g11 | eleven is a nice number..

courtesy Compass Rosy's PalmPrePlus

Mariners 11 | Tigers 3
I usually enter the stadium through the Right Field gate because I walk from Stadium Station after disembarking from light rail.  Tonight though, I walked all the way around to the west side because I had some business to do at the Ticket Exchange window - traded three of my View Reserve seats for one Terrace Club seat (first row!) for the Friday night game vs. the Rangers on the 30th.  So, that put me near the Home Plate entrance ... little did I know when I snapped the photo above (Batting 1.000 - one thousand bats) that it would be a bit of an omen for the the M's bats tonight - and they would absolutely explode!  (of course, at this point, I'm thinking I need to enter through that gate from now on - what the heck, I could use the exercise).

Anyhoo, I was doubly, er triply excited ...
~ first Friday night game (always my favorite)
~ Felix Day
~ AND, was looking forward to sitting in my new seat in section 331
My old seat was in section 339, so I still headed to my normal concession stand to get a corn dog - but, what's this?  Gyros!  Even better ... Yum!  Then I find my way to my seat and BOY am I happy with it.  I'm in the last row of the first section of the third level (up against the wall) ... and, it's an aisle seat just a smidge to the 3rd base side of home plate - awesome.

OK, now the game - whew!
Let's have some more fun with numbers, shall we?

FOUR 0 NINE Guti's average
TWELVE hits
ELEVEN runs
TEN total Tiger K's
NINE by Felix
SIX walks
THREE sac flys
THREE two out rbi
TWO stolen bases
ONE double play (Felix to Jack to Casey)
ONE triple
ONE sac bunt
ONE bunt base hit
ZERO homers
ZERO doubles

The SIX runs the M's scored in the 5th inning was more than any game total so far this season.  Talk about a breakout ... even this pitching and defense gal can appreciate that (especially given the slumbering lumber of late).

Felix has made THREE starts so far and the M's have won all of them but, this was win number ONE for Felix. He and Bonderman both started out great, but Bonderman would lose it in the 3rd (and never recover) while Felix had a little hiccup in the 4th but, was able to regain his composure and command.  His 105 pitches wouldn't quite get him through SEVEN (he went 6.2) but with a NINE run lead, at least he could exit (with the tip of his cap to a standing "O") comfortably.

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

When asked if he had everything working, Hernandez smirked and said, "Yep," before laughing."Everything was good," he said. "Everything was working."---Seattle Times

Sean and Mark gave up a couple of hits and a run respectively in "garbage time" but that was all she wrote .... M's win!! M's win!!

Of course everyone loves solid pitching and stellar D.  But, I'm likely in the minority in lovin' this kind of offense.  Maybe I'm just getting old (like a certain "Kid" we know).  Sure, home runs are exciting and sexy.  But infield hits, sac flies, sac bunts, stolen bases are interesting and ... cerebral ;-)

And, whether some like it or not ...
it's Mariners Baseball.

Oh, by the way, lovin' my view from section 331...

courtesy Compass Rosy's PalmPrePlus