Mariners at Giants
The San Francisco Giants play their home opener versus the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday after setting a franchise record for fewest runs scored in the first four games of a season. San Francisco, though, remarkably gained a four-game split with the Los Angeles Dodgers despite getting outscored 14-2 with the runs coming on Joe Panik home runs.
"We won two out of four," Evan Longoria, who is hitless in his first 15 at-bats with the Giants, told reporters. "I guess that's what we take out it. For me, I've got a long way to go, but we've got a lot of games left." Seattle hits the road for eight games after taking two of three from Cleveland to open the season with Mitch Haniger (5-for-8, two home runs) and Robinson Cano (6-for-10) off to blazing starts. The Mariners' Marco Gonzalez opposes Ty Blach, who won on Opening Day, in a matchup of left-handers who know each other well from their travel-team days growing up in Colorado. “We have very similar pitching styles, for sure,” Blach told reporters. “He’s got a good changeup, good off-speed, he mixes his pitches well and swings the bat pretty well. It’ll be fun to go up against him.”
TV: 4:35 p.m. ET, MLB Network; ROOT Sports Northwest (Seattle), NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Marco Gonzales (2017: 1-1, 6.08 ERA) vs. Giants LH Ty Blach (1-0, 0.00)
Gonzales made one start for St. Louis last season before he was traded to Seattle, when he went 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 10 games (seven starts) - all after the All-Star break. Gonzales, who appears on an Opening Day roster for the first time, went 4-2 with a 4.15 ERA in 10 games (five starts) with the Cardinals in 2014 before he missed most of 2015 with shoulder injuries and all of 2016 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Gonzales was sharp in spring training, yielding six runs and 22 hits while striking out 21 in 26 innings.
Blach yielded three hits and three walks while striking out three in five innings of a 1-0 victory over Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Thursday. "We knew he wouldn't be nervous or scared or in awe of everything," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. "We were very confident he would give us a chance to win today." Blach has been more effective at AT&T Park than on the road during his career, going 6-5 with a 3.83 in 19 home games (14 starts) versus 4-7, 4.86 in 20 outings (13 starts) in opposing ballparks.
WALK-OFFS
1. San Francisco's Buster Posey is 4-for-13 to start the season as he bids to become the fourth catcher in baseball history to record seven consecutive years with 150 or more hits (Jason Kendall, Mike Piazza, Ted Simmons).
2. Seattle OF Ichiro Suzuki (2-for-9 this season) has 3,082 hits and needs 29 to pass Dave Winfield and move into 20th on the all-time list.
3. The Giants, who trail the Mariners 16-13 in the series, play their home opener against an American League team for the first time since interleague play began in 1997.