Mariners Game Recap: King Felix makes History in M’s Win

King Felix broke his second Mariners’ record in as many months as Seattle bested the Rays tonight at Safeco Field.

The Seattle Mariners (19-13) won the series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays (15-15) on Monday night at Safeco Field. Felix Hernandez (3-2, 2.27 ERA) earned the win for the Mariners, and Dana Eveland (0-1, 10.29 ERA) was credited with the loss for Tampa Bay. Steve Cishek made quick work of the Rays in the ninth to secure his 10th save of the season.

Rays’ starter, Matt Moore, was able to tiptoe out of danger in the first two innings, but his luck changed in the home half of the third inning. Ketel Marte led off the frame with his second double of the game. The Mariners’ young shortstop advanced to third base on a Robinson Cano groundout, and trotted home to score on a Nelson Cruz sacrifice fly to center field. The M’s held a 1-0 lead over Tampa Bay after the first three innings.

Seattle’s slim lead was short-lived though, as the Rays stormed back to tie the game in the top of the fourth. Corey Dickerson sliced a Felix Hernandez sinker over the wall in left field for an opposite field home run. Dickerson’s dinger was of the solo variety, and knotted the game at a run a piece.

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The Rays pushed ahead in the following inning. King Felix was able to retire the first two hitters with relative ease, but Longoria launched a solo homer to center field. Longo is one of the best players in the game, and it surprises no one that he went yard tonight. The homer gave Tampa a 2-1 edge.

Thankfully the Mariners fought back in the bottom of the fifth. Marte was the catalyst tonight for Seattle, and he led things off with an infield single. Cano followed with a single of his own, and Marte advanced to third base on a Longoria throwing error. Marte hustled home to score on a wild pitch, tying the game at 2 in the process.

Seattle jumped way out in front in the sixth inning. Leonys Martin and Nori Aoki started things off by working back-to-back walks. Marte stepped up and belted a 3-run blast deep to center field to give the Mariners a 5-2 lead.

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Ketel Marte had the best game of his career this evening, and he essentially willed the Mariners to victory. The 22-year-old registered his first four hit performance as a big leaguer, and he hit the ball hard in every at bat. Marte doubled twice, and connected on his first home run of the season. He also drove in 3 runs and scored 3 times. Ketel is now hitting .297 in 2016, and he appears to just be hitting his stride.

Marte may have been the most valuable player for the Mariners, but the night belonged to King Felix. The 30-year-old right-hander earned his 146th career win and surpassed Jamie Moyer for the most victories in M’s history. It seems fitting that the historic moment occurred at Safeco Field against Tampa, as Felix hurled his perfect game against the Rays in 2012. It was a special night for Felix and all of the screaming fans down in King’s Court.

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Up next for the Seattle Mariners (19-13) is another date with the Tampa Bay Rays (15-15) on Tuesday night at Safeco Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm from the corner of Edgar & Dave. Tomorrow night’s game will be a matchup of lefties, as Wade Miley (2-2, 4.74 ERA) will get the ball for Seattle and Drew Smyly (1-3, 2.72 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Rays. As always, the game will be televised live locally on Root Sports Northwest, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices.