Mariners take “run it back” too literally, lose Cactus League opener 5-2

The Mariners start 2025 0-1 in Cactus League play

It’s maybe in keeping for the Mariners’ stay-the-course off-season that their first game of spring featured some themes familiar to fans from last season: no hits through the first five innings, more strikeouts than walks, and hitters failing to pick up the precious few batters who did reach base. Add that to some shaky performances from the Mariners’ pitching pile and we have a 5-2 loss to the Padres to open the spring campaign.

It was a rough start for lefty Jhonathan Díaz, who walked the first batter he saw and surrendered a two-run home run to Manny Machado, who ambushed a first-pitch changeup. Díaz then gave up back-to-back doubles to Gavin Sheets, who he fell behind 3-0, and Oscar Gonzalez, who brought Sheets home with a double of his own, jumping on a first-pitch curveball to make it 3-0 Padres. Peoria Stadium now has Statcast, although Díaz probably wishes it doesn’t: the exit velocities on those three hits were 108.6 mph, 105.6 mph, and 108.4 mph. A nice snag from Tyler Locklear at first capped the bleeding there, and Díaz returned for a much cleaner 1-2-3 inning in the second, recording his first strikeout of spring against Rosario. Unfortunately, three runs is all the Padres would need against the Mariners, even as they continued to add on, tagging Blas Castano for another run in the third.

Those hoping for a jump-start to the Cactus League for the Mariners offense would be disappointed, as the Mariners hitters mostly failed to record hits against pitchers ranging from journeyman relievers to prospects with barely any high-minors experience. In the first, J.P. Crawford, Julio Rodríguez, and Cal Raleigh were all retired swiftly by spin merchant Ryan Bergert, as the 25-year-old who most recently played in Double-A got each to ground into easy outs. Triple-A reliever Logan Gillaspie took over in the second, striking out Randy Arozarena looking and getting Mitch Garver whiffing after a couple fastballs up in the zone before getting him to fly out softly on a cutter.

The Mariners’ first base runner of the spring came in the third inning courtesy of Tyler Locklear, who proved he really is Ty France’s successor at first base by getting hit by a Tom Cosgrove pitch. Austin Shenton then worked a full-count walk, to give the Mariners their second baserunner while still looking for that first hit of spring. It would not come from Ryan Bliss, who popped out, nor J.P. Crawford, who flew out to center, but thanks to a double steal from the surprisingly spry combo of Lockear and Shenton, the Mariners were able to score their first run of the spring anyway on the Crawford sac fly, even as a Julio groundout brought the inning to the close, still hitless but no longer runless.

The Mariners starters had one more chance to record those first hits of spring, but Bradgley Rodriguez, an NRI who spent most of 2024 at High-A, put down the Mariners starters 1-2-3, striking out both Raleigh and Garver.

The first line change came in the fourth, with Colt Emerson taking over for J.P. Crawford, Blake Hunt for Cal Raleigh, and Samad Taylor for J.P. Crawford. The exciting part of that inning, though, was Will Klein, who should have blown through his part of the lineup 1-2-3 if not for a throwing error by Emerson, who whipped a ball low past a diving Locklear at first. First big-league game jitters! Klein then surrendered an RBI double to Rosario, putting the Padres ahead 5-1, a costly mistake for Emerson. Klein didn’t help himself out, issuing a four-pitch walk to Joe and driving up his pitch count, but was able to rebound, striking out pinch-hitter Mike Brosseau.

The rest of the replacements came on in the fifth, including Rhylan Thomas, Michael Arroyo, and Ben Williamson. Bill Knight (LF) and Hogan Windish (1B) also got into the game from the minor-league side, as did Cole Young later in the game. It was a rough go for Cody Bolton, who loaded the bases on a single and two walks, needing to be bailed out by Jimmy Kingsbury. Kingsbury surrendered some hard contact, but Ben Williamson was well-placed at third base to handle the hot shot (108.7 mph!). Williamson is a real treat to watch play third.

As expected, the Mariners’ first hit of spring belongs to catcher Blake Hunt, who smacked a ground ball single with two outs in the sixth. He got stranded, but at least he broke up the no-hitter. Samad Taylor is the owner of the Mariners’ first home run in the spring, and the first extra-base hit of the spring, as he scored the Mariners’ second run of the day on a solo shot in the ninth. Statcast was no longer updating by this point, but we’ll assume it went a little short of Machado’s 428-foot blast.

Assorted notes:

• Tyler Locklear and Austin Shenton looked good at their respective corners, defensively, with Locklear making a nice diving grab and Shenton charging a grounder and making a strong, on-target throw in Perry Hill-approved fashion.
• As mentioned above, Will Klein was the most exciting arm of the day, topping out at 97 on the fastball. The command got spottier as he went on and he needed 20+ pitches to clear his inning, but Klein’s command really slipped after he surrendered the RBI double, suggesting the issue might be less mechanical and more mental – something the Mariners focus on in player development.
• In the second, Dominic Canzone fell behind 0-2 before we saw our first challenge of the spring, as Canzone laid off a sinker below the zone that was challenged by Padres catcher Elias Díaz and ruled to be a ball. Take that, Padres! As a reminder: the ABS challenge system is only available at parks that have Statcast, and each team gets two challenges, which they retain if they win their challenge. Canzone won the battle but not the war, popping out softly two pitches later. (The Mariners also challenged a pitch, as a last-ditch effort on the final pitch of the game, a called strike three to Cole Young. They also did not win. Quinn Wolcott 2, Robots 0.)
• Players recently freed from the clutches of the White Sox are the new market inefficiency: Gavin Sheets, now a Padre, was 2-for-2 with two doubles.
• It was an out, but Michael Arroyo hit one of the most exciting outs of the day, sending a curveball deep to the warning track in the eighth. Very excited to watch him swing the bat this spring. He also made a really nice sliding stop at second.

• Lefty Austin Kitchen had the tidiest inning of any Mariners reliever of the day, a 1-2-3 eighth with three ground balls.
• Despite not recording a hit, Locklear earns an award I just invented, the Sun Visor Award, for having the most impressive day for a Mariner on both sides of the ball. In addition to his walk, steal, and strong defensive play, with journeyman Austin Davis on the mound in the fifth, Locklear reached for the second time on a walk, giving the Mariners another baserunner. Wikipedia informs me Austin Davis’s nickname is “Big Fudge.” I will not be asking any follow-up questions.