***The video above is from a previous report***
CLEVELAND (WJW / AP) – Despite holding the lead for the first five innings, the Cleveland Guardians ended up falling short 3-5 to the Seattle Mariners in their home opener Friday evening.
The Guardians made the first move in the first after Amed Rosario scored. Then in the third, Josh Bell singled on a line drive and Rosario made it to home again.
Myles Straw singled on a ground ball and Andrés Giménez scored for the Guardians in the fourth.
In the fifth, the Mariners finally made their way onto the board after JP Crawford doubled, allowing Cooper Hummel to make it home. Then, Crawford scored after Ty France singled on a sharp line drive.
At the top of the sixth, the Mariners tied things up after Jarred Kelenic scored on Crawford’s double.
In a two-run homerun by Julio Rodriguez in the sixth, Seattle took the lead, 5-3, for the first time of the game. The Mariners had scored five straight runs within two innings.
After three straight scoreless innings, Seattle came out on top with a 5-3 win over Cleveland.
Crowds have gathered for the sold out Opening Day, which included a flyover by the Ohio Air National Guard and a tribute to former Cleveland Indian Gaylord Perry and Cleveland baseball super fan John Adams.
The ceremonial first pitch was wildly thrown by 2022 Super Bowl Champ Travis Kelce.
After unbuttoning his jersey to unveil an “I’m From Cleveland” T-shirt, Kelce wound up and then bounced his pitch way in front of the plate. Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber jumped out of the way to avoid injury as the ball rolled to the backstop.
Kelce ran down from the mound and hugged Bieber to make sure he was OK.
In a tweet, Kelce joked, “Been spiking a football for the past 10 years… can you tell?”
After Friday’s loss, the AL Central champs are now holding a 5-3 record for the 2023 season.
Looking ahead, Mariners RHP Marco Gonzales makes his second start in a week against Cleveland, which will counter with RHP Cal Quantrill.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
