Mariners Game Recap: James Paxton Dominates, but M’s Lose

It took an extra inning, but the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night in Peoria.

The Los Angeles Dodgers (7-2) squeaked out a 8-4 victory against the Seattle Mariners (7-5) on Saturday night in Peoria. Los Angeles plated four runs in the tenth inning to come out on top. Red Patterson (1-0, 0.00 ERA) earned the win for the visitors, and Rafael Pineda (0-1, 36.00 ERA) was credited with the loss for the Mariners. Rob Rogers loaded the bases in the tenth, but recovered in time to shut the door on the M’s for his first save of the year.

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James Paxton made quick work of the Dodgers in the first two innings, retiring all six batters he faced on just 24 pitches. Paxton allowed one hit in the third inning, but managed to keep the Dodgers off the scoreboard. However, the Dodgers pushed a run across in the fourth thanks to a throwing error by Ketel Marte. All told, the 27-year-old allowed 1 unearned run on 3 hits through 4 innings while striking out 1 and walking 0. Pax-Man had good velocity on his fastball tonight, and more importantly, he was able to locate all of his pitches effectively.

Jonathan Aro took over for Paxton in the fifth inning. Aro allowed the leadoff man to reach safely, and then served up a two-run homer to right field that nearly left the stadium. Andrew Moore allowed a pair of hits in the sixth, but the top prospect escaped unscathed. Moore was called on to work the seventh as well, and the young right-hander allowed a run to cross the plate. Ryan Horstman and Justin de Fratus combined to pitch scoreless eighth and ninth innings to keep the game tied at 4. The M’s asked Rafael Pineda to pitch the extra frame, and he allowed four runs to cross the plate.

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The Mariners got the scoring started in the home half of the third inning. Franklin Gutierrez lined a single into left field, and he hustled around to score from first base on a Steve Clevenger double. Guti ignored the stop sign on the play, and would have been out easily had the ball not skipped past the catcher. Boog Powell plated Clevenger on a fielders choice to give Seattle an early 2-0 lead.

It was a pretty quiet night for the M’s offensively, as the club combined to tally just 6 hits against the Dodgers. Robinson Cano tied the game at 3 in the home half of the sixth inning. Robbie turned on a fastball, and deposited it onto the berm beyond the bullpen in right field. The dinger was Cano’s second of the spring. Clevenger also came through with a game-tying RBI in the seventh inning on a fielders choice.

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The Seattle Mariners (7-5) will welcome the Cincinnati Reds (5-7) to Peoria, AZ on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm at the Peoria Sports Complex. Nate Karns (0-0, 1.80 ERA) will get the ball for Seattle, and Anthony DeSclafani (1-0, 7.20 ERA) will be on the bump for the Reds. Root Sports will carry the game live in the Northwest, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices.