Locked in a pitcher's duel through five innings on Saturday night at Safeco Field, the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners are both scoreless and have combined for exactly three total hits.
Seattle starter Felix Hernandez, as expected, has stolen the show with just one hit yielded through five frames. Hernandez has thrown 67 pitches, 42 for strikes, and owns four strikeouts. Opposing Hernandez, Minnesota starter Jason Marquis has hardly been a slouch himself with two hits allowed and one strikeout after five.
Neither pitcher has allowed a run thus far, although the Twins were able to sacrifice Denard Span over to third base in the third inning despite not being able to take advantage. Despite his impressive line overall, Marquis has also walked four Seattle batters despite a commendable pitch count of 71, and will need to shore up his command to keep up with the usually-sharp Hernandez.
The lone hit of the afternoon for the Twins was picked up by the aforementioned Span, moving his season average to .314. With both pitchers primed to pitch deep into the late innings, the outcome of this game could theoretically come down to a single hit. Stay with SB Nation Minnesota for more updates as the Twins look for win No. 8 on the season.
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