Mariners break out of funk in opener vs. Guardians

SEATTLE -- Badly needing a breakthrough amidst a spiral in the American League standings, the Mariners manufactured one in a big way on Friday night, running away to a 7-2 win over the Guardians thanks to a four-spot in the seventh inning that allowed them to breathe a metaphorical sigh of relief for at least one day.

The victory pulled Seattle back to .500 (34-34) and came on the heels of a 1-5 road trip -- which was preceded by a three-game sweep at home -- that was defined by uncharacteristically shaky starting pitching and a lack of cashing in at the plate.

But the Mariners flipped that formula on Friday, thanks to six strong innings of two-run ball from Luis Castillo and the offense going 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position in the seventh, after going 1-for-10 in such situations and stranding nine baserunners until that point. And when the dust settled, they finished with 16 hits, one shy of their season high.

“All around, just getting back to what we do -- and what we do best,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

Randy Arozarena had the go-ahead knock, yanking a 102.7 mph liner past a diving José Ramírez at third base that scored Cal Raleigh, who drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a double from Jorge Polanco. Dominic Canzone followed with a liner past second baseman Daniel Schneemann that plated two more. Arozarena was one of the few bright spots on the road trip, as he’s now 11-for-29 since last Friday.

Then the rookies took over, as Ben Williamson pulled a 100.3 mph single into left and Cole Young followed with an opposite-field double for the dagger.

And for good measure, Jorge Polanco crushed his first homer since May 12 -- and his first of the season batting right-handed, with a 368-foot solo shot in the eighth. Polanco is now quietly on an eight-game hitting streak, after hitting .136 with a .393 OPS in his previous 26 games dating back to May 1.

Those moments were set up by a booming, 399-foot solo homer from Rowdy Tellez and an opposite-field, two-out RBI knock from J.P. Crawford in the fourth, as part of a three-hit game for Seattle’s shortstop.

“I don't like to look back, but we went through a rough stretch,” Wilson said. “There were a lot of hard-hit balls during that rough stretch, too, and we were doing some good things offensively. And tonight, more things went our way.”

It wasn’t that the Mariners didn’t have any offensive traction on their recent road trip -- it was that they squandered one run-scoring opportunity after another, which made mistakes from their pitching staff loom that much larger, perhaps none bigger than the grand slam that Bryan Woo surrendered to Eugenio Suárez in Wednesday’s loss.

Overall, the Mariners hit .293 with a .776 OPS in that six-game weave through Anaheim and Phoenix. But they hit .195 with a .510 OPS with runners in scoring position, which correlated to 54 stranded runners.

“I believe the approach is still the same,” Mariners senior director of hitting strategy Edgar Martinez said. “I think that the guys are fighting in the lineup. We have some guys that right now, they're not swinging like they were swinging earlier, but it doesn't have to do with the approach. It has to do with the ups and downs of the season that some hitters go through. It's very rare that you see all nine hitters clicking at the same time.”

Martinez, the Hall of Famer and franchise icon, was on the entire road trip, one of the handful that he’s taken so far in the overarching role that was created ahead of this season. He wasn’t necessarily traveling because of the offense’s recent struggles, crediting the uniformity of his methods with those of hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes.

“We have the same philosophy,” Martinez said. “We talk about the same things every day, so the plan doesn't change. The messaging doesn't change. And they do a pretty good job with the guys.”

Still, Martinez’s presence can leave a large imprint.

“He always gets your head in the right place,” said Julio Rodríguez, who went 2-for-5 with a double on Friday and now has an .880 OPS in June.

It was only one game, but Friday proved to be a step back in the right direction for a Mariners team that badly needed it.