Reaction: Seattle Mariners defeat Cleveland Indians in first night game, 5-2

The Seattle Mariners controlled the Cleveland Indians last night, trumping the Tribe 5-2.  The game, which took place in Seattle’s Spring Training home in Peoria, was the first under the lights for the Tribe.

Indians Pitchers Rapped for 15 Hits

Carlos Carrasco started for the Tribe on Thursday, but was unable to finish the fourth, allowing six hits and two walk over 3.2 innings.  Carrasco was lucky to escape with just one earned run.  In the fourth, he loaded the bases and was bailed out by a good defense play at first by Carlos Santana at first.  Santana field a grounder to first, fired home, and then hustled back to the bag to snag the return throw that was trailing into the runner.  After reloading the bases, Bryan Price came in to record the final out.

TJ House started the fifth, and his 3.0 innings were not much better than Carrasco’s.  House, who is still battling for spot in the rotation, allowed nine hits and walked one.  His four earned runs ballooned his ERA to 4.97.

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Kyle Seager was 3-3 for the Mariners, while Robinson Cano and Dustin Ackley each notched two RBIs for Seattle.

The Indians did have a solid opportunity to score in the second, as Cleveland managed to load the bases against Seattle starter Taijuan Walker.  Walker, who had allowed just his second walk of the Spring in the second, managed to work out of trouble by striking out Jose Ramirez on a silly string of off speed pitches and then retiring Erik Gonzalez on a weak fly to left.  Walker went 4.0 innings, finishing with two hits, two walks, and five strikeouts.

Brantley in Mid-Season Form

Although the pitchers were not up to the task on Thursday, Tribe hitters, led by Michael Brantley and Erik Gonzalez, did manage to piece together two runs on seven hits.  Brantley tied the game in the top of the 5^th inning on a two-out single to left.  Erik Gonzalez, who singled earlier in the inning, showed some great hustle, scoring from second.  Gonzalez, one of the Tribe’s top prospects, finished the day 3-4 with a double.

Another top prospect, Francisco Lindor, had an opportunity to pitch hit in the ninth and made his AB count.  With one down, Lindor lined a 2-1 Matt Anderson pitch over the right field wall.  This was Lindor’s second homerun of the Spring, and it raised his average to .310.  Although unlikely Lindor breaks camp with the big league team, his performance tonight was consistent with a fairly impressive Spring.

Looking Forward

Jason Kipnis was slated to play second and bat second, but was scratched prior to the game with back spasms.  As the Tribe provides updates, so will we.  Kipnis missed significant time in 2014 due to injury, and many hope that a healthy Kipnis can bounce back from a rough season.

Zach McAllister, who, due to the injury to Gavin Floyd, has an opportunity to crack the rotation, pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Tribe.  He rung up two Mariners.  McAllister pitched tremendously out of the pen last year, and it will be curious to see if this late inning appearance will become a bit of a pattern as we inch closer to Opening Day.

Cleveland is off tomorrow and will return to action on Saturday when the Rockies head to Goodyear to face Danny Salazar.

Next: Building the Ultimate Indians Starting Lineup