CLEVELAND _ Playing on the road is getting a little easier for the Mariners. They won their third straight game away from Safeco Field, getting solid starting pitching from Ariel Miranda and nice relief work from James Pazos and Edwin Diaz in a 3-1 win over the Indians on Friday.
Miranda pitched 51/3 innings, giving up one run on two hits with two walks and seven strikeouts to improve to 2-2 on the season. Pazos was solid in relief and Diaz worked out a four-out save to defeat the reigning American League champs.
The Mariners scratched out three runs against the always tough Carlos Carrasco. The Indians right-hander worked eight innings, giving up three runs on six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.
Ben Gamel led off the fourth inning with a slicing double into the gap in left-center, bringing Robinson Cano to the plate. Of the Mariners who had faced Carrasco in the past, Cano was one of the few with a fair amount of success against, coming into the game hitting .429 with two doubles and two homers off him. That success continued. Cano hammered a 0-1 fastball over the wall in deep right center. Cano's fourth homer of the year gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead.
The Indians only run against Miranda came in the bottom of the inning when Jose Ramirez launched a solo homer over the tall wall in left field. The umpires didn't see the ball land over the fence and ricochet back onto the field. But a quick and obvious review showed that it was indeed Ramirez's sixth homer of the season.
Seattle got some much-needed insurance from Gamel in the sixth when he pulled a towering fly ball down the right-field line for a solo homer. His first homer of the season made it 3-1.
Pazos was brilliant in relief. He entered the game with one out and a runner on first in the sixth inning. He proceeded to strike out Edwin Encarnacion on fastballs of 97, 96 and 99 mph and then made Ramirez look silly on a 0-2 slider for an awkward swinging strikeout.
Manager Scott Servais stuck with the hard-throwing lefty, who had pinpoint command, for the seventh. Pazos struck out the first two hitters with ease and then gave up a single to former Mariners Abe Almonte. But he came back to get Yan Gomes to ground out to end the inning.
