Cheers for Ichiro; hits galore for teammates
Rousing welcome in homeland as Mariners top A’s
TOKYO — Ichiro drew all the cheers. Most everyone else on the Seattle Mariners did all the hitting.
A crowd that came to salute Ichiro Suzuki in his homeland saw Domingo Santana deliver the biggest hit at the Tokyo Dome, a grand slam that sent Seattle over the Oakland Athletics 9-7 Wednesday in the Major League Baseball opener.
Batting ninth and knowing he’d get two plate appearances, Ichiro, 45, popped up and worked a walk. He took his spot in right field to begin the bottom of the fourth inning, then was pulled to another huge ovation. He was met with hugs from the Mariners on the diamond.
“The fans in Japan probably aren’t used to the reception I got from my teammates, but it’s not that unusual in the majors,” Ichiro said.
Mariners manager Scott Servais said Ichiro will play in Thursday’s final game of the series, but there is no guarantee he’ll start.
“We certainly want to give him an opportunity to go out and play, but we also want to get some other guys in the game,” Servais said. “I understand everybody wants to see him go all nine innings. We’re trying to do the best thing for the team, and Ichiro understands.”
This marked the earliest opening day in history — the summer sport actually started on the last day of winter. No doubt, most fans in North America were sound asleep when Oakland’s Mike Fiers threw the first pitch at 2:36 a.m. PDT (6:36 p.m. local).
Tim Beckham also homered as several Seattle newcomers excelled. Khris Davis, who led the majors with 48 home runs last year, Stephen Piscotty and Matt Chapman connected for the A’s.
“It was great. It’s a fun crowd to play in front of. Even the pregame stuff was exciting. I think everybody had a good time,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said.
A packed crowd of 45,787 was buzzing for its favorite star, sending cheers, chants and camera flashes for Ichiro bounding all around the park. Signs and Ichiro jerseys were plenty, too.
Ichiro became the second-oldest position player to start an opener, only a few months younger than Julio Franco was for Atlanta in 2004. Several of the players in this game weren’t born when Ichiro began his pro career.
Ichiro is getting very near the end of a sensational pro career that began in Japan in 1992 when he was at 18. He stopped playing last May to become a Mariners special assistant — after totaling 4,367 hits on both sides of the ocean — and struggled in spring training this year.
Santana, one of many Mariners new to the lineup, had no trouble at the plate. His opposite-field grand slam capped a five-run burst in the third for a 5-2 lead and Beckham’s drive in the fifth made it 9-4.
Beckham got three hits and scored three times. Also making a productive debut for Seattle were Jay Bruce, who singled for MLB’S first hit of the season, and Edwin Encarnacion, who scored twice.
The Mariners won for the 12th time in 15 openers. They also beat the A’s in 2012 when MLB last started in Japan.