The Mariners won a record-tying ninth-straight opening day Monday
The Seattle Mariners entered the season with huge expectations. They’ve decided to embrace them, apparently, tying a record during the first game of the year.
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With their win Monday, the Mariners have now won nine straight opening day games, according to ESPN’s David Schoenfield. That ties a major-league record.
The streak began back in 2007, which happened to be the first year Felix Hernandez was picked as the team’s opening day starter. Hernandez was not the opening day starter in 2008, that distinction went to Erik Bedard, but the team still managed to pull out a victory.
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In his eight opening day starts, Hernandez has picked up the win six times. That should come as no surprise. King Felix has put up fantastic numbers in his opening day starts.
Felix Hernandez in 8 career Opening Day starts: 6-0, 1.49 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 62/14 K/BB #It‘sGoodToBeTheKing
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) April 7, 2015
Yeah, it’s pretty tough to lose a game when your starting pitcher does that. While the Oakland Athletics have typically been the victim of Hernandez’s dominance, losing four times during the streak, the Los Angeles Angels got a taste Monday.
In the grand scheme of things, a win on opening day means little. The fact that the Mariners have not made the playoffs during that period tells you as much. Still, it’s a fun little stat, and it helps us fans futher appreciate the dominance of Felix Hernandez.
The King brings it on opening day. Long live King Felix!
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
