Takeaway
Seattle starter Wade Miley worked his way out of jams via double plays in the second and third innings, but imploded in the fourth, walking in two runs with the bases loaded, to grease a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians Tuesday night at Progressive Field. The Mariners (5-8) have lost two in a row after starting the nine-game road trip with a pair of wins in New York (box).
Third baseman Kyle Seager belted a slider over the fence off Carlos Carrasco in the sixth inning (second homer of the season) and the Mariners manufactured a run in the ninth, but were done in by going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in a one-run game.
Essential Moment
Miley, who entered the game with an 8.25 ERA over two starts, opened the fourth by striking out Yan Gomes, but quickly fell apart. He allowed a single to Marlon Byrd, then walked Juan Uribe, Collin Cowgill and Rajai Davis, scoring Byrd. After striking out Jason Kipnis, Miley walked Francisco Lindor, plating Uribe. That hiked Cleveland’s lead to 3-0, its first run coming on an RBI double by 1B Mike Napoli in the third.
Hitters
The Mariners are 18-for-94 (.191) with runners in scoring position, worst in the majors . . . Robinson Cano doubled in the eighth inning, extending to 16 the consecutive road games that he has a hit. The streak dates to Sept. 18, 2015. Cano remains seven RBIs shy of 1,000 for his major league career . . . Seager broke out of an 0-for-17 side by going 2-for-4, his first multi-hit game of the season. His homer was the fourth of his career in Cleveland. Seager was the only Mariner with more than one hit (Seattle had six). The two hits lifted his average to .152 . . . Lindor went 3-for-3 for Cleveland, added a walk, and drove in a run.
Pitchers
Entering Tuesday, Miley had not walked a batter through his first 12 innings with the Mariners. He was the only MLB starter without a walk before walking four. Miley was lifted after 3.2 innings in favor of Mike Montgomery after allowing three earned runs on nine hits with two strikeouts. He threw 81 pitches, 50 for strikes . . . Montgomery allowed one hit in 2.2 innings with one strikeout and one walk . . . Tony Zych worked 1.2 innings and did not allow a hit . . . Carrasco improved to 2-0, 2.79 for Cleveland after allowing four hits in 6.1 innings.
Words
“He just fell out of whack mechanically and just couldn’t get through it. I think he’s frustrated as much as anybody. It’s still early and he has a track record, and we like having him out there.” — Mariners manager Scott Servais on Miley.
Noteworthy
The Mariners, 4-2 on the road and 1-5 at home, are 3-2 following a five-game losing streak . . . The game drew a crowd of 9,993 at Progressive Field on a cold, windy weekday.
Next
The second in the three-game series is 3:10 p.m., PT Wednesday. RHP Taijuan Walker (0-0, 2.25) will throw for Seattle opposite RHP Danny Salazar (2-0, 0.79). Walker has a 2-0 record with a 0.64 ERA in two career outings against Cleveland.
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