In case you missed it -- and because the game wasn't on TV anywhere but in the Seattle area, you probably did -- baseball season started this morning with the Mariners beating the A's 3-1 in 11 innings in Tokyo.
And because the game was televised live only on Root Sports in the Mariners' viewing area (and Japan), here's photographic evidence:
Ichiro Suzuki went 4 for 5 and Dustin Ackley drove in two, including a home run in the fourth inning and an RBI single in the 11th to put the Mariners atop the American League West standings after one game.
The game was on MLB.tv, so folks who shelled out $100 a year got to see it -- unless they live in the A's territory, which meant they were blacked out, even though it wasn't being televised by the A's broadcast partner.
Meanwhile, MLB Network was showing a replay of the Braves-Mets Grapefruit League game from Tuesday. Baseball's own TV network showed the replay of the Mariners-A's game at 9:09 a.m. EST, just as Brandon League was finsihing off the game for the Mariners at the Tokyo Dome.
Anyway, enough about why you didn't see it, here's what you didn't see:
First hit: Suzuki infield single off Brandon McCarthy in the first inning
First home run: Ackley off McCarthy in the fourth
First stolen base: Jemile Weeks in the first
First strikeout: McCarthy got Justin Smoak swinging in the first
First caught stealing: Chone Figgins by Kurt Suzuki in the third
First error: Eric Sogard, a throwing error in the fifth
First win: Tom Wilhelmsen
First loss: Andrew Carignan
First save: League
Neither starter, Seattle's Felix Hernandez nor McCarthy, figured in the decision, but both pitched well. Hernandez struck out six in eight innings, while giving up a run on five hits. McCarthy went seven innings, allowing a run on six hits and striking out three. Neither walked a batter.
