Just who was that guy sitting on the Seattle Mariners bench http://www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-quincy-williams-ii-jersey , the odd fellow with the bushy mustache, shades and a hoodie?

Wait a second – it was Ichiro!

Now a team executive, Ichiro Suzuki donned a Bobby Valentine-style disguise and sneaked into the Seattle dugout Thursday to watch a bit of the action at Yankee Stadium.

Exactly as he hinted, in fact.

”He was perfect. I never would have known it was him,” Valentine texted to The Associated Press.

Officially, Suzuki isn’t allowed to be in the dugout during games under Major League Baseball rules. The 44-year-old outfielder with 3,089 career hits came off the Seattle roster in early May and moved into the team’s front office as a special assistant to the chairman.

Suzuki has been taking part in pregame drills and batting practice in a role similar to a coach. But he’s required to leave the bench when games begin, and that’s when he takes his place in the clubhouse – usually, anyway.

This time, in a ballpark where he played for parts of three seasons Ryquell Armstead Jersey , Suzuki got a much closer look.

AP photographer Bill Kostroun spotted Suzuki with his face nearly covered by a fake mustache, sunglasses and a gray hoodie drawn tight over his head during in the first inning as the Yankees hit a pair of two-run homers.

Suzuki sat in the middle of the dugout, in the back row, in his shorts and occasionally crouched down while the Yankees swung away. He was gone by the second inning of Seattle’s 4-3 loss that completed a New York sweep.

The 10-time All-Star hasn’t officially retired, and there’s speculation the Japanese great might play when the Mariners open the 2019 season in Tokyo with a two-game series against Oakland.

This was Seattle’s only trip to Yankee Stadium this year, and maybe Suzuki wanted a final look at the ballpark. Or perhaps he was just showing off his playful side.

On the day it was announced Suzuki was moving into his new position, he predicted this might happen.

”During the game I will be doing the same preparations I’ve been doing the entire time. Nothing is going to change for me that I did as a player,” Suzuki said at the time. ”But I can’t say for certain that maybe I won’t put on a beard and glasses and be like Bobby Valentine and be in the dugout.”

In 1999, the excitable Valentine was ejected from a game he was managing for the New York Mets. He was tossed in the 12th inning, but soon put on a fake mustache and sunglasses and returned to the dugout in disguise.

Valentine was later suspended for two games and fined $5 http://www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-gardner-minshew-ii-jersey ,000.

The longtime manager liked Suzuki’s creativity.

”One of the biggest honors of my life,” Valentine said. ”I was going to send him a set, but he didn’t need it.”

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AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report.

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Yovani Gallardo brings out the best in the Texas Rangers’ hitters. Good thing for him he is on their side.

Gallardo has enjoyed unusually strong run support since returning to the majors after a two-month stint with Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers averaged 11 runs per game in his three June starts, including an 11-3 thumping of the Chicago White Sox on Friday when they blasted five home runs.

Gallardo hopes he will continue to be a good luck charm when he starts the opener of a four-game series against the Tigers in Detroit on Thursday night.

“This is what they do,” Gallardo told MLB.com and other reporters afterward. “This is the kind of offense we have here. It definitely makes it easier, but yet it is one of those things where you can’t allow it to get out of hand as well. You’ve just got to keep it tight in the strike zone and get some quick outs.”

Gallardo (2-0, 9.00 ERA) didn’t require an offensive explosion from his team against the White Sox, as he delivered his best outing of the season. He tossed 7 1/3 innings on just 90 pitches, giving up three runs on four hits and striking out seven.

“He was in control the whole time,” Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos told MLB.com. “I think he built from that last outing (5 1/3 innings) in Minnesota. It was the same thing; he’s throwing really well.”

Gallardo Christian Wilkins Jersey , who was released by Cincinnati in April, is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three career starts against the Tigers, but he has not faced them since 2015.

He’ll be opposed by left-hander Matthew Boyd (4-6, 4.18), one of several Detroit pitchers who could be dealt this season.

Boyd has gone winless in his last four starts, though his last start was a quality outing at Toronto. He gave up three runs on four hits over six innings and posted seven strikeouts, his highest total since May 17.

The Rangers have given Boyd fits in the past. He is 1-4 with a 5.53 ERA in five career starts against them. Chirinos has homered twice against Boyd in seven career at-bats.

Detroit will try to bounce back from two road losses to the streaking Chicago Cubs, who have won six straight. The Tigers lost 5-2 on Wednesday, and manager Ron Gardenhire had to depart to the clubhouse early due to heat exhaustion. He is expected to be back in the Tigers dugout on Thursday.

“It’s frustrating to be right there, to be so close http://www.dolphinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-michael-deiter-jersey ,” catcher James McCann told MLB.com. “But at the end of the day, that’s not reflected in your win-loss column. It’s either a win or a loss. We came up short two games in a row.”

The Tigers have lost 13 of their last 15 games, but they do have a hot hitter in Nicholas Castellanos, who has hit safely in 10 of the last 11 games. Castellanos smacked a solo homer and walked twice on Wednesday.

Texas’ Shin-Soo Choo has been swinging an even hotter bat. Choo has reached base in 44 consecutive games after getting two hits, including a homer, on Wednesday. The Rangers will have a quick turnaround after losing at home in extra innings to Houston 5-4 in that game.