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Seattle Mariners Allow First-Inning Onslaught in 9-6 Loss to Detroit Tigers
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Emerson Hancock (left) talks with catcher Cal Raleigh during a game against the Detroit Tigers on March 31 at T-Mobile Park. John Froschauer-Imagn Images

Seattle Mariners Allow First-Inning Onslaught in 9-6 Loss to Detroit Tigers

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Teren Kowatsch  |  Last updated Apr 1, 2025 1:43 AM ET

SEATTLE — There are bad starts. And then there's what happened to the Seattle Mariners in a 9-6 loss against the Detroit Tigers on Monday. The Mariners dropped under .500 (2-3) with the loss.

In his first start of the year filling in for right-handed pitcher George Kirby (on the injured list for right shoulder inflammation); Seattle starting pitcher Emerson Hancock allowed six earned runs on seven hits (one home run) to the Tigers in just 0.2 innings pitched.

The more the visiting batters came to the plate in the opening frame, the more the crowd at T-Mobile Park started collectively expressing their disapproval. Some booed, some yelled (with colorful exclamations) and others simply hit their seats or stamped their feet. Half of Hancock's six runs allowed were with two outs, adding to the frustration. Detroit went 11 batters deep before the Mariners got out of the top of the first and the audience's displeasure slowly dissipated back to typical levels.

"I think (I'm) super frustrated just because I didn't do my part in helping us get a win," Hancock said in a postgame interview. "I kind of put us in too big a hole early on. And I just didn't give us a chance at all. ... I need to find a way to get out of that inning, that way we can get out and maybe get some more length out of that game. Or maybe you can get in a rhythm and settle in later. But I didn't do my job."

Kerry Carpenter (single), Riley Greene (home run), Dillon Dingler (single), Trey Sweeney (single) and Javier Baez (double) accounted had the hits that totaled the six scores in the first.

Seattle limited the bleeding after the first, but the wound was too deep to patch.

The Mariners put up six runs the rest of the way. Randy Arozarena got the home team on the board with a solo homer to left field in the bottom of the second. Julio Rodriguez scored J.P. Crawford with a groundout an inning later. Carpenter accounted for the Tigers' seventh run of the game in the top of the third with an RBI double.

Arozarena and Rodriguez both had multi-hit days. Rodriguez finished 2-for-5 with a triple, two runs and an RBI. Arozarena went 2-for-4 with his homer, a run and an RBI.

Dingler had an RBI single in the top of the fourth that bolstered Detroit's lead to 8-2. That was where the Tigers remained for a decent stretch.

Carlos Vargas, who had six innings of major league experience before Monday, entered the game in the top of the fourth. He let up the Dingler RBI single, but Collin Snider was dinged with the earned run.

Vargas pitched 3.2 innings, allowed one earned run on four hits and fanned two. His one run allowed was to designated hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy in the top of the ninth, which gave the Tigers their ninth and final run.

During Vargas' outing, Seattle chipped away at Detroit's lead. Luke Raley had a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth and Jorge Polanco had an RBI single in the fifth.

After Vargas' day was done, Cal Raleigh hit a two-run shot to right field in the bottom of the ninth for the eventual final of 9-6. The Mariners finished the game 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position compared to a 6-for-14 mark for the Tigers.

"We kept pressure, we kept trying to get back in the game," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview. "And I thought our bullpen did a really nice job, especially with (Vargas) there giving us three-plus innings. Outstanding effort by him and all the guys today, bullpen-wise. ... I think it was just a tough first inning for us but the guys really, really battled back and gave them all they could handle all the way to the end."

The Mariners will look to get back to .500 in Game 2 against Detroit at 6:40 p.m. PT on Tuesday.

Logan Gilbert will start for Seattle against Tigers starter Casey Mize.

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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