Eighth-inning triple helps Cleveland Indians edge Seattle Mariners

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – The last punch Tuesday belonged to the Cleveland Indians in a 4-3 victory over the Mariners at Goodyear Ballpark.

It was 3-3 when Michael Martinez opened the Cleveland eighth against Vidal Nuno with a grounder past third baseman Ed Lucas.

It turned into a triple when left fielder Efren Navarro couldn’t keep the ball from reaching the corner. Eric Stamets followed with a line single to left for a 4-3 lead.

That’s how it ended.

The Mariners (3-4) opened the scoring after Dae-Ho Lee drew a one-out walk in the second inning. Lee chugged to third on Shawn O’Malley’s sharp single through the right side.

Mike Zunino followed with a sacrifice fly to deep center for a 1-0 lead.

The Indians took advantage of two defensive mistakes to score twice in the third inning. James Ramsey was at second with one out when Jose Ramirez’s grounder skipped through shortstop Chris Taylor for an RBI single.

Jason Kipnis followed with a grounder to the right side. Lee missed on a diving attempt, but O’Malley made a fine stop and had a play at first as pitcher Nathan Karns covered.

The problem came when Lee tried to scramble back to the base and bumped Karns, who dropped the ball. Ramirez went to third.

“We met around the same time,” Karns said. “The ball was in the air. It was just one of those tough plays that you never really practice for.”

Francisco Lindor then sent a sacrifice fly to deep left for a 2-1 lead. Karns finished the inning before departing with a line that showed two runs (one earned) and five hits in three innings.

The Mariners pulled even on Dan Robertson’s RBI bunt single in the fifth, Indians (2-4-2) countered Mike Napoli’s one-out RBI single in the sixth against Joe Wieland.

Two Cleveland errors helped the Mariners score the tying run in the eighth. The Mariners loaded the bases with two outs after Ed Lucas’ RBI single but stranded all three runners when Stefen Romero popped out.

Up next

The Mariners return Wednesday to Peoria for a 12:10 p.m. game against a Kansas City split squad. It will be the first of 16 games televised this spring by Root Sports.

Right-hander Taijuan Walker is scheduled for a three-inning start against the World Series champions, who are starting left-hander Matt Strahm, who spent last season in A-ball.

Also scheduled to pitch for the Mariners: Cody Martin, Steve Cishek, Justin De Fratus, Blake Parker and Paul Fry.