Haha. ESPN was glitching or something earlier and said he was through 8 innings with 12ks. I got really excited.
Of course I won't be scoffing at this performance. Quite nice for a first outing. No one should expect any less from a healthy Harden. However of course when can we expect it to last till....tommorow?
I got to watch part of the game. According to their gun was hitting 98 in the 7th and i think his pitch count was in the upper 80's or lower 90's at the time. At the end of the game they were showing some of his pitches throughout the night and he hit 100 a few times.
No doubt Harden pitched well. But the Mariners lineup did make him look better than he was. The M's are by far the most impatient offensive team in the league and are always starting the count 0-2. They were repeatedly swinging at pitches out of the zone that were mostly fastballs. He is an excellent pitcher though.