The Colorado Rockies got a big win, 9-3, over the Seattle Mariners today at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Felix Hernandez got his first start of the spring for Seattle and was his usual self. King Felix went two innings, giving up no hits or runs and only one walk. He did all of that on just 18 pitches and was efficient with his repetoire. Hernandez was not too pleased about his one walk, however, as he said in his postgame interview.
Once Hernandez was done for the day, the Rockies got the bats out and started to hit. Roenis Elias relieved Hernandez, and that is where it went down hill for the Mariners. The Mariners' lefty gave up two runs in the fourth inning after a Justin Morneau double followed by a two-run home run by catcher Wilin Rosario. Elias finished the day after two innings in which he gave up two runs and four hits while walking one.
In the fifth inning, Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon brought in righty reliever Dom Leone who had a bad outing to put it bluntly. Leone gave up five earned runs on five hits while walking one. This was part of a seven-run bottom of the fifth inning when two Mariners, Brad Miller and Julio Morban, made errors to keep the inning alive for the Rockies. The inning was highlighted by the second home run of the afternoon for Rosario. This time he hit a three-run shot out to left center field to make it 8-2. By the end of the inning, the Rockies had extended the lead to 9-2.
One of the highlights on offense for the Mariners was Dustin Ackley finally breaking out of his slump and checking in with a 3-for-3 day at the plate. This is a good sign for the Mariners because he was one of just a handfull of Mariners that had yet to really get going at the plate this spring.
In our daily check in at shortstop and the battle between Miller and Chris Taylor, Miller was able to go 2 for 3 at the plate, but he did have an error in the field; Taylor was 0 for 3, but he had an RBI groundout in the fourth inning. Just a moot point, but James Jones played all nine innings and had a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make it 9-3.
The Rockies saw Kyle Kendrick on the mound this afternoon, and he had a great day in two innings of work. Kendrick gave up only two hits and struck out three on 27 pitches. Colorado is hoping to get some good innings out of him after a tough year in Philadelphia in 2014. Relievers LaTroy Hawkins and John Axford also got in an inning of relief as they each gave up a hit but no runs. Rafael Betancourt struggled a bit as he labored throughout the ninth inning on 23 pitches while he gave up a run on three hits.
The offense for the Rockies is what propelled them on this day, however. Seven of the nine starters for Colorado checked in with a hit, and they totalled 11 overall on the day. The Mariners did match them in the hits category with 11, but the Rockies' pitching won out on this day in Arizona.
Both teams return to action tomorrow as they face each other for the second straight day. This time, the Rockies will not have a split squad, and the game will be played in Peoria. The Mariners send Erasmo Ramirez to the hill and he will be opposed by a Rockies starter that is still TBD.
W: LaTroy Hawkins, 1-0, 0.00 ERA
L: Dominic Leone, 0-1, 19.29