Mariners win! Gilbert dominates, Polanco’s late HR lifts M’s over A’s on Opening Day, 4-2
Jose Leclerc could only turn and watch. The Athletics’ new high-leverage reliever worked ahead of Randy Arozarena before throwing Thursday night’s critical, 0-2 mistake — a middle-middle slider that Seattle’s left fielder obliterated into the night sky.
Before the 111-mph rocket could land well beyond the left-field bullpens, Arozarena had spiked his bat in the dirt, turning toward the Seattle dugout and hype squad. He stopped at first base to fold his arms, trotting the bases at his own, leisurely pace. As he deserved.
Mostly quiet for six-plus innings, the Mariners offense rose from the ashes. Arozarena’s solo home run tied Opening Day in the eighth inning, 2-2, and they were far from finished.
“(Randy) pointed at us and did his stuff,” Seattle’s Jorge Polanco said, who watched Arozarena’s homer in the hole. “It pumped me up a little more to just go out there and try to focus on getting a pitch to hit.”
Luke Raley walked, and Polanco soon played hero: Seattle’s third baseman delivered the game-sealing blow, another home run off Leclerc for Seattle’s first lead, 4-2. T-Mobile Park rocked, and All-Star closer Andres Munoz warmed.
“I went through a lot of stuff last year,” Polanco said, who underwent knee surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee last October. “I worked hard during the offseason to get better. I’m feeling really good now. … I feel like I can do a lot more things hitting.”
He won’t bat 1.000 all year, but for one night, Polanco can dream. He finished 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI, Munoz faced the minimum in the ninth, and the Mariners roared back for a 4-2 win over the Athletics on Opening Day.
Logan Gilbert made his first-career Opening Day start and dominated the A’s across seven stellar innings, allowing just two hits and one earned run. He struck out eight without a walk and retired the game’s first eight batters in order.
“I always want to go deep into the game and start off on the right foot,” Gilbert said. “Most importantly, I feel like I was attacking hitters and getting ahead. That’s when I feel like I’m doing my job.”
The workhorse’s performance included a third-inning scare when Athletics right fielder Lawrence Butler’s scalding, 111-mph comebacker hit Seattle’s starter in the behind. Gilbert fielded the play cleanly and fired to first base for the inning-ending putout, but all eyes wandered to the dugout in fear that his first-career Opening Day start would suffer an unfortunate and early end.
Gilbert paced the dugout with head athletic Kyle Torgerson. Exiting the game never crossed his mind.
“Honestly, it was probably the best place it could’ve hit (me),” Gilbert told reporters Thursday night. “He smoked that ball, and I wasn’t getting out of the way in time.
“I knew I wasn’t coming out. I just didn’t know if it was going to tighten up or what. It got skin and muscle, not bone or anything. … That stuff happens. You’ve just got to find a way to work around it.”
“(Logan’s) going to have a big bruise, I’m sure,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “But there was never a doubt (he’d return). It was a gutty performance, because it had to have hurt… but you couldn’t tell.”
Gilbert’s only mistake? A middle-middle slider that Athletics first baseman Tyler Soderstrom launched to center field for a solo homer in the fifth inning, the game’s first run. Julio Rodriguez drifted back before running out of room.
A’s starter Luis Severino worked quickly and efficiently, a six-inning shutout with three hits, four walks, and six strikeouts. Soderstrom hit two home runs, a pair of solo shots in the fifth and eighth innings.
After Seattle’s Ryan Bliss was ruled out via video replay on a slide at home plate in the seventh inning, outfielder Victor Robles drove a sacrifice fly to plate J.P. Crawford and tie Thursday night’s game at one. Soderstrom’s second blast put the A’s in front again before Arozarena tied it and Polanco ended it.
DID YOU KNOW?
— Ichiro, the 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, brought the heat for Thursday night’s ceremonial first pitch. In full uniform, the Mariners icon fired a high fastball to manager (and former Seattle catcher) Dan Wilson.
“I was just glad I caught it,” Wilson smiled.
— The Mariners are one of five MLB clubs with 85+ wins in each of the last four seasons, joining the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Milwaukee Brewers.
— Big Dumper, bigger payday: Cal Raleigh and the Mariners agreed to a six-year, $105-million contract extension Tuesday morning, keeping the 2024 AL Platinum Glove winner in a Seattle uniform through 2030.
The deal includes Raleigh’s arbitration years and buys out three years of free agency. Raleigh receives a $10 million signing bonus and $1 million salary in 2025, escalating to $23 million for each of the 2028-2030 seasons. Raleigh also gets a $20 million vesting player option in 2031 with a $2 million buyout.
“I feel blessed that the Mariners gave me this opportunity and I can’t think of a better place in MLB to call home,” Raleigh said. “We have a great nucleus of players here and aren’t far off from bringing the World Series to Seattle. It won’t be easy but I believe ownership and management share the same vision and commitment. I won’t stop working and I won’t stop grinding until this city gets what it deserves, and that is a perennial playoff team and a World Series Championship.”
— The fans asked for years, and the Mariners have granted their wish: Team President of Business Operations Kevin Martinez announced Friday the launch of the Root Sports Stream app, providing access to Mariners games covered by the network with no blackouts and no cable or satellites required.
For $19.99 per month, fans in Mariners television territory, as defined by Major League Baseball — Washington, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, and portions of Idaho — have a new, modern way to watch baseball at home or on the go.
“Our goal is to connect fans to Mariners baseball in as many ways as possible,” Martinez said in a team release. “The new ROOT SPORTS Stream app is an excellent complement to the existing, valuable partnerships ROOT SPORTS has with TV providers to bring Mariners baseball to all fans in the Pacific Northwest.”
Fans already subscribed to Root Sports through cable television packages can access the Root Sports Stream app for no additional cost.
MITCH HANIGER RELEASED
The Mariners return to Seattle with one less familiar face.
The club announced Sunday the release of outfielder Mitch Haniger, 34, ending his second stint with the team after the Mariners acquired him via trade from the San Francisco Giants in Jan. 2024.
“Putting on a Mariners uniform and playing at T-Mobile Park is something I’ll cherish forever,” Haniger said in a team release. “To our fans, my teammates, and everyone a part of this organization, thank you for embracing my family and me.
“We have so many great memories to look back on.”
On the night of Oct. 2, 2021, Haniger gave the Mariners a reason to believe. The outfielder’s go-ahead, two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning of the season’s penultimate game saved Seattle from elimination for one more day — arguably the biggest swing of his career.
Haniger debuted for the Mariners in April 2017, traded from Arizona to Seattle alongside Jean Segura in exchange for INF Ketel Marte and RHP Taijuan Walker the previous winter. By 2018, he was an AL All-Star, finishing 11th in MVP voting with 93 RBI and an .859 OPS.
“Mitch has been a significant part of Mariners history and will be missed,” Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto said through the release. “The day he arrived for his first spring training back in 2017, he established himself as one of the most focused, prepared, and hardest working players I’ve ever been around. We all appreciate the many ways he’s made us all better, on the field and off.”
In 2021, Haniger notched career-highs in home runs (39), RBI (100), and runs scored (110). He was part of the 2022 team that ended a 21-year postseason drought, hitting safely in all five playoff games.
Haniger was selected 38th overall (first round) by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, a Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo alum.
ON DECK
The opening series continues Friday with Luis Castillo on the bump when the Mariners host the Athletics for a 6:40 p.m. first pitch at T-Mobile Park.
Here’s a look at the pitching probables for the remainder of a four-game set with the A’s:
Friday: RHP Luis Castillo (SEA) vs. LHP Jeffrey Springs (ATH), 6:40 p.m.
Saturday: RHP Bryce Miller (SEA) vs. RHP Osvaldo Bido (ATH), 6:40 p.m.
Sunday: RHP Bryan Woo (SEA) vs. LHP JP Sears (ATH), 1:10 p.m.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 10:24 PM with the headline "Mariners win! Gilbert dominates, Polanco’s late HR lifts M’s over A’s on Opening Day, 4-2."
