Aside from coming out on the winning side of tonight’s ballgame, the Mariners will hope that their #2 pitcher, Iwakuma, can stay on the mound until late in the game and not be sidelined by injury.
The injury bug has cursed the M’s already this season. As was mentioned, Hernandez was forced to leave the season-opener due to groin tightness and just this past week the team also received bad news that Drew Smyly will be out for 6-8 weeks with elbow troubles.
If you remember, Hernandez spent about five weeks on the DL in the middle of last season, his longest stint there in his career.