Ramirez delivers go-ahead double, Guardians outslug Mariners on Opening Day

Jose Ramirez strikes again. Tied with two outs in the seventh inning, Cleveland star third baseman stole Seattle’s Opening Day magic. How did the seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger barrel that ?

Mariners reliever Gabe Speier’s 1-1 slider missed well below the zone, but Ramirez found a way to golf a go-ahead, two-run double that one-hopped off the wall in left center. Cleveland’s Brayan Rocchio rounded third, waving his arms, and Chase DeLauter slid home right behind him. Guardians 5, M’s 3.

The Mariners hit four solo home runs and right-hander Logan Gilbert struck out seven, but Ramirez’s heroics were the difference in Thursday night’s 6-4 loss to the Guardians at T-Mobile Park. Cleveland’s DeLauter hit two homers, becoming the sixth player in MLB history with a multi-homer game in his regular season debut. A first-inning blast provided an early, 1-0 lead and a ninth-inning solo shot was the insurance run that sent some fans heading for the exits.

New Mariners third baseman Brendan Donovan homered in his first Mariners at-bat, hoisting the gold trident in front of a sellout home crowd of 44,398 for the very first time. It marked Seattle’s first leadoff homer on Opening Day in franchise history. Mariners designated hitter Dominic Canzone stung a pair of solo homers in the second and seventh innings.