Felix Hernandez

Like Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier, Felix Hernandez has become a precious Seattle landmark. No matter how disappointing the Mariners are, no matter how much rain, sleet and even snow (jobs) they produce, King Felix always delivers.

Here he is again, tied for the most victories in baseball at 14-6, an absolute rock in a game of consistency, brilliant as a Pacific Northwest sunset.

Even the great ones stumble. So there's not necessarily cause for panic in Seattle after Felix Hernandez turned in another rough outing Friday night.

But man, that was one rough outing. 

Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez became the fourth-youngest pitcher in major league history to record 2,000 career strikeouts when he hit the mark during the fifth inning of Sunday's 4-3 win over the Oakland Athletics, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).

The beginning of April means millions of fans tune in for MLB Opening Day 2015, but what did we learn from the first day of meaningful baseball?

The race for the American League Cy Young Award appears to be so tight it might force even the staunchest of baseball traditionalists to dig deep into the statistics that normally make them cringe.