TOKYO -- If home run distance is any measure, Mitch Haniger appears more than ready for the regular season, as the Mariners All-Star crushed a towering two-run blast to help Seattle top the Yomiuri Giants, 6-5, for their second straight exhibition win Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome.

After dealing with a sore back midway through camp, Haniger has caught fire of late, as he launched his second homer in two days with the seventh-inning smash. The Mariners open the regular season Wednesday at 2:35 a.m. PT (6:35 p.m. in Japan) against the A's.

Haniger’s homer glanced off an advertisement above the left-field seats on the back wall of the Dome, a prodigious poke that tied the game at 5-5. Counting Cactus League games, Haniger has hit .200 (6-for-30), but all his hits have gone for extra bases with four homers and two doubles.

It’s hard to hit a ball any harder than Wednesday’s home run.

“This is my second year watching Mitch, and I’ve seen him do that quite a few times in BP,” said catcher David Freitas, whose own solo homer in the eighth turned out to be the game-winner. “But to see him do that in a game was jaw-dropping for me.”

Manager Scott Servais said Haniger just continues to do what elevated him to All-Star stature last season.

“Mitch has had a great spring, from his first at-bat 'til the end,” Servais said. “He’s been very consistent. He’s looking to build on what he did last year and be a big contributor to our offense. He’s looking OK in center field, too. That wasn’t by design, but he’ll be out here to start the season, at least in the short term.”

A birthday homer for Freitas

The backup catcher hit his first homer of the spring on his 30th birthday and made it count, as Freitas cleared the fence in left field for the go-ahead run and then was named Player of the Game and honored on the field postgame, as is the custom after every game in Japan.

“I texted my wife and she said she was almost in tears watching the interview. It just shows for me how far you can come. That I’m here and now in Japan and the ‘Baseball Hero,’ as they call it, which is pretty awesome,” Freitas said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever had an interpreter, too, so that was a little different. It was a cool experience.”

Freitas’ long ball was the fifth by Seattle in the two exhibition games. A homer-friendly Tokyo Dome?

“Or we could say it’s not homer friendly and we’re just hitting the ball well,” Freitas said with a smile.

Felix's struggles continue

Even on a different continent on the far side of the globe, Felix Hernandez’s difficult spring continued Monday, as the veteran right-hander saw a solid start slip away with a rough fourth inning, though the Mariners came from behind again to win their second exhibition game at the Tokyo Dome.

Pitching in the exhibition after Servais tabbed Marco Gonzales and Yusei Kikuchi as his starters for the two-game Opening Series against the A’s on Wednesday and Thursday, Hernandez gave up five runs (four earned) on four hits, three walks and a hit batter in four innings.

A pickoff and double-play grounder helped Hernandez avoid trouble in the first two innings despite a pair of walks. He gave up the unearned run in the third when first baseman Edwin Encarnacion dropped what should have been an inning-ending throw from third baseman Ryon Healy.

But things got away in the fourth, when four hits and a walk led to four runs, with Healy helping limit further damage by snaring a hard line drive with the bases loaded after the first four batters had reached.

The 78-pitch outing was Hernandez’s longest of the spring, but including the exhibition start, his ERA now stands at 13.50 in four starts, as he’s allowed 18 runs (17 earned) on 17 hits and six walks in 11 1/3 innings.

Hernandez, who had started the past 10 Opening Days for Seattle, will pitch in another exhibition game next week against the Padres when the Mariners return to Seattle before making his regular season-debut in the fifth game of the first homestand on April 1 against the Angels.

Up next

After a day off Tuesday to enjoy Tokyo, the Mariners open their regular season on Wednesday against the A’s at 2:35 a.m. PT (6:35 p.m. in Tokyo) with Gonzales making his first Opening Day start against Oakland’s Mike Fiers. The game will be televised live on ESPN.