Griffey to be honored as Mariners host Rangers (Apr 14, 2017)
SEATTLE -- Friday figures to be a special night at Safeco Field, though maybe not as much as the Seattle Mariners had planned when they left Arizona two weeks ago.
The club unveiled a bronze statue of Ken Griffey Jr. outside the home plate entrance on Thursday to a small crowd of reporters, employees, former teammates and ... Snoop Dogg.
On Friday, fans in attendance will receive a miniature version of the statue, Griffey will throw out the first pitch and the Mariners will open their series against the Texas Rangers.
"They did an unbelievable job from top to bottom," Griffey said. "This is unbelievable. That is the word I'd use. Incredible, unbelievable. The craziness hasn't stopped. It's very humbling."
Friday's pitching matchup is nothing to scoff at, either. Seattle's Felix Hernandez looks to earn his first win of the young season while Martin Perez opposes him for the Rangers.
Hernandez and Perez, both natives of Venezuela, played together in the World Baseball Classic and built a friendship.
"He is a good teammate, a good guy, good pitcher, but it's time to compete," Perez told MLB.com. "I'm going to do my job and try to win. Not try. I'm going to win."
That may sound like a bold claim for a guy going up against one of the best hurlers his country has produced. But the American League West-winning Rangers gave the Mariners the most trouble last season, taking 12 of 19 matchups.
Perez, however, will have to overcome his road demons from last season. He posted a 5.78 ERA in 15 starts away from Globe Life Park, though he did pitch to a 2.63 mark in four outings against the Mariners.
Texas comes to Seattle with some momentum. Rangers ace Yu Darvish, like Hernandez, was winless through his first two starts, but that changed as he delivered Texas its first series win of the season Thursday in Anaheim 8-3.
The Mariners thought they might have had some momentum entering the series, too. But, after leaping ahead 5-0 against Houston on Wednesday and seemingly on track for their first series win, the Mariners watched the Astros score 10 unanswered runs.
At 2-8, Seattle secured a tie for the franchise's worst start.
"A day off is probably the best thing we can get," manager Scott Servais said after the loss that preceded Seattle's first off-day of the season. "Pretty rough 10-game stretch. Disappointing. We were hoping to get two out of three against Houston. Had some momentum going early in the game; unfortunately, (we) couldn't keep it going. We just didn't build off of it."
Hernandez (0-1, 4.09) took the loss in the opener in Houston, giving up two runs on solo home runs over five innings. He went six innings in Los Angeles last Saturday, giving up three runs on 10 hits. He has located well, though, striking out 12 and walking none.
The Rangers come into Seattle with as many wins in the last two days as the Mariners have all season. Still, with Texas at 4-5 and in fourth place to Seattle's fifth, the first matchup between the two teams many picked to challenge the Astros in the American League West looms as an underwhelming one.
