Baseball is back. After a five month layoff, teams are playing meaningful games again. On Opening Day, aces Felix Hernandez and Jose Fernandez looked as though they hadn’t missed a beat.
The Seattle Mariners ace worked six innings Monday night. He surrendered two earned runs, both on a two-run shot by Mike Trout. Of the 25 hitters he faced, Hernandez tallied 11 strikeouts, while issuing only one walk. His changeup was virtually unhittable.
Hernandez’s changeup, which at times comes in at 90-91 miles per hour, has been his go-to pitch for several seasons. According to Brooks Baseball, he threw it 35 times against the Los Angeles Angels. Of those 35 changeups, Angels hitters offered at 20 of them. 17 of those 20 swings came up empty. One changeup, a 3-2 beauty to Trout, looked like the bottom dropped out just a few feet from home plate, leaving the Angels star to wave as it bounced in the dirt. A late offensive explosion rendered the Mariners victors by a score of 10-3.
Likewise, Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez performed with surgical precision against the Colorado Rockies on Opening Day. The 21 year-old hurler notched nine strikeouts in six innings, issuing just five hits and walking none. Meanwhile, his offense gave him plenty of support as the Marlins cruised to an easy win.
Fernandez utilized his curveball generously against the Rockies, throwing it 35 times. Combined with a fastball that worked in the mid to upper 90s and excellent command, he had the Rockies eating out of his hand all night. The only run surrendered was a long home run off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez.
The Marlins might be destined for yet another losing season, but with Fernandez, who struck out 27.5 percent of hitters as a 20 year-old in 2013, they are very exciting to watch every five days.
