On Wednesday, the Mariners hosted the Marlins for a series finale. As outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who spent the first 12 years of his major league career in Seattle, is now with the Marlins, the Mariners fittingly gave away an Ichiro dual bobblehead.
The Marlins fell behind for good in the fourth inning when the Mariners took an 8-3 lead. Suzuki gave both Marlins and Mariners fans something to cheer about in the top of the ninth inning, however, as he lifted an Evan Marshall fastball out to right-center field for a solo home run in what is likely his final at-bat at Safeco Field. The Seattle crowd gave Suzuki a loud standing ovation.
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Suzuki, now 43, hit .322/.366/.418 with 438 stolen bases as a Mariner from 2001-12. He won the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards in ’01 and made the All-Star team 10 years running from ’01-10. He’s been with the Marlins since 2015. While he isn’t the player he once was due to age, he showed last year he still has something left in the tank by finishing with a .730 OPS. Suzuki has struggled to start 2017, however, entering Wednesday’s action hitting .067/.067/.067.