The spring training season started with a splash. Just not the kind fans h

MESA Justin Bour Jersey , Ariz. (AP) —oped for.In the first major league exhibition game of the year, the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics were rained out Thursday. The Mariners roughed up Jerry Blevins and led 5-0 in the middle of the second inning when it was called — so in a game where the stats don’t count, they really won’t count.“We have our feet wet now, literally,” Athletics manager Bob Melvin said.The Cactus League opener was rained out after Major League Baseball had 54 regular-season postponements last year, the most since 1989.The Athletics and Mariners started early to give them time to prepare for their upcoming trip to Japan, where they’ll play regular-season games on March 20-21 at the Tokyo Dome.Dylan Moore, one of six players in the Mariners’ starting lineup who was new to the organization, hit a two-run double in the second off Blevins. Shed Long hit two doubles and Domingo Santana had a sacrifice fly.“Give them credit for their first at-bats of the spring in those type of conditions http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-starlin-castro-jersey ,” Melvin said. “They all had good at-bats.”It was an unseasonably cool 50 degrees at the start of the exhibition opener at Hohokam Stadium. Marco Gonzales pitched one inning for the Mariners before the rain came.“We had a pretty good idea it was going to rain, but I’m really glad we got Marco out there,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “That was the goal today. We were hoping to get two innings out of him, but the rain didn’t quite hold off long enough. But good start, a lot of good things.”Ichiro Suzuki, at 45 expected to play for the Mariners in the opening series in Japan, wasn’t in the lineup for Seattle. He was hit on the right foot by a pitch from Felix Hernandez during batting practice on Wednesday.The Mariners and A’s are set to try again Friday in Peoria, though the weather forecast isn’t much better.The Grapefruit League season is scheduled to begin earlier in the day when Philadelphia plays Tampa Bay in Port Charlotte, Florida.NOTES: The 20-second pitch clock that will be tried out across in spring training was not used in the Mariners-A’s game. WASHINGTON (AP) Bryce Harper is still a member of the Washington Nationals Nick Wittgren Jersey , with the two-time defending NL East champions hoping he can lead them on another playoff run after a season-long funk.Washington opted not to trade Harper, who’ll be a free agent after the season, after listening to offers for him. The Nationals didn’t do much else, either, before Tuesday’s trade deadline, shipping out a relief pitcher but otherwise standing pat as the two teams ahead of them in the division – Atlanta and Philadelphia – made moves to upgrade their rosters.General manager Mike Rizzo said he had discussions with other teams about a litany of players and Harper was one of them, with several teams having more than a passing interest. He said the team did its due diligence on Harper and five or six other players, but there wasn’t a deal that made sense.”It would have to be a spectacular set of circumstances for us to move a player of Bryce Harper’s ability level, and we didn’t get anything that met those qualifications Julio Urias Jersey ,” Rizzo said.Rizzo said after reports surfaced that the team was looking to trade Harper, he told the 25-year-old outfielder Monday night that he wasn’t going anywhere.Harper said he was glad to be staying in Washington.”I think whenever you hear your name or see your name on stuff you always wonder, but I think that’s just the business side of the game,” Harper said. ”It’s part of the game.”Washington’s only move was to send late-inning reliever Brandon Kintzler to the Chicago Cubs for a minor league pitcher, one year after acquiring Kintzler from the Twins.The Nationals open a two-game series against the Mets having gone 10-14 in July, but they’re still within striking distance of the Braves and Phillies. Atlanta added pitchers Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day from the Orioles Tuesday, and the Phillies picked up former Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos from the Rays.”I think it’s fine,” Harper said of Washington essentially standing pat. ”I think we’ve played some of the worst baseball we can and we’re only 5 games back, and we’re getting our whole team back and hopefully (closer Sean) Doolittle back here pretty soon and (Stephen Strasburg) as well.”A six-time All-Star http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , Harper is hitting just .220 but has 25 home runs, tied for second in the NL entering Tuesday’s games.”I’m very happy to write Bryce’s name in the lineup still and looking forward to writing it in every day,” manager Dave Martinez said.Rizzo said the Nationals made their deadline move early – acquiring closer Kelvin Herrera from the Royals on June 18. With 57 games left, Rizzo’s inaction delivered a message.”I think it tells the team that we believe in the squad that we have, the 25 guys that are in that clubhouse we’ve felt all along have a chance to win this division,” he said. ”We’re the two-time defending champs, we’ve got the bulls-eye on our back and we’ve got the crown on our head. Until someone takes it away from us, we’re still the champs.”—