The Seattle Mariners have gone 3-4 to start the season, but for a team that was one of the worst offensively last year, that is good enough and the power that Michael Morse is showing from the outfield is an encouraging sign as the team heads home for its opener against new AL West rival the Houston Astros at Safeco Field.
The Mariners opened the season with seven on the road, but they will spend the next 10 games at home in the newly designed Safeco Field, as the team brought the walls closer in during the offseason, looking to make it more of a hitters ballpark than a pitchers. Morse will likely benefit from that, as will sluggers Kendrys Morales and Raul Ibanez. Morse is tied for the league lead in home runs and the Mariners are looking to continue their hot spring when they led the majors in long balls. More has hit five home runs this season, including four in the opening series against the Oakland Athletics, at a stadium that is not known for its kindness to the deep ball.
Morse became the first player since Ken Griffey to hit that many home runs for the Mariners, but the team could not overcome the White Sox on Sunday, losing 4-3 on the road. The Astros will throw Philip Humber on Monday night for the game against Joe Saunders, who is making his first start in Seattle. Humber knows how to pitch in Safeco, as he had his perfect game there in April of last year, but things may be different this time around, since he struggled the rest of the year after the game.
Houston is a new addition to the American League and the West division and are just 1-5 this season, losing five in a row after winning its opening game against the Texas Rangers. The team is hotting less than .200 on the season and are going to Seattle for the first time since 2004 and will play nine straight road division games.
Michael Morse is leading the team in home runs, batting average, runs and RBIs and the team is ranked 13th in scoring with a 3-4 record through two series with the A's and White Sox. The team ranks 26th in batting average and is 17th in slugging. The Astros are ranked in the bottom of the league in nearly every offensive category early in the season, including in runs, batting average and on base percentage.
