Baseball: Yusei Kikuchi delivers perfect inning as Mariners "opener"

Yusei Kikuchi tossed a perfect inning in his role as the "opener" for the Seattle Mariners in their 11-inning, 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday.The single-inning start is part of the team's experiment aimed at reducing the Japanese lefty's burden in his major league rookie season and easing his transition from Japanese baseball.Kikuchi coaxed a groundout and fanned two with nine pitches in the top of the first at T-Mobile Park before handing off to top prospect Justus Sheffield, who was called up to make his Mariners debut in relief."Because the game went to extra innings, by the en…READ FULL ARTICLE