King Felix fans 6 straight, finishes with 9 in 6 shutout innings as Mariners beat Padres 3-1
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Felix Hernandez looked primed and ready for the regular season, pitching six shutout innings to help the Seattle Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 on Friday night.
Hernandez allowed two hits and struck out nine — including six straight in the third and fourth innings. He threw 70 pitches and didn't walk a batter.
The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner signed a $175 million, seven-year contract last month, the largest deal for a pitcher in baseball history.
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Padres starter Tyson Ross was effective early, but inefficiency cut his outing short. He gave up only one run but was pulled after throwing 94 pitches in 4 2-3 innings.
Ross, competing for the No. 5 spot in San Diego's rotation, had six strikeouts and two walks.
Kelly Shoppach homered leading off the fifth for Seattle, snapping Ross' scoreless streak at 15 1-3 innings.
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Yonder Alonso went deep for the Padres, his fourth home run in his last eight games.