Mariners manager Scott Servais said he was happy with Kikuchi’s approach out of the gate, but Cleveland’s hitters jumped on Kikuchi early enough to gain a lead they never lost.
“His stuff wasn’t like he was trying to get it ramped up or whatever, it was right there from the get-go,” Servais said.
Following Jose Ramirez’s solo shot, Kikuchi retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, including collecting four of his five strikeouts in his final three innings. Through six innings pitched, he allowed the three earned runs on five hits, and walked three.
He said it’s difficult to pinpoint why he’s struggled in the early innings, but been able to throw so efficiently later on in starts.
Kikuchi exited the game trailing by three runs, and while the Mariners (13-6) did rally with four runs over the final four frames — including three on back-to-back home runs by Edwin Encarnacion and Omar Narvaez in the eighth — they couldn’t muster quite enough to avoid Kikuchi getting tagged with his first loss.
Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer (2-1, 2.05) frustrated the Mariners’ offense from the outset, allowing a single earned run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked three, and left with a 3-1 lead and two outs in the seventh, after throwing 112 pitches.
Seattle registered just two hits through the first five innings, and Bauer at one point retired 10 consecutive batters before the Mariners finally scratched across their only run in the sixth. Mitch Haniger hit a one-out double, and Domingo Santana — who leads the majors with 24 RBIs — drove him in on a single, cutting Cleveland’s lead to 3-1.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the eighth that the Mariners offense closed in. Santana hit a leadoff single, and Encarnacion, who spent the past two seasons with the Indians, extended Seattle’s record-breaking home run streak with a two-run shot to left. Narvaez followed with a high-flying solo homer to right that nearly hit the roof, to make it 5-4.
The Mariners now have 41 home runs through their first 19 games, an MLB record for consecutive games with a home run to start a season.
But, Seattle couldn’t break through on earlier scoring opportunities, and never led. In the bottom of the seventh, Narvaez hit a leadoff single, and Dee Gordon walked with two outs. Bauer was pulled, and reliever Tyler Olson walked Mallex Smith to load the bases.
Haniger, who hit home runs in back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday, faced Puyallup High School and University of Washington product Adam Cimber with the bases loaded. Haniger worked a full count and fouled off three pitches before Cimber, one of the rare MLB pitchers who throws from the submarine motion, struck him out on a perfectly placed sinker on the lower inside corner.
The Mariners also missed out in the fifth, after Encarnacion opened the inning with a double. Narvaez then walked, setting Seattle up with a pair of runners and no outs. Bauer — aided by some questionably called strikes — struck out the next three batters to retire the side.
The Indians plated two more peculiar runs in the eighth. Jose Ramirez drew a leadoff walk against Mariners reliever Zac Rosscup, and eventually scored on a pair of wild pitches by reliever Connor Sadzeck three batters later.
And, Cleveland made it 5-1 after reliever Shawn Armstrong loaded the bases and then apparently hit Greg Allen in the knee with a pitch, to score Carlos Santana. Though replay appeared to show that the ball’s trajectory did not change, the call was upheld.
Rosscup, Sadzeck and Armstrong combined walk four, and each also recorded a strikeout in the inning.
After the Mariners had closed the lead to one run, reliever Roenis Elias worked two quick outs in the top of the ninth before Carlos Gonzalez reached on a throwing error by shortstop Tim Beckham. Santana doubled, and another throwing error by Beckham allowed Gonzalez to score.
The Mariners continue their three-game series against the Indians at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday. Seattle right-hander Mike Leake (2-0, 4.15) is scheduled to meet Cleveland right-hander Shane Bieber (1-0, 1.80).