Yusei Kikuchi felt the nerves Monday that would normally

PEORIA http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , Ariz. (AP) — accompany taking the mound in front of tens of thousands of fans in a major ballpark, not the few thousand who showed up for a spring training game in the desert.“I’ve been pitching in Japan for the last nine years and I wanted to test what I was doing in Japan against major league hitters and I wanted to see how they reacted,” Kikuchi said through an interpreter. “So I was really kind of excited and also nervous about that.”Kikuchi made his debut for the Seattle Mariners throwing two innings against the Cincinnati Reds in a start that featured a little bit of everything, from moments of dominance to Kikuchi working out of a jam.The Mariners were pleased with what they saw.“He had a little nerves, no doubt about it, but fastball was really good, he was up to 95 (mph), the breaking pitches we know are outstanding. Thought he handled it really, really well,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “He’s going to take a little time to get his routine. You saw him throwing outside the dugout before, there’s a few adjustments there Paul DeJong Jersey , but really happy for him getting that first outing under his belt.”Kikuchi’s most notable at-bat was his lone strikeout, when he tied up Joey Votto on a deceptive 2-2 curveball that left the veteran slugger waving unsuccessfully. While Kikuchi has a fastball in the mid-90s, his breaking pitches and the ability to hide the ball in his windup add to the challenges of facing the lefty.“It’s spring training and I’m sure he’s tuning up his swing as well but to strike out someone the caliber of Joey Votto, a hitter of that caliber, I’m really happy about the result of today,” Kikuchi said.The rest of the outing forced Kikuchi to do a little bit of everything. He had to scamper off the mound to cover first base on a groundout by Yasiel Puig. He faced the challenge of traffic on the bases after a rough second inning that featured a leadoff walk, two errors and giving up two runs — although both were unearned.Kikuchi threw 29 pitches with 19 strikes, the first step in a transitional season.“Obviously, when you’re up on the mound you want to shut them down one, two, three when you’re up there but after I let some guys on today I think I was able to keep my pitch count low and get some double play balls so I’m happy with what I did lex Reyes Jersey ,” Kikuchi said.One of the biggest adjustments will be Kikuchi’s pregame routine. Servais noted Kikuchi was on the field nearly an hour before first pitch and still figuring out the timing led to Kikuchi playing catch in front of the dugout several minutes before the team took the field.“What we wanted to do is let him go through his normal routine,” Servais said. “He was out here probably 50, 55 minutes before the game started. That’s what he normally does and over time, that’s why we’ve got the four, five outings through spring to tighten up that routine and as the season goes on it will be a learning curve for him as well.”The first outing for Kikuchi was documented from all angles by Asian photographers following his every move, from his warmup in the bullpen to the scrum after his outing with dozens of reporters.Seattle wants to limit Kikuchi’s innings during the regular season and make the first-year transition from pitching in Japan less arduous. But the Mariners also need to build up Kikuchi so he is ready to take on a starter’s load when his innings won’t be limited.Kikuchi said he hadn’t been told what comes next, but he’s likely to get his second start sometime this weekend.“It’s my first start and I felt really good throwing the ball. Going into the game I was a little nervous, obviously, but it ended up well,” Kikuchi said. ST PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — There was no opener needed for the Tampa Bay Rays in their first series of the season.Yonny Chirinos covered splendidly for a taxed bullpen Evan Longoria Jersey , Austin Meadows hit his second homer and the Rays took three of four games from the Houston Astros with a 3-1 victory Sunday.Chirinos pitched seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and no walks while striking out six. The only run came on Jake Marisnick’s homer in the sixth.The Rays had planned to use an opener for the first time this season, but manager Kevin Cash instead turned to the 25-year-old Chirinos rather than push his fatigued relievers.“It’s definitely different,” Chirinos said through a translator. “When you start the game, you have more time to prepare. But you’ve just got to be prepared at all times.”“Outstanding effort,” Cash said. “Yonny made us all look fairly intelligent for a day.”Ryne Stanek will reprise his opener role — which he did 29 times last season — in Monday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies.“We’ll keep our versatility,” Cash said. “We’re not trying to gauge, like, if you do this so well then we’re going to let you start. That’s not the case. We think our best matchups are when we can be versatile throughout the entire pitching staff.”Diego Castillo, the fourth Tampa Bay reliever Dustin McGowan Jersey , closed out a three-hitter with three outs in the ninth. None of those relievers threw more than 17 pitches.Astros shortstop Carlos Correa was hitless in his season debut. He missed the first three games with neck stiffness.Tampa Bay was the only team to have a winning record against the Astros in each of the last two seasons, when Houston won a combined 204 games. The Rays need to win once in a three-game set Aug. 27-29 at Houston to take this year’s series.“Needless to say we’re ready to get out of here,” Astros manager AJ Hinch said.Meadows had three RBIs, including a two-run shot off Wade Miley (0-1) in the third. He also had an RBI single in the first.Miley made his first start after signing a $4.5 million, one-year free agent deal. He allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings.Tampa Bay scored 11 runs during the series, including eight with two outs.“Obviously with two outs, being able to get that run in or get that big hit definitely helps fuel the fire for the pitching staff,” Meadows said.The Astros had nine runs in the series.The game took 2 hours, 12 minutes. All four games in the series lasted 2:40 or less.TRAINER’S ROOMAstros: LF Michael Brantley was rested. It’s something that Hinch plans to do with other regulars early in the season. “It probably feels like it’s early, but I’m going to leave some gas in their gas tank throughout the year,” Hinch said. Brantley pinch-hit in the eighth.Rays: 2B Joey Wendle departed with a left hamstring strain. He will have an MRI. … 3B Matt Duffy (back/left hamstring) has not resumed baseball activities and will miss all of April. An early to mid-May return is possible.SMALL BALLThe game ended when Jose Altuve had his bunt with George Springer on third caught in foul territory by third baseman Daniel Robertson. “With Alex (Bregman) hitting behind me http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , I was the tying run and trying to get on base,” Altuve said. “It was a bad pitch and I should have taken it.”UP NEXTAstros: RHP Brad Peacock, who won the fifth starter spot in spring training, will face Texas LHP Drew Smyly on Monday night. Smyly, coming back from Tommy John surgery in July 2017, threw one inning in a minor league game over the last two seasons.Rays: Stanek go against Colorado RHP Chad Bettis on Monday night. Bettis, making his first start of the season, is 5-6 with a 7.20 ERA in 16 interleague games, including 12 starts.