Cano, Cruz power Mariners past Marlins in Ichiro return (Apr 17, 2017)
SEATTLE (AP) Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz provided an early cushion, and Ariel Miranda made the most of it.
Cano and Cruz hit consecutive first-inning homers, Miranda pitched seven scoreless innings and the Seattle Mariners beat the Miami Marlins 6-1 Monday night in Ichiro Suzuki's first visit to Safeco Field as a member of the 3,000-hit club.
Miranda (1-1) allowed four singles and only one runner to reach second base while striking out five. Nick Vincent pitched a perfect eighth before Evan Scribner allowed Christian Yelich's third home run in the ninth.
''Great outing by Ariel tonight,'' Mariners manager Scott Servais said. ''He pitched much different tonight than last time out. Last time out, I think he threw a lot of offspeed pitches. Tonight he was very aggressive with his fastball. Great to see him really in control of the game all night.''
The Mariners won their fourth straight since a 2-8 start.
Cano crushed a 2-1 pitch from Tom Koehler (0-1) 441 feet to right-center for his second home run, a two-run shot that scored Jarrod Dyson. Cruz followed with his second homer, lining a 1-1 pitch to center to make it 3-0.
''Obviously coming out, great to see those guys kind of pick it up and get it going,'' Servais said. ''That's what drives the train is the middle of our lineup. And, hopefully get in a nice, consistent rhythm.''
Suzuki was honored before the game for getting his 3,000th hit last season, then got another ovation before his first at-bat in the third inning.
Suzuki won two batting titles in his 11 1/2 seasons with the Mariners and set the season record with 262 hits in a 2004. He grounded out three times Monday, though, and his average dipped to .067 (1 for 15). Suzuki last played at Safeco on June 12, 2014, when he was with the New York Yankees.
The Mariners added two runs in the fourth. Leonys Martin singled, stole second and then advanced to third on an errant pick-off attempt by Koehler. Dyson's one-out looping double over third scored Martin. Dyson advanced to third on Mitch Haniger's ground out and came home on Cano's double off the wall in left-center.
''I just couldn't really get that last out in the fourth fast enough before they scored those two more,'' said Koehler, who allowed five runs and seven hits with three walks in four innings.
Taylor Motter's third home run, a one-out-shot into the second deck in left in the sixth, pushed the lead to 6-0.
Motter, filling in for injured shortstop Jean Segura, is hitting .409 with four doubles, three homers and six RBIs in his last six games.
Miranda allowed a pair of two-out singles in the sixth but retired Yelich on an inning-ending fly out to right.
HOT HANIGER
Haniger extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a third-inning single. He is batting .348 with two doubles, four homers and 11 RBI over that span.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: Martin Prado, who began the season on the DL (strained right hamstring), was recalled and in the lineup at 3B, batting second. Prado was 1 for 3 before coming out in the seventh inning. To make room, 1B Tyler Moore was designated for assignment.
Mariners: Servais hopes Segura (strained right hamstring) is ready to come off the 10-day DL at Oakland on Thursday. Segura did some light baserunning Monday. ''Everything is leaning toward he'll be available when we go over to Oakland.'' ... RHP Steve Cishek (recovering from hip surgery) threw an 18-pitch scoreless inning in his first rehab appearance for Double-A Arkansas.
UP NEXT
Marlins: Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (1-0, 7.00) has allowed seven runs over nine innings in his two starts. He lasted just three innings in his last outing, allowing six runs and seven hits, including two homers, but did not get a decision.
Mariners: Right-hander Yovani Gallardo (0-1, 6.30) makes his third start and has gone five innings each in his previous two. The last time out, he failed to protect a 5-0 lead, although he did not get the loss. Gallardo is 5-1 with a 1.90 ERA in eight career starts against Miami.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
