Felix 1, Daisuke 0

Daisuke Matsuzaka received all the hype from ESPN entering tonight's game.  After all, it was his Fenway debut.  He tossed a solid seven innings, allowing three runs to the Mariners.  He retired Ichiro every time, even striking him out once.  Matsuzaka also threw one high and tight to Ichiro, and it wasn't an accident.  Nor was his HBP of Jose Guillen, in my opinion.  Kenji Johjima, who's had plenty of ABs against Matsuzaka, smacked a couple of doubles for the Mariners.

But the big story was 21 year-old Felix Hernandez, who carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning.  I was hoping he'd quiet Boston down, and it was incredible to watch him carve up their lineup in "radiant HD."  Before the game, I couldn't resist the +162 Bodog was giving for a bet on Felix.  Something tells me they won't set the line there again for him, no matter who he's facing.  (Some of you may remember my now-defunct website DailyBaseballPicks.com.  Turns out I had $39 sitting around in my Bodog account from that little experiment).

ESPN's announcers at least avoided the term "no-hitter" for most of the game, although they just said "screw it" around the 7th inning and said it a few times.  Not cool, guys.  Still, I must say I enjoy the pitching insight added by Orel Hershiser.  ESPN's gun was blatantly at least 3 mph fast - Joel Pineiro wasn't throwing 94 - but Felix was obviously dealing.  The guy's sliders and changeups are on par with most pitchers' fastballs.  Barely anything left the infield or the ground against him, though Jose Lopez lended some excellent glovework at second base.

After his one-hitter on the big stage tonight, we can safely say Felix Hernandez has arrived.  You have to wonder - if Felix pitches to his 90th percentile PECOTA - a 2.74 ERA - and does it for 215 innings, can the Mariners ride that to the playoffs?  In the King, they have one of the most valuable commodities in the game.

Comments

[finite24]

+162? I never understood baseball lines. This is embarassing, cause i'd bet my liver. Anyone care to explain the +162.

[ikilledthehobo]

I'm a huge Red Sox fan, but watching Hernandez pitch was incredible. That's the first time I've payed attention when he pitched against the Sox. I wanted him to get that no-no. I'm an old fashioned guy: leave the pitcher in there for the complete game, shutouts, no-nos and perfects are for me. Anytime someone comes close to accomplishing something, I get a little excited.

[RotoAuthority]

It means a $10 bet wins $16.20.

Start with $10, bet the +162 line on Felix, end up with $26.20.

If you think he's going to win that matchup at least 62% of the time, it's a good bet.

That was a ton of fun to watch...just pitching at its best.

[Paul]

I told a bunch of my friends to watch because of King Felix. His slider is absolutely filthy. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. People said his opening day performance was something like Doc Gooden when he broke in, but Gooden didn't have a slider that was so completely like this. It was truely marvelous. For what it's worth, Daisuke didn't pitch too bad. He made a few bad pitches and the M's made him pay. Overall, it was a truely great game for those who love pitching.

[RotoAuthority]

Agreed...I'd much rather see two awesome pitchers than a slugfest. Matsuzaka was definitely fooling a lot of guys and not rattled, but he left a few right in the middle of the plate.

[OPERATIONSHUTDOWN]

As long as Felix keeps the ball down, he's basically unhittable. Varitek thought he was getting beaned on 3 straight fastballs that touched the inside corner.

Aside from Betancourt's constant double clutching, that infield defense was ridiculous. It's likely to stay pretty good. If Jose Guillen is some semblance of his former self and Vidro hits, I think this team can be good. Pitcher and defense, that's the old saying, right? Somebody else in the rotation has gotta step up.

[Paul]

Yeah. The M's are a few years away. They need 1 or 2 more DECENT young pitchers to come up. I also think they should retain Ichiro if possible because the guy is still a Japanese icon and he draws fans in. The problem with Felix being an icon is he'll only draw fans every 5 days where as Ichiro gets them every game. I think the Mariners can be a very good team in a year or two.

[ArodSucksAtLife]

This was a classic should I route for my team or my fantasy baseball pick nonsense. I actually called from before the game 8 shut out innings with no hits and then an ortiz demolishing of putz in the 9th. Yeah Hargrove left his only decent pitcher in for the complete game, and it ended with ortiz on deck.....damn actually playing the game.

[DentalPlan]

Robinson Tejada 2 hit the Red Sox for 7 innings, big deal. The Red Sox get owned by pitchers of varying quality.

As for the Mariners, no, unfortunately for them one pitcher can't get you to the playoffs, especially when they have no supporting cast and the Angels have 5 good pitchers. Plus you have to assume Bavasi has another goofy trade up his sleeve.