Mariners barrage of solo shots not enough against Guardians in Opening Day loss

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 26: Brendan Donovan #33 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates his solo home run during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at T-Mobile Park on March 26, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) | Getty Images For an offense that was supposed to add more contact and on-base ability this off-season, it was a disappointing showing from the Mariners on Opening Day in front of a sold-out (as announced by the Mariners) crowd. The Mariners hitters combined for 14 strikeouts, scoring all their runs on solo homers.

They only had two non-dinger hits: two doubles, one from Brendan Donovan and one by Randy Arozarena (that probably should have been scored as a single stretched to a double with some shaky play from the Guardians outfield). Initially, it looked like the Mariners were going to be able to outmaneuver the Guardians, despite Logan Gilbert surrendering a first-inning home run to rookie Chase DeLauter, who pounced on a slider from Gilbert and took him deep to put the Mariners in an early hole. “I was probably leaning too much on not walking [DeLauter] there,” said Gilbert postgame.

“I just didn’t rip it like I usually do, a true slider. ” But Brendan Donovan was right there to pick up his teammate, making some history in his first plate appearance as a Mariner. This is the first leadoff home run on Opening Day in Mariners history: It's all about the first impression.

#TridentsUp pic. twitter. com/L7Vyt1BAqi — Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 27, 2026 “That’s a lot of prayers answered right there,” said Donovan postgame, who admitted he was trying to lean the ball fair when it came off his bat.