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I/O:  The Mariners limited the A’s 3 hits in each of the first two games of the season, the first team to open a season with back-to-back games allowing 3 or fewer hits in each game since the Reds in 1970.

Hisashi Iwakuma has struck out 10 and not walked a batter in his first two starts this season (14.0 IP)...he is just the fourth pitcher in club history to pitch at least 6.0 innings and not walk a batter in each his first two starts of a season...Cliff Lee was the last to accomplish this, recording three straight starts in 2010, joining Mike Morgan (1987) and Jamie Moyer (2002).

CRUNCH:  Since 1970 ... in other words, nobody here has probably ever seen or heard of a team pulling off what the 2013 Mariners just did.

Iwakuma's liable to mess around and give the Mariners a surprise 1-2 combo at the top of their rotation.  If he can stay healthy.

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I/O:   Kendrys Morales is batting .500 (8x16) with 3 doubles, 1 home run and 5 RBI over his last four games...after opening the season 1-for-12 (.083), Morales has raised his batting average .321 with the current four-game hitting streak...Morales ranks 2nd on the team (behind Michael Morse – 1.042) with a .923 OPS.

CRUNCH:  After Guti's first series has faded away, Morales and Morse (who follow each other in the MLB dictionary) have, um, Settled In as the Mariners' two big guns.

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I/O:  Mariners manager Eric Wedge has rolled out a different offensive line-up in every game this season...eight games, eight different line-ups.

CRUNCH:  Usually this would be a negative development, a comment on the fact that the manager is groping for solutions.  In this specific case, it's a positive development.

1) The top of the order is set; Saunders and Gutierrez are doing pretty decent jobs, and Kyle Seager rotates in.

2) The 3-4 hitters are carrying the ballclub.

3) After that you have the kids ... I liked Spectator's line, at The Stalk, that these three "were just about as gold-plated as you could ask for" coming out of the minors.  Still verrrry early on all three of them ... well, verrrry early on Montero and Ackley :- )

The lineup is predictable; it's just that Sgt. Wedge is using an Earl Weaver Three-Card Monte approach to attacking the enemy pitching.  Remember the Lou Piniella benches?  At times he had literally three switch-hitting benchies who could play seven positions each.  Earl hated the "swiss army knife" benchie; he had specialized weapons down there, and he used them to attack.  Not to cover his keister.

Tonight, again, Wedge is able to deploy a heavily RH lineup against Bedard.  Seager gets a break, Jesus Montero is a lefty-masher, and the 3-4 bangers will swing righty.  Good chances to break in the new Edgar Porch.

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I/O:  The Seattle bullpen has combined for a 3.00 ERA (7 ER, 21.0 IP) and a .178 opponent batting average (13x73)...stranded 12 of 14 inherited runners.

CRUNCH:  Normal would have been to strand 10 of 14 runners, or so.  Also the notes pointed out that the defense has allowed 0 earned runs so far, so the ballclub is playing crisply in the top half of the inning ... the Twinks, I believe, have not yet committed an error at all.

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I/O:  Lefties - The Mariners have faced a left-handed starter in 4 of first 8 games (tonight makes it 5 of 9).

CRUNCH:  That's weird.  Texas will open with LH Harrison against Felix, too.   After that, the chances arrive for Saunders, Seager, Ackley and Rauuul to make hay.

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