A four-run 7th inning was more than enough for the Seattle Mariners as they handed the Cleveland Baseball Club a 7-3 loss.
The Cleveland Baseball Club kept things relatively close until the 7th inning Friday night. The 7th inning proved to be quite problematic as the Seattle Mariners busted the game wide open by scoring four runs in the inning. Turning a manageable two-run deficit into a comfortable six run lead for the Mariners. While a Josh Naylor home run in the 9th closed the gap, the game was already pretty much over at that point.
Aaron Civale started for Cleveland and was doing fine until the aforementioned 7th inning. One of the five earned runs allowed by Civale came in that inning after he already exited the game. That being said it was a so-so performance for one of Cleveland’s more consistent arms this season. This 7 hits and 5 runs allowed performance appears to be just a blip on what has been a good season s far. There was a start like this back in late April against the Twins, the only other start in which Civale allowed more than 3 runs in a start. Counting on Civale to bounce back in his next start seems like a pretty safe bet.
Mariners starter Chris Flexen kept Cleveland in check during his 5.2 innings of work. Cleveland managed only 5 hits and 1 run against the Seattle starter. There were a few key bats that did not do much of anything in the loss. Jose Ramirez, Eddie Rosario, and Franmil Reyes combined to go 0-10, all outs on balls in play. It is pretty tough to win any game with getting no production from these three bats in the lineup. A bounce back from this group is needed as early as Saturday evening for the third game of the series.
