz about Dustin Ackley’s first night as a Mariner. Ackley is playing second and batting seventh against Phillies stud Roy Oswalt.
So what are you thinking for Ackley: 3-for-4 with a double and a home run? 0-for-1 with a screaming line drive and three walks?
My advice is to enjoy his moment and not expect too much or too little. Looking back at how other Mariners first-rounders have performed in their first games, nobody has really made a mess of the scoresheet.
• Ken Griffey Jr went 1-for-3, hitting a double and walking once, on April 3, 1989 at Oakland.
• Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-3 on July 8, 1994 at Boston.
• Adam Jones went 0-for-3 and walked once on July 14, 2006.
• Jeff Clement 0-for-1 on Sept. 4, 2007 at the Yankees.
• Brandon Morrow gave up a hit and a walk in one scoreless inning of relief on April 3, 2007, against the A’s.
• And Ryan Anderson, Phillippe Aumont, Josh Fields … well, we’ll just leave those topics for another day.
The point is to enjoy the debut of a kid who seems well enough grounded not to get too caught up in things if he goes 0-for-20 or 15-for-40.
We’ll be back with more from Ackley after he speaks with the media in a few minutes. Until then, here is tonight’s Mariners lineup:
Ichiro Suzuki, right field
Brendan Ryan, shortstop
Adam Kennedy, DH
Justin Smoak, first base
Carlos Peguero, left field
Miguel Olivo, catcher
Dustin Ackley, second base
Chone Figgins, third base
Franklin Gutierrez, center field
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