Felix Hernandez: What to Expect in Seattle Mariners' Home Opener

A week of baseball has come and gone, and the Seattle Mariners find themselves at 4-4, which is good enough for second place in the American League West. The M's are playing solid baseball for a team that has played all of its eight games on the road, but now it's finally time for them to head back to Seattle and get their first home stand started. 

Home openers are always special. The ballpark is packed with fans who are hopeful of what the season may be for their team. Friday is guaranteed to be that and more with ace, and fan favorite, Felix Hernandez scheduled to take the mound.

The level of excitement at Safeco Field seems to be at a whole new level when "the King" takes the hill. That's due in large part to the "King's Court," which was established last year to support Hernandez during his starts. 

When you mix Opening Night with Felix Hernandez, great things are bound to happen. 

For his career, Hernandez's first home starts numbers are pretty impressive. In the past six years, on the aforementioned occasion, he has posted a 3-1 record with a 3.72 ERA and 40 strikeouts. His one loss came in his first year making the team out of spring training, when he only allowed one run on two hits. 

Those stats are pretty reassuring for Mariners' fans going into Friday night's game. If that's not enough, Hernandez has already faced the A's in his first two starts of the season. Some could argue that would be a disadvantage to him because the hitters could have possibly figured him out. Well, that more than likely won't be the case, seeing that Felix holds a 12-4 record all time against Oakland.

If you've faced a guy for seven years and have yet to show any trace of "figuring him out," I'd say it's a safe bet it probably won't be happening any time soon. An interesting note, however, is that Hernandez has never faced the A's more than four times in a season, but after Friday's game, he will have already faced them three times in less than a month. 

So with all the stars aligning (Opening Night at Safeco, Felix starting and the A's in town), expect a fun ballgame. The saying goes that, "numbers don't lie," and if that's the case we could be in store for one special night in Seattle. 

* Stats are from ESPN.com .