Compass Rosy: g124 | ALL RISE ... Supreme Court is in Session!

Mariners 5 | Indians 1

I wasn't sure what to expect, attendance-wise ... 20-25k maybe?

So, as I took my seat in Section 334, imagine my surprise when my seating host answered "44,000+" when I asked if she knew how many tickets had been sold. I actually got chills and felt my eyes start to well a bit. All I could say was, "Awesome!" (I think the actual tally was just under 40k but still, much more than I expected)

M's twitpic

And then I wondered...
How would Felix react to all this? He'd been through a lot of emotion this past 5 days and this would be the culmination of it - with a real chance for the fans to show their appreciation for him in general and for his amazing accomplishment in particular (especially for those who weren't lucky enough to witness perfection in person). But, it was so much more than most could have imagined.

I needed not to wonder...
He was fabulous. No, it wasn't another perfect game or even a no-hitter (in fact, the very first batter got a hit) but, he pitched an awesome game - going 7.2 innings (bringing the total to 19 of games in which he has gone 7 innings or more this season) and allowing eight hits and one walk but, only the one run and he struck out five.

It was awesome to hear the "K" chants...
all throughout the stadium each time he got to two strikes on a batter and a nice touch that Wedge was able to take him out mid-inning so the fans could give Felix his due.

For a time there, it was looking like the M's might be no-hit...
but, thanks to me ( ;-) ) as Eric Thames came to the plate in the 5th, I leaned over to the guy sitting next to me and said, "ok, we can't have THEIR gut throw a no-no against us - not on Felix's night!" and BOOM, two pitches later, the ball was in the seats and there was not only a hit but, a run, on the board for the M's.

The top of the 7th was a bit crazy...
after a ground out, three straight singles and a mis-cue by Brendan Ryan allowed the Tribe to score their only run. Felix made a throwing error that allowed the runner on 2B to advance to 3B but, they were able to snuff out the squeeze attempt and tag out the runner going from 3B to home.

't was all gravy from there - 't was Felix's night, and nothing was going to spoil it...
a Saunders walk, a Seager single a Jaso double and a Montero (3-run) MASH gave the M's the 5-1 lead they would not relinquish, with lots of credit to Lucas Luetge who held them off for the last 1.1 and the defense (that, despite the two errors) was spectacular, as usual. Namely ANOTHER outstanding, diving catch by Trayvon in left and a really cool snare and toss, from his stomach, by Ackley.