Mariners Game Recap: M’s come up short in Cleveland, drop opener

Wade Miley self-destructed on Tuesday night, and the Seattle Mariners dropped the series opener against the Cleveland Indians.

The Cleveland Indians edged the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night, winning 3-2 in the series opener. It was a small crowd this evening at Progressive Field, but those that did brave the cold weather left happily. Carlos Carrasco (2-0, 2.79 ERA) earned the win for the Tribe, and Wade Miley (0-2, 8.04 ERA) was credited with the loss for Seattle. Cody Allen made it interesting in the ninth, but recovered in time to record his 4th save of the season.

Tonight was the third consecutive rough outing for Wade Miley. The veteran southpaw breezed through the first two frames, but allowed a run score in the third. Things got considerably worse for Miley and the Mariners in the fourth, as he walked in a pair of runs. Miley was lifted after allowing 3 runs on 9 hits through 3.2 innings. He struck out 2 and issued 4 free passes in the losing effort. I expect Miley to settle down soon, but he will earn himself a trip to Tacoma if he can’t turn it around.

The Tribe got the scoring started in the home half of the third inning this evening. Miley allowed a leadoff single, but got Jason Kipnis to ground into a double-play. With 2 outs in the inning, Fransisco Lindor doubled on a line drive to right field. Mike Napoli followed by torching a line drive over the head of Leonys Martin in center field for a double of his own. Lindor scored easily on the play to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead.

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The Indians added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth. The inning started off well for Miley, as he was able to get Yan Gomes to strike out swinging. However, things went downhill from there. Marlon Byrd singled, and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Cleveland. Rajai Davis turned in an impressive at bat to work an RBI walk. Miley struck out Kipnis for the second out, but walked Lindor to plate another run for the home side.

Mike Montgomery entered the game with two out and the bases loaded in the fourth inning. Monty managed to get Napoli to ground out to end the inning. However, the damage had already been done. After four innings, the Tribe held a 3-0 lead.

Kyle Seager cut into the Indians lead in the top of the 6th inning. Seags put a good swing on a Carlos Carrasco changeup, and deposited the ball into the cheap seats in right field. It was the second homer of the season for Seager, and trimmed Cleveland’s lead to 3-1.

Monty did a commendable job working out of the bullpen for the Mariners tonight. The 26-year-old left-hander held the Indians off the scoreboard for 2.2 innings to keep Seattle in the game.

Montgomery gave way to Tony Zych with one out in the seventh, and the hard throwing righty retired the only two men he faced to end the inning. Zych was called on to work the eighth as well for the Mariners, and he responded by setting down the side in order.

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The Indians turned to Cody Allen with a two run lead in the ninth inning. Adam Lind led off the final frame by slicing a double down the left field line. Chris Iannetta flied out deep to center field, but Lind was able to move up 90 ft. to third base on the play. Lind scored on a Martin groundout to second base to make it a 3-2 game. However, that was as close as the Mariners could get tonight.

It was another very quiet night for the Mariners offensively. After a productive weekend series in New York, the M’s bats went silent in the chilly weather of Cleveland. Seattle combined to tally just 6 hits, and had only 9 baserunners all game. Seager was the standout performer, as he went 2 for 4 with a home run. Seags was hitless in his last 17 at bats entering tonight’s game, so it was nice to see come through with a multi-hit performance.

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Looking ahead, the Seattle Mariners (5-8) will attempt to even the series with the Cleveland Indians (6-5) on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10 pm PT from Progressive Field. Taijuan Walker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will be on the bump for Seattle, and Danny Salazar (2-0, 0.79 ERA) will get the ball for the Tribe. Root Sports Northwest will beam the game back to the Emerald City, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices.