Aaron Civale goes 7, Guardians hit 2 HRs to beat Mariners 2-0

SEATTLE (AP) — Aaron Civale pitched seven smooth innings, and Josh Naylor and Andrés Giménez homered as the Cleveland Guardians beat the Seattle Mariners 2-0 on Saturday night.

Guardians 2, Mariners 0: Box Score

Civale allowed only two hits and a walk with three strikeouts. The seven-inning stint matched his longest outing of last season.

Julio Rodríguez had both hits off Civale, and Tommy La Stella doubled for the Mariners.

Emmanuel Clase pitched the ninth for his first save, completing a crisp game that took just 2 hours, 4 minutes.

It was the third career start for Civale in Seattle, and his first win. In his previous two he was 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA and had given up four homers.

On a chilly night, pitching dominated. Mariners starter Logan Gilbert nearly matched Civale, striking out seven in six innings and allowing four hits.

Gilbert’s only costly mistake came in the fourth, when Naylor hit Cleveland’s first homer of the season.

Nayls gets us on the scoreboard. 🫶#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/FnoolKrMbK

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 2, 2023

Diego Castillo relieved in the seventh and promptly gave up a one-out homer to Giménez, the All-Star second baseman who signed a $106.5 million, seven-year contract on opening day.

Did we stutter?#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/ZSU5pz0PRf

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 2, 2023

Seattle’s best offensive chance came in the eighth, when La Stella hit a one-out double against James Karinchak. J.P. Crawford walked with two outs before Karinchak struck out Rodríguez.

PITCH CLOCK

Karinchak, charged with the Guardians’ first pitch-clock violation in Thursday’s opener, was again assessed an automatic ball for taking too long against pinch-hitter Cal Raleigh in the eighth. The Seattle crowd loudly counted down with the clock before each of Karinchak’s pitches.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Seattle starter Robbie Ray was placed on the 15-day injured list because of a left flexor strain, a day after Ray failed to make it through the fourth inning of a 9-4 loss to Cleveland, struggling badly with his control. Ray won’t throw for two weeks and will be re-evaluated. The Mariners didn’t have any pitcher miss a start last season due to injury.

UP NEXT

Guardians RHP Cal Quantrill and Mariners LHP Marco Gonzales square off in the finale of the four-game series Sunday.

Mariners place LHP Robbie Ray on IL after rocky 1st start of 2023