Mariners Game Recap: M’s Win Pitchers Duel in Cleveland

Aug 17, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Taijuan Walker (32) throws a pitch in the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 17, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Taijuan Walker (32) throws a pitch in the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /
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It was an epic pitchers duel on Wednesday in Cleveland, but the Seattle Mariners won 2-1 to even the series with the Indians.

The Seattle Mariners (6-8) edged the Cleveland Indians (6-6), 2-1 on Wednesday evening at Progressive Field. Tonight’s game was the definition of a pitchers duel, and the M’s did just enough to even the series. Taijuan Walker (1-0, 1.50 ERA) was brilliant en route to earning the victory for Seattle. Danny Salazar (2-1, 1.47 ERA) was also dominant, but he came out on the losing end. Steve Cishek worked a perfect 9th inning to record his 2nd save of the season.

Prince Tai was electric on Wednesday night for the Mariners. Apart from an iffy 3rd inning, the hard throwing right-hander made it look easy on the mound. Walker allowed just 1 unearned run on 3 hits through 6 innings of work. He fanned 6 and walked none in what has to be considered his third consecutive quality outing in 2016. Taijuan had great command of his arsenal, as 78 of 110 pitches found the strike zone. Walker is quickly establishing himself as the M’s most reliable hurler (not named Felix Hernandez).

The Mariners opened the scoring in the second inning on Wednesday night in Cleveland. Adam Lind connected on a leadoff single, and Chris Iannetta worked a walk to give Seattle a pair of baserunners and none out. However, Leonys Martin lined out and Luis Sardinas was retired on strikes for the first two outs. Thankfully, Nori Aoki came through with a 2-out triple, Lind and Iannetta hustled around to score on the play.

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Cleveland cut the M’s lead in half in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Juan Uribe led off the frame with a double, but was picked off between second and third by Walker after he fielded a come-backer off the bat of Tyler Naquin. Jose Ramirez then ripped a ground ball that skipped past Lind at first base and rolled all the way to the wall in the right field corner. Naquin, who had reached the play before on the fielder’s choice, ended up at third base and Ramirez settled in at second. Jason Kipnis plated the Indians’ first and only run of the game with a sacrifice fly.

Joel Peralta took over for Taijuan Walker in the 7th inning. The 40-year-old right-hander retired the first two men he faced, but issued a 2-out walk to Uribe. Rajai Davis was called on to pinch run for Uribe. Peralta caught Davis leaning towards second base, and picked him off at first for the final out of the inning.

The Mariners turned to Joaquin Benoit with a 1-run lead in the 8th. That pesky Naquin started things off with a single to left field. Ramirez dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but Benoit wheeled and fired to second base in time to get Naquin. Benoit then got Kipnis to fly out to right field, and Francisco Lindor grounded out to end the threat.

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Steve Cishek came on in the bottom of the 9th for the Mariners. Cishek induced a weak pop out for the first out, and proceeded to strike out the next two hitters he faced to seal the win for Seattle. Cishek was in complete control tonight, which is something M’s fans are not accustomed to seeing with their closers.

I don’t mean to take a trip to negative town, but the Mariners went 3 for 31 combined with 9 at the plate with 9 strikeouts this evening. Seattle was held hitless over the final 7 innings, and had just 6 baserunners all game. Obviously, it worked out alright for the M’s tonight, but they need to kickstart their offense if they hope to keep winning.

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Looking ahead, the Seattle Mariners (6-8) will take on the Cleveland Indians (6-6) in the rubber match on Thursday in Cleveland. First pitch is scheduled for 9:10 am PT from Progressive Field. Nate Karns (1-0, 4.50 ERA) earned his first win of the season in his last start, and he will hope to build on that tomorrow. Cody Anderson (0-1, 5.91 ERA) will be on the bump for the home side. Root Sports Northwest will carry the game live locally, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices.