Today is an exciting day for baseball fans all over the world. Why? Because today marks the first day of baseball being back in their lives. With many teams having their first games starting tomorrow, the Mariners have their first game today at 12:10pm. With a busy offseason and many saying the team has improved off their exciting finish to last season, there is much to anticipate this afternoon. Not only do the Mariners play, but they have several new players within today’s lineup that Mariner fans have not seen yet. Second baseman Kolten Wong is leading off the game, while All-Star right fielder Teoscar Hernández will be handling the four hole in the lineup. Familiar faces of Julio Rodriguez, Ty France, Eugenio Suarez, Jarred Kelenic, and JP Crawford will also be playing today. Here is the full lineup for today’s game:
Wong 2B
Rodriguez CF
France 1B
Hernandez RF
Suarez 3B
Kelenic LF
Murphy C
Crawford SS
Ford DH
This lineup seems like one we might actually see in the regular season. Obviously Cal Raleigh will have starting duties behind the dish, but with this projected workload this year it’s not surprising he is having today off. Dylan Moore will most likely get into this game at some point, replacing Wong or Crawford.
Robbie Ray will make his first start of spring training today. He will face Juan Soto, Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, and the San Diego Padres in this game, so lots of challenges right off the bat. Robbie is coming off a decent 2022 season, but he will more than likely be determined to return to his 2021 Cy Young form.
Today, baseball returns. It has been a long four months, but fans of baseball finally get a grasp of what this 2023 season might entail. Play ball!
Northwest Sports Desk 