Now THAT’S how you open up the MLB season! The Mariners and A’s slugged it out at the Tokyo Dome early Wednesday morning and, as expected, the bats were loud enough we heard them loud and clear on this side of the Pacific. And best of all, we had every home run, save for Tim Beckham ’s, listed in the Playbook for you. Matt Chapman , Domingo Santana , Khris Davis and my man Stephen Piscotty all came through and hopefully helped bring you closer to swimming through stacks of gold coins like you’re Scrooge McDuck.
We did have a couple of duds as Mitch Haniger came up empty and Jay Bruce was just meh, but the one that hurt the most was Ichiro Suzuki . He wasn’t expensive at all so it didn’t hurt that much, but to have him get pulled in the fourth inning was a huge blow because we lost at-bats. While he’ll be in the lineup again for Game 2, we won’t be able to touch the hometown hero for fear of it happening again.
So who should you use? To be honest, I’m just going to go ahead and use, pretty much, the same group of hitters from yesterday, but with a few minor tweaks.
Khris Davis , DH OAK – Yes, he’s prone to the strikeout, but he’s also a consistent 40-homer threat who continues to accrue 100-RBI seasons. He went deep last night off left-hander Marco Gonzales and, given the park dimensions, he could very easily do it again.
Matt Chapman , 3B OAK – He hit his dinger off righty Nick Rumbelow in the first game, but he was still 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored off lefty Marco Gonzales . He posted a .352 wOBA against southpaws, so he should be good in the early innings, but his real power has come against righties and if Yusei Kikuchi struggles, he’ll get numerous cracks at this heavily right-handed bullpen.
Stephen Piscotty , OF OAK – He took Gonzales deep in his very first at-bat last night and continues to build off that .337 wOBA and .205 ISO against lefties he posted last year. Ride the wave until it breaks, that’s what they say…
Chad Pinder , OF OAK – The part-time outfielder had a pair of hits and a run scored last night and should bat fifth in this lineup once again. If he’s really going to keep hitting between Davis and Matt Olson when they face lefties, he’s going to see ample opportunities.
Jay Bruce , OF SEA – Same rules apply here on the Mariners side as Marco Estrada and Mike Fiers can be very similar at times. Yes, Bruce has clearly slowed down in recent seasons, but he’s still sporting a career .230 ISO against right-handed pitching with a .346 wOBA and a strong 115 wRC+.
Domingo Santana , OF SEA – That grand slam was the perfect way for Santana to introduce himself to the Mariners fanbase and we expect another strong game from him. The .370 wOBA and .230 ISO against right-handers are no joke and he’s ready to make it happen.
Mitch Haniger , OF SEA – OK, so he didn’t deliver yesterday and that was a disappointment, but we’re still talking about a guy with a .362 wOBA against right-handers. He’s going to heat up eventually and maybe another game in the Tokyo Dome will help – you know, he gets more work with the different batter’s eye, etc. He’s too good a hitter to ignore.