Canzone homers, Julio thrills in field as Mariners beat Guardians

SEATTLE (AP) — Dominic Canzone hit a three-run homer and Julio Rodríguez thrilled the crowd with a pair of highlight-reel catches as the Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-4 on Monday night.

Seattle Mariners 5, Cleveland Guardians 4: Box score

Canzone’s big fly came in the bottom of the second inning against Guardians starter Triston McKenzie (0-1). Ty France put the Mariners on the board earlier in the inning with an RBI single, and Canzone made it 4-0 with a 411-foot home run to center field, his first of the season.

chef's kiss 🤌 pic.twitter.com/OX40LI3Pq5

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 2, 2024

Cleveland answered with two runs in the top of the third, as Ramón Laureano was hit by a pitch and Bo Naylor and Brayan Rocchio singled to load the bases. Laureano then scored on a groundout from Steven Kwan, while Naylor scored on a Andrés Giménez sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.

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Rodríguez made Guardians’ DH Will Brennan’s night miserable, robbing him of an extra-base hit with a leaping grab near the center field wall in the top of the second inning, and then sliding for a catch in left-center in the fourth to bring the crowd to its feet.

After both catches, Rodríguez flashed his signature “No Fly Zone” sign toward his fans in the center field seats.

“Julio is one of the best players in this game,” said Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt, who was the Mariners bullpen coach last year. “Getting to coach him last year was fun, but now it’s not as much fun.”

The Mariners scored again in the fourth when Luis Urías drew a bases loaded walk to make it 5-2.

Cleveland’s Tyler Freeman chased Mariners starter Emerson Hancock from the game with a solo homer in the sixth. Hancock (1-0) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs for his first MLB win.

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“It kind of felt like a debut all over again,” Hancock said. “Just the pregame, just the high of how excited I was to get back out there. We wanted to attack, we wanted to just kind of stay aggressive, and I mean, the defense played outstanding tonight.”

Josh Naylor made it a one-run game with a solo homer in the eighth off Mariners righty Andrés Muñoz.

We all know it.

Josh Naylor in the 8th inning or later is a cheat code.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/P4PA72enyD

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 2, 2024

Ryne Stanek pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his first save of the season.

After scuffling on offense over the weekend, the Mariners had seven hits and six walks on Monday.

“Nice to see our guys bounce back,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We’ve still got a ways to go offensively, but we’re moving in the right direction. Much better game tonight.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Seattle Mariners: RHP Gregory Santos’ (lat strain) MRI looked good and he has begun a throwing program. … RHP Matt Brash (elbow) and Eduard Bazardo (rotator cuff) are both throwing bullpen sessions this week and building toward their return. … INF Sam Haggerty (unspecified procedure) has resumed baseball activity and will began a rehab assignment later this week. … Bryan Woo (elbow) is playing catch and is not expected to be out long-term.

UP NEXT

Cleveland right-hander Shane Bieber (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will pitch Tuesday against Seattle righty Luis Castillo (0-1, 7.20 ERA).

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