Mariners lose 6-5 to Chase DeLauter, Guardians in extras

The Mariners picked up their first singles of the season but couldn’t get much action until too late.

The Mariners entered the ninth inning Saturday with six hits and six walks and just two runs to show for it. They trailed the Guardians 3-2 when Cole Young leadoff the inning by plopping a a soft liner down the left field line for a double. Ryan Bliss tried to bunt him over for some reason but couldn’t get it down and struck out. Cal Raleigh struck out behind him.

That brought Julio Rodríguez to the plate. He fell behind 1-2 against dominant Guardians’ closer Cade Smith. Then he got a fastball up and in and laced his first hit of the season back up the middle to tie the game.

The Mariners would go on to lose 6-5.

Dan Wilson turned to Andrés Muñoz in the 10th to preserve the new tie. Steven Kwan laid down a sacrifice bunt up the third base line; Brendan Donovan charged, scooped, and threw the ball into right field, scoring the Manfred Man from second and allowing Kwan to replace him there. Rookie Chase DeLauter stepped to the plate and crushed his fourth homer of the year the other way, giving the Guardians a 6-3 lead.

Luke Raley answered in the bottom of the inning. With the Manfred Man on and one out, he got a fastball up and away and pulled it into the right-center stands for his third home run of the year, cutting the lead to 6-5.

Leo Rivas and Young each struck out to end the game.

The Mariners lineup entered the day having yet to hit a single — the only team in MLB history without a single through their first two games. That changed Saturday, picking up six singles, two doubles, and the Raley homer to go with seven walks. It was a solid performance overall, but they couldn’t quite string their hits together to capitalize.

In the second, Randy Arozarena struck out looking with a full count. He immediately challenged and began taking off his gear as the T-Mobile Park video board flashed the ABS decision: Ball four. Donovan quickly replaced him at first with a fielder’s choice. Victor Robles, in his first plate appearance of the season, yanked a double down the left field line, scoring Donovan all the way from first. That was all they’d get in the inning.

It was a good sign from Donovan — both beating out the fielder’s choice and coming around to score — as he’d whacked his knees against the left field stands making a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch in the first inning. He appeared to be OK.

The Mariners picked up their first single of 2026 in the third inning. Cal Raleigh, the three true outcome king himself, dunked a soft liner up the middle. He was 0-for-8 on the season with eight strikeouts (and a walk) entering the at bat, and he flashed a big grin after getting to first base. He immediately stole second, and Julio Rodríguez walked behind him, but the Mariners couldn’t cash in.

In the fourth, Arozarena lead off with a single on a dribbler down the third base line that catcher David Fry should have let roll foul but didn’t. Donovan followed with a single to put runners on first and second. Robles advanced Arozarena to third with a fly out to deep right. Leo Rivas worked a long at bat before watching ball four sail to the backstop, allowing Arozarena to trot home. But after chasing Guardians’ starting pitcher Joey Cantillo in the fourth inning at 91 pitches, they couldn’t push across any more.

In the sixth, Donovan and Robles each picked up one-out singles and then advanced on a double steal. But Rivas grounded out to short with the infield drawn in and Donovan was nailed at the plate. In the seventh, they got two on with a pair of walks but couldn’t tie the game. They got another walk in the eighth but again couldn’t tie the game again.

Despite the bizarre sequencing to start to the season, the Mariners have a 126 wRC+ in three games — sixth best in the majors.

The Mariners were in the game to the end because Bryan Woo picked up right where he left off in his first start of 2026. He gave up two runs and four hits over six innings while striking out nine. He pumped his signature four-seam fastball over and over and over and the Guardians struggled to make solid contact, whiffing 11 times on 37 swings against the fastball. He cruised through the first five innings, as the Mariners held a 2-0 lead.

But he struggled in the sixth. His fastball velocity was down a touch, and his command was just off. He issued a leadoff walk, then after getting two quick outs, appeared to issue another walk to José Ramírez. The Mariners, however, challenged the call. When they were proven correct, Ramírez returned to the box and laced his 400th career double to score the Guardians’ first run. Kyle Manzardo followed with a single to the tie game at two.

Eduard Bazardo allowed the Guardians to break the tie in the seventh with a pair of two-out walks and an RBI single to Kwan to make the game 3-2. Gabe Speier came in to get the final out of the inning and preserve the narrow deficit. Wilson after the game defended his decision to stick with Bazardo against the lefty Kwan even after the two walks.

“Zardo is a guy we really trust, and Kwan was just able to flip that ball into left field and get the big hit. So you’re hoping you can get him through there, and then Gabe has got the next inning. But it was just one of those tough ones tonight.”

Woo was hard on himself after the game, in a way that, if you don’t mind a bit of editorializing, wasn’t quite fair given how well he pitched most of the night.

“I think…just…undisciplined, is the best way I can put it,” he said of his mini-blowup in the sixth. “I have to be better about coming out, especially as you get later into games. You’ve got to up your focus even more, and that just can’t happen.

“Even though a lot of things took place, I still feel like this game was on me. I feel like if I do my job and limit the damage, even if I just give up one in that inning, just to get out of it with a lead…when a team is, when you get them down like that, you’ve got to keep them down. You can’t give them anything, especially a scrappy team like that. You give them any breath of life, they’ll take it and run with it. So I’ve got to do a better job of keeping teams down when they’re down.”

The Guardians were aggressive against Woo, swinging at more than half his pitches. Woo was aggressive right back, pumping heaters in the zone all six innings. He said he doesn’t change his approach between or within games. It’s just a matter of committing to his game plan.

“Teams have come out with different strategies against me, whether it’s being patient and trying to work counts or coming out swinging, it doesn’t really change my plan of attack. I still want to get ahead, I still want to be aggressive. I’m still trying to attack the zone early and stick to my game plan. Worked out in my favor for the majority of the game, but didn’t change what I was doing.”

Woo entered the day with 392 career strikeouts. With his strikeout of DeLauter in the sixth, he picked up career K number 400.

“Hopefully I’ll find the ball somewhere, maybe put it on my wall,” he said, “and then on to 500.”

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