Rain, rain, go away! 1st MLB spring training game washed out

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — The spring training season started with a splash. Just not the kind fans hoped 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 a season after Major League Baseball had 54 postponements, 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.

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.

The Mariners and A’s are set to try again Friday in Peoria. The Grapefruit League begins earlier in the day when Philadelphia plays Tampa Bay in Port Charlotte, Florida.