SEATTLE -- Thyago Vieira survived his Mariners debut on Monday in impressive fashion. And in this case, survived was the correct word as the hard-throwing rookie snared a 98-mph line drive right at his head on the first pitch he threw to the Orioles' Chris Davis, then proceeded to record a 1-2-3 ninth inning in Seattle's 11-3 loss.
"Wow," said the excitable 24-year-old from Brazil. "I don't know. God protected me there. That was so fast. I saw it and put my glove there and the ball was right there."
Davis laced a 98-mph fastball back up the middle with a 98-mph exit velocity, testing the big youngster's reflexes in a hurry.