Suzuki honoured with collage showing each one of his 3,000 hits
The Miami Marlins paid tribute to Ichiro Suzuki by giving him a collage of photographs showing each of his first 3,000 hits.
Suzuki reached the milestone last season and was honoured before Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The ceremony included Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh offering congratulations in a scoreboard video, and Suzuki responded by bowing toward the scoreboard.
“It’s the most emotional I’ve ever seen him,” Marlins president David Samson said. He said the collage is more than 8 feet wide and took months to assemble.
Suzuki originally was to have been honoured late last season, but the ceremony was postponed following the death of Marlins ace Jose Fernandez.
The 43-year-old Japanese star spent his first 11 1/2 seasons with Seattle before heading to the New York Yankees, and has been with the Marlins since 2015.
Mariners fall to Cleveland
Michael Brantley homered and Francisco Lindor had a two-run double as the Cleveland Indians scored eight times in the third inning of a 12-4 win over the weary Seattle Mariners on Sunday. Brantley led off the big inning with a single and capped it with a two-run homer. Lindor, who had three RBIs, hit a solo homer in the third and preceded Brantley’s homer with his double.
The inning included three singles, a double, a triple that was lost in the sun, a sacrifice fly and two walks.
Seattle, playing the final game of an 11-day road trip, was only charged with one error, but had several misplays in the field.
Josh Tomlin (2-3) allowed four runs in fiveplus innings for the win. The Mariners began the sixth with six straight hits and scored three times, but Nick Goody worked out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam.
Next game for the Mariners is Tuesday when lefty James Paxton faces the Los Angeles Angels. His 1.39 ERA in five April starts was the third-lowest in franchise history.
Eaton likely gone for year
Nationals centre-fielder Adam Eaton tore a ligament in his left knee and his season is likely over, the team confirmed Sunday.
General manager Mike Rizzo said Eaton has a “full thickness” ACL tear, plus a meniscus tear and a high ankle sprain.
“His return to this season is unlikely, but we don’t know until the doctors get in there and we’ll see what the surgery leads us to believe,” said Rizzo, who added the surgery date is not set.
In Friday’s 7-5 loss to the visiting New York Mets, the 28-year-old Eaton stepped awkwardly on the bag when he beat out a throw to first in the ninth inning.
“Just trying to make something happen,” Eaton said. “Kind of got outside my zone there and lunged a little bit at the bag. It’s part of the way I play and it's unfortunate I got snake bit a little bit there".
Eaton, who went on the 10-day disabled list Saturday, was Washington’s biggest off-season acquisition, arriving from the Chicago White Sox in a trade that included the Nationals’ top two pitching prospects plus a 2016 first-round draft choice.
He was hitting .297 with two homers and 13 RBIs.