Seattle-born lefty will have family, friends in stands for Sunday's outing at Safeco
SEATTLE -- Blake Snell, born in Seattle and raised in nearby Shoreline, grew up watching almost every Mariners game with his father. He attended games at the Kingdome and Safeco Field, collected Mariners bobbleheads and jerseys, and hung posters of Alex Rodriguez, Dan Wilson, Jay Buhner and Ken Griffey Jr. on his bedroom wall.
Snell idolized Felix Hernandez. He remembers Hernandez's big league debut as a 19-year-old in 2005 and the countless stellar seasons afterwards.
But Snell's allegiance to Seattle will be thrown out the window Sunday when he makes his first big league start at Safeco Field against none other than Hernandez when the Rays wrap up their three-game series against the Mariners at 4:10 p.