Mariners Game Recap: Cano, Seager & Guti play well in losing effort

Despite leading for much of the game, the Seattle Mariners fell to the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday afternoon.

The Los Angeles Angels (2-2) staged a late comeback to beat the Seattle Mariners (2-2) 8-7 Saturday afternoon in Peoria, AZ. Victor Alcantara (1-0, 18.00 ERA) picked up the win for the Halos, and David Rollins (0-1, 9.00 ERA) took the loss for the Mariners. Josh Zeid earned his first save of the spring for Los Angeles.

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Wade Miley got off to a great start as a Mariner, hurling a pair of scoreless frames in his Cactus League debut today. The veteran left-hander required just 7 pitches to retire the Angels in the opening frame. Miley ran into some trouble in the second frame, allowing runners to reach first and second base with only one out. However, he worked out of danger without allowing a run. Miley works exceptionally fast, which should make his starts this season pleasant to watch from a fans and a writers perspective.

Vidal Nuno replaced Miley in the third inning, and proceeded to pitch two innings in relief for Seattle. Nuno allowed a leadoff single in the third, but struck out Andrelton Simmons and induced an inning ending double play to end the threat. The 28-year-old southpaw was not so successful in the fourth, as he coughed up a pair of runs on a Daniel Nava double. Veteran right-hander, Joel Peralta worked a perfect fifth inning for the Mariners.

Unfortunately, the young arms in the M’s bullpen did not fare quite so well. Jonathan Aro and Tony Zych combined to allow five runs on five hits in the sixth and seventh innings. Aro was worse than Zych, but neither hurler was overly effective. David Rollins entered in the eighth, and he allowed a pair of hits and the go-ahead run to cross the plate. The Angels tacked on an insurance run against Charles Brewer in the ninth.

The Mariners got off to a phenomenal start in the home half of the first inning. Ketel Marte led off the ballgame with a double, and Kyle Seager plated the first run on a single to left field. Robinson Cano followed with a two-run home run that touched down beyond the bullpen in right field.  It’s hard to imagine a better way to start a game for Seattle. It was also encouraging to see Cano flex his muscles, which is something we rarely saw during the first half of last season.

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Franklin Gutierrez had another strong showing this afternoon for the Mariners. Guti took Cam Bedrosian deep to right-center field for a solo home run in the fourth inning. The dinger was Gutierrez’s second so far this spring. Seags also had a nice game, coming through with a pair of RBI singles on Saturday against the Halos. Dan Robertson got the start in left field for Seattle, and he finished 1 for 2 with a double. Robertson has had a fast start to spring training, going 4 for 8 with 2 doubles, 1 triple and 1 RBI.

Chris Taylor is currently battling Luis Sardinas and Shawn O’Malley to be the M’s utility infielder in 2016, and his stock took a significant hit today. The Mariners held a commanding 5-3 lead entering the seventh inning. With one out and a runner on first base, Taylor took his eye off a ground ball and booted what could have been an inning ending double play ball. The Angels made Seattle pay for the error, scoring 4 runs in the frame to take a 7-5 lead. Taylor is known for his glove work, and these kinds of miscues will not help his bid to make the M’s opening day roster.

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The Seattle Mariners (2-2) will travel to nearby Surprise, AZ on Sunday afternoon to battle the Texas Rangers (3-0-1). First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 pm PT from Surprise Stadium. Hisashi Iwakuma will make his 2016 Cactus League debut for the visiting M’s. Nick Tepesch (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will toe the rubber for the defending American League West champs. The game will not be televised, but fans in the Pacific Northwest can listen to the radio broadcast on 710 ESPN.