So the Mariners are done playing the A's? That means they can start hitting the ball now, right?

Ichrio showed signs of what was to come in today's game, as he led off the bottom of the first with a home run on a one strike pitch from Giants' southpaw Noah Lowry. Indeed, in what is a usual "pitcher's paradise," Safeco played like a virtual "hitter's haven" tonight. Ten of the game's 17 basehits went for extra bases- games like this just don't happen at Safeco.

But that's the problem when everyone knows the scouting report on young Felix Hernandez: "He's going to establish his fastball early." Oh yeah? Well if that's the case, than other teams should just know to look for it and hit it early- which explains the Giants hitting three home runs in their first ten at-bats of the game.

Indeed, even if Felix slipped to the inconsistency he showed earlier this season rather than his more recent dominating self, he did pick up his fourth win in a row, and now spots a won-loss record over .500. Congrats, Felix!

Other pluses include the M's improving their record against left-handers, now 8-16, and also in one-run ballgames, now at a 5-9 record. Plus Putz just simply froze Barry Bonds with a wicked splitter for a called third strike, ending the game on perhaps one of the most positive notes so far this season!

Adrian Beltre went 2-for-4, pumping his average up to .236, and scored a run on Mike Morse's bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the first. (Oh, me likes it when the Mariners don't leave the bases loaded without scoring any runs!) Richie Sexson went hitless as he continues to battle the Mendoza line, so this victory was one of the rare ones for the M's in which just one of the two supposedly Big Boppers got a hit.

Let's hope the positive end to tonight's game leads to a carry-over for the rest of the weekend. Tomorrow Gil Meche takes the hill for the M's versus Jason Schmidt, who has won six straight decisions. That means there will be a lot of K's- here's wondering if Beltre will be able to avoid whiffing four times tomorrow. Schmidt has pretty much slapped Beltre around from AB's days of being a third-sacker for the Dodgers. In 38 at-bats, Schmidt has kept Adrian to 5 hits and 13 strikeouts.

Might be a good day to have Morse play third. Or, since Schmidt's a right-hander and Reed will be in center, have Willie Bloomquist man the hot corenr. It will give Ute some more chances to entertain the Safeco crowd with his gritty baserunning antics.

How strongly does Schmidt own the M's? According to Yahoo!, the only player on the Seattle roster this year to have hit a home run off Schmidt in his career was Matt Lawton. That does not bode well for tomorrow's game. Granted, such players as Ichiro, Betancourt, and Reed haven't faced Schmidt- and if they don't produce, we could be in store for the M's ninth shut-out at the Safe tomorrow afternoon.