Six M’s combine in shutout; Seager brothers on same field as pros for first time

PEORIA, Ariz. – Six Mariners pitchers – Marco Gonzales, Juan Nicasio, Edwin Diaz, Rob Whalen, Chase Bradford and Sam Moll – combined to hold the Los Angeles Dodgers scoreless in a 2-0 Seattle victory on Sunday.

The Dodgers managed two hits with three walks and nine strikeouts.

Gonzales pitched two scoreless innings. He cruised through the first inning with strikeouts of Chase Utley and Justin Turner. Gonzales issued a leadoff walk to Matt Kemp to start the second inning, but came back and retired the next three hitters, including strikeouts of Joc Pederson and Andrew Toles to end the inning.

Seattle mustered a run in the third after Ben Gamel tripled to right-center and scored on a wild pitch. The second run came in the fifth inning. Mike Ford led off with a double off the wall in left-center. He was replaced by pinch runner John Andreoli, who advanced to third on Ian Miller’s sac bunt and scored on Gamel’s ground ball to second base.

The Mariners got a major scare when reliever Tom Koehler ran a fastball up and in on Nelson Cruz. The wayward pitch struck Cruz in the left wrist and knocked him to the ground. After a few moments and a conversation with athletic trainer Rob Nodine and manager Scott Servais, Cruz got up and headed to first. He remained in the game.

“It’s OK,” he said. “I’ll be fine. But it’s not fun getting hit.”

Playing on the same field as brother Corey for the first time in their professional careers, Kyle Seager won the sibling battle, going 2 for 2 with a pair of singles. Corey Seager went 0 for 3 as the Dodgers’ designated hitter.

“I only worry about the games,” Kyle Seager said.

“It’s really cool,” Corey Seager said. “It’s hard to think about just because it’s him. You’ve been around him all your life, watched him play a ton. It’s still weird. You still kind of feel like a fan in the stands watching even though you’re in the dugout. It’s a really cool moment.”

When the lefty-hitting Corey Seager batted in the first inning, the Mariners put on a shift, opening a big hole at third. Asked if he thought about dropping in a bunt or something past his brother, he said: “You’ve got to save your free knocks during the year, right, when they count. You catch them off guard when they count, not now.”

Corey Seager said it’s been “bad timing, I guess,” that the brothers hadn’t faced each other in spring training before, usually because one of them had the day off when their teams played.

This was the only time the teams will play each other this spring.

The Mariners and Dodgers last played in the regular season in April 2015. Corey Seager made his big league debut Sept. 3 that year.

The Dodgers play at the Mariners Aug. 17-19.

Corey Seager, the 2016 N.L. Rookie of the Year, said their parents weren’t able to come out from North Carolina for this game, but will for the series in Seattle.

“That one’s already on the schedule. They’ll make it out for that one, for sure,” he said. “There will be a lot of people there, actually, probably.”

Kyle Seager, who made his big league debut in July 2011, said this was the second time he saw his younger brother play since Corey was 11. The other time was when the Dodgers were in the World Series last fall.

Corey Seager said he still considers his older brother a role model.

“I still ask him for help, I still ask him about things. I don’t think I really ever will stop asking him. He always will be and still is.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.