3/29/26

(Seattle, WA) Baseball doesn’t really feel back until about two weeks in after everyone has played their home opener and that is when we start learning a lot about players and teams. For the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Guardians, they didn’t have the luxury of easing into the season as both started their season with fellow playoff contenders which made the four-game series that much more important to begin the year. After Cleveland took the opener on Opening Day, the pressure was on the M’s to try to bounce back and make sure that they didn’t dig themselves in an early hole with a potential tiebreaker way down the line.

Mariners 5, Guardians 1 (Game Two, March 27th)

Game two of the series would start to showcase the rotation depth of both teams. Cleveland’s best starter in the second half of last season that led them to their comeback to win the AL Central would get the ball as Gavin Williams looks to cut down on walks in 2026. George Kirby is known for avoiding walks and after dealing with inconsistencies last season stemming from injuries, would look to get off on the right foot in 2026.

Kirby would get off to a nice start by getting Steven Kwan to groundout but then came the rookie that has already grabbed so much national attention in Chase DeLauter. DeLauter made his MLB debut in the playoffs last year and it did not go great but after homering twice on Opening Day, showcased what he can do at the plate. That showcase continued into game two as he dug out a slider and just got it out to right field for his third home run in the first 10 innings of the season. Cleveland had struck early again and took a 1-0 lead.

Cole Young flashed the leather on a regular basis in this game which kept the score just 1-0 as Kirby found his groove. In the bottom of the 3rd, Seattle got their first scoring opportunity. It started with a triple by Leo Rivas as Chase DeLauter struggled tracking down a fly ball in right field. That put the tying run 90 feet away with nobody out. Gavin Williams struggled with walks but was not allowing very much hard contact. He somehow found a way to escape against the top three in the Mariners order with a pop-up by Brendan Donovan and strikeouts of Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez. Seattle wasted their first great scoring opportunity and continued to trail after three, 1-0.

Walks would finally catch up to Gavin Williams in the 4th as Seattle’s patience at the plate paid off. Randy Arozarena walked and after an ABS assisted strikeout of Luke Raley, Dominic Canzone also got a free pass to put two on with two away. Cole Young built so much momentum with his defense and that momentum continued at the plate. Young got an 0-2 fastball in the middle of the plate and drove it way out to right center. The bottom of the order continued to provide pop as Young had his first home run of the season and the Mariners had their first lead at 3-1.

George Kirby lost his feel for the strike zone in the top of the 5th and Cleveland looked to pounce to retake the lead. Walks to Rhys Hoskins and CJ Kayfus put two on with nobody out. Gabriel Arias moved the runners up with a groundout to Donovan at third but the bases were then loaded after Kirby plunked Brayan Rocchio. With the table set, Steven Kwan came to the plate and served a soft fly ball into left field down the line. Randy Arozarena ranged over to make the catch in shallow left and surprisingly, Rhys Hoskins tried to tag-up and score from third. Arozarena’s throw was in plenty of time to cut down Hoskins at the plate and got Kirby out of the jam with Seattle still in front 3-1.

It was a quality start for George Kirby as he allowed just one run in six innings in his season debut. Colin Holderman would take over for Gavin Williams in the bottom of the 6th. He would not fare much better with the strike zone as he walked Randy Arozarena to begin his outing. In stepped Luke Raley and after watching Chase DeLauter homer for a second consecutive game, decided he wanted to see how it felt for himself. Raley scalded a 105-mph line drive out to right field and this one was plenty high enough to get out for a two-run shot. For the second time in as many games Raley circled the bases and Seattle’s lead grew to 5-1.

Eduard Bazardo and Matt Brash each allowed one baserunner but hung up scoreless innings in the 7th and 8th. The 5-1 lead would have to do as Seattle couldn’t add on and Andrés Muñoz entered a game for the first time in the 2026 season. Muñoz did not have great command of his fastball but his filthy slider was enough to strikeout Kyle Manzardo. Bo Naylor dunked a base hit into left before Muñoz landed a great 3-2 slider to get Rhys Hoskins looking. CJ Kayfus didn’t have an answer to the slider either as he sent a soft chopper to Leo Rivas at short to put this one away. While Seattle became the first team since at least 1898 to not record a single in their first two games, they still managed to earn a win with a 5-1 victory in game two over the Guardians.

Notable Performances

Guardians

Mariners

• Cole Young- 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Luke Raley- 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• George Kirby (W, 1-0)- 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

Guardians 6, Mariners 5 (10 Innings) (Game Three, March 28th)

With both teams in the win column in 2026, the focus shifted for both to try to snag game three to guarantee at worst a series split. With Cleveland and Seattle being contenders, it is not out of the question that the head-to-head tiebreaker could play a factor in the Wild Card race or in seeding tiebreakers come October. So there was a lot of pressure on lefty Joey Cantillo and 2025 All-Star Bryan Woo as both took the mound in a huge game three in their season debuts.

Bryan Woo was completely dominant right out of the gate with a bloop single by David Fry as the only blemish the first time through the order. The ABS challenge system helped the Mariners in the bottom of the 3rd. On a 3-2 pitch, Randy Arozarena was called out looking but he challenged and won that challenge to turn a strikeout into a walk. That allowed Victor Robles an at-bat in the inning and with two outs, he made an immediate impact. With Brendan Donovan on first after a fielder’s choice erased Randy Arozarena, Robles smacked a liner down the left field line for a base hit. Donovan was waved around third and the relay throw was way offline as the new Mariner scored to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.

Seattle left two on in the 3rd but a streak of eight Guardians in a row were retired by Bryan Woo. In the bottom of the 4th, Cantillo began to fall apart. Singles by Randy Arozarena and Brendan Donovan put the first two on in the inning. Victor Robles sent a deep fly ball to right and CJ Kayfus struggled to track it down, but still made a falling catch. That moved Arozarena to third for Leo Rivas. The shortstop worked a walk, but ball four went to the back stop and died there. Arozarena scored on the wild pitch to make it 2-0. Cleveland minimized the damage as Cantillo struck out Cole Young before Matt Festa came in and got Dominic Canzone to popout to third to end the inning.

Woo’s streak of batters retired made it to 10 before Ángel Martínez doubled with two outs in the 5th. Woo pitched around that but struggled in the 6th. A walk began the inning to Brayan Rocchio before he retired Steven Kwan and Chase DeLauter. The always dangerous José Ramírez would deal some damage with a double to right. Rocchio scored while J-Ram took third on the throw to the plate. With the tying run 90-feet away, Woo could not get out of the jam as Kyle Manzardo dunked a single to right to tie the game up as Ramírez scored. One bad inning put a bigger blemish on Woo’s quality outing as he ended the 6th but the lead was gone with the score 2-2.

Seattle looked to bail out their star pitcher with back-to-back one out singles by Brendan Donovan and Victor Robles. They then pulled off a double-steal to put runners on second and third for Leo Rivas. Rivas would get the ball in play with a grounder right at Rocchio. The Cleveland shortstop came home with it immediately to cut down Donovan at the plate for a big second out. Cole Young also grounded out and Seattle’s scoring opportunity disappeared with the game still tied.

Eduard Bazardo took over for Woo in the 7th and made quick work of Daniel Schneemann and Ángel Martínez but issued two straight walks to CJ Kayfus and Brayan Rocchio. Steven Kwan made those walks hurt with a base hit to left field. Kayfus came around to score and three unanswered runs had Cleveland in front 3-2.

Both teams missed on scoring opportunities late and the score remained 3-2 going into the bottom of the 9th. Closer Cade Smith came in for the second time in the series but did not get off to a great start. Cole Young hit a leadoff double to put the tying run in scoring position. Ryan Bliss, who entered the game earlier, couldn’t get down a sacrifice bunt and ended up striking out. Cal Raleigh didn’t fare any better as he went down on strikes for the second out. Julio Rodríguez was the last chance for the M’s but fell behind 1-2. Down to his last strike, J-Rod then would come up with his first hit of the season. An inside out swing sent the ball out to right center for a base hit. Young would fly around to score and just like that the game was tied back up thanks to Young and Julio at 3-3.

For the first time in the young season, the Mariners were headed to extras and it would be Andrés Muñoz for the top of the 10th. Rocchio was the automatic runner for the Guardians with Steven Kwan at the plate. He laid down a bunt to try to move the runner up, but Brendan Donovan’s throw was well wide of first base and went into the outfield. Rocchio scored while Kwan moved to second with Cleveland leading 4-3. Then came Chase DeLauter. It seemed like Seattle finally had kept the rookie in check, but a slider well outside changed all of that. DeLauter flicked a fly ball that just kept carrying and got out for this fourth home run in the first three games of the season. He also joined Trevor Story and Kyle Lewis as the only players to homer in each of their first three regular season games and Cleveland had a much more comfortable 6-3 lead.

Randy Arozarena was Seattle’s automatic runner as Connor Brogdon came in to pitch. Brendan Donovan flew out to right to move Arozarena to third but it didn’t matter where he was. Luke Raley would stand in and once again would not be one-upped by Chase DeLauter. Raley blasted a 411-foot two-run shot for his third home run in as many games. Seattle was back to life, trailing 6-5. The comeback was not meant to be however. Leo Rivas and Cole Young both went down on strikes to put this one away. Seattle went 2-14 with runners in scoring position and that cost them in a 6-5 loss to Cleveland in 10 innings.

Notable Performances

Guardians

Mariners

• Bryan Woo (ND)- 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
• Victor Robles- 2-3, 2B, RBI, SB
• Luke Raley- 1-1, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB

Mariners 8, Guardians 0 (Game Four, March 29th)

Sunday Night Baseball made its debut on NBC and Peacock on Sunday night and the first game would be the finale between Seattle and Cleveland. The Guardians looked to make an early statement by taking three of four from the American League favorites and to do that they would throw Slade Cecconi, who was traded to Cleveland for Josh Naylor in the deal with Arizona. Now Naylor would face the man he was traded for hitting cleanup for the Mariners. Seattle meanwhile would try to earn a series split and some momentum before the Yankees come to down. It would be Emerson Hancock getting the ball in primetime as he stands in for Bryce Miller early in the season.

Emerson Hancock walked José Ramírez to in the top of the 1st while Slade Cecconi hit Brendan Donovan and walked Cal Raleigh but none of those free passes scored. Seattle’s offense at least kept the pressure on Cleveland and in the 4th, the pressure finally made the Guardians crack. With nobody on and two outs, Dominic Canzone skied a fly ball to left that was misplayed by CJ Kayfus. What should have been the third out turned into a double and a wild pitch and walk to Cole Young put runners on the corners. Leo Rivas clutched up with a base hit to right to drive in the game’s first run, making it 1-0. The next swing is where the M’s really cashed in. Brendan Donovan jumped on a 1-1 fastball at the top of the zone and despite not being known for hitting home runs, flexed his muscle again. Donovan hit his second home run of the opening series out to right and Seattle had made Cleveland pay dearly for the defensive mistake by taking a 4-0 lead.

Hancock cruised through the 5th as Cleveland continued to search for their first hit of the game. In the home half of the inning, the Mariners added on. Julio Rodríguez led off with a walk but remained at first after a hard lineout by Josh Naylor. Randy Arozarena kept up his sneaky good series with a drive to left center. A diving Kayfus couldn’t get there as the ball got to the wall. Julio scored easily on Arozarena’s second double of the year to make it 5-0. Luke Raley joined the hit parade with a base hit to right to score Arozarena as Seattle poured it on with a 6-0 lead.

Emerson Hancock stepped up for the injured Bryce Miller just like he did for the injured George Kirby to begin last season. Last season however, Hancock put together one of the worst pitching performances by a Mariner in 2025. This time around, he put together the best start of his young career. Hancock was dominant as he attacked with his fastball and generated nine swings and misses on it. His pitch count was too high for Dan Wilson to let him go deeper into the game but Hancock’s six scoreless and hitless innings with only one walk allowed and a career-high nine strikeouts will be the talk of baseball on Monday morning.

Peyton Pallette had a very strong MLB debut on Opening Day but Sunday was not as kind to him. In the bottom of the 6th, Brendan Donovan singled to reach base for the fourth time in the game and he would move up to second on a wild pitch. Cal Raleigh skied a fly ball down the left field line that dropped just fair for a double and a friendly break for the M’s as Donovan scored. They added on another in the 8th thanks to an error by Brayan Rocchio and an RBI single by Randy Arozarena to really break it open at 8-0.

Cooper Criswell was the only other pitcher used by the M’s other than Emerson Hancock. While Criswell would allow a couple of hits, he did what needed done by eating innings and keeping the bullpen fresh for a huge series with the Yankees. The new Mariner stayed out for the 9th and made quick work of Cleveland by needing just 12 pitches in the final inning. It was a dominant performance from the M’s all the way around as they earned a split in the series by shutting out the Guardians 8-0.

Notable Performances

Guardians

Mariners

• Emerson Hancock (W, 1-0)- 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
• Brendan Donovan- 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 HBP
• Randy Arozarena- 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB

What’s Next

Seattle (2-2) manages to get a split out of their season opening four-game series but the schedule doesn’t let up as the M’s will welcome another playoff team from last season in the New York Yankees. New York (3-0) swept the San Francisco Giants to begin the season and got a mix of terrific pitching and an overpowering offense to do so. Two of the three pitchers that the M’s will face this week pitched in that series in Max Fried and Cam Schlittler and those two combined for 11 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed just three hits with one walk and twelve strikeouts. They allowed just one run in that entire series as they roll into the Emerald City.

Of course the player spotlight for this series will be Aaron Judge. Judge won his third overall MVP and second in a row last season, controversially beating out Cal Raleigh for the award and now the two will meet early in the season. There is no denying how great Aaron Judge is. He is one of the best right-handed hitters of this generation and is a shoe-in for 50+ home runs every season. Judge did go just 2-13 in the opening series, but both of those hits left the yard for two quick home runs. He has terrorized Seattle pitching, with a 1.139 OPS in 44 games with 17 home runs and 41 runs batted in. The lineup is so deep so even if Judge is kept quiet, they have other guys that can hurt you. But minimizing Aaron Judge’s impact on a series is always critical to success against the Bronx Bombers.

• Game 1, Monday 6:40pm- Ryan Weathers (2-2, 3.99 ERA) vs. Luis Castillo (11-8, 3.54 ERA)
• Game 2, Tuesday 6:40pm- Max Fried (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (0-0, 5.06 ERA)
• Game 3, Wednesday 1:10pm- Cam Schlittler (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. George Kirby (1-0, 1.50 ERA)

Mariners Minor League Update

This will be a new segment each week to update what is going on in the Seattle minor league system. We will continuously give scores for each team but will also highlight some of the key players that have had strong weeks. Only AAA has begun their regular season so this will be a little bit shorter this week.

Tacoma Rainiers (Took 2 out of 3 @ Reno Aces, W 7-6, L 4-8, W 9-4)

Hitter of the Week

Patrick Wisdom, DH- 4-11, 3 HRs, 7 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB, .364 AVG, 1.682 OPS

Pitcher of the Week

Blas Castaño, RHP- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

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