Mariners win, 3–1, as James Paxton strikes out 8 in 2021 Cactus League Debut
Mariners power offense with solo home runs by Kelenic, Rodríguez and Witte
The Big Maple took the mound for his first 2021 Cactus League start, powering the Mariners to a 3–1 win over the Brewers on Sunday afternoon.
Recap:
PHOENIX, Ariz. — The Mariners topped the Brewers, 3–1, on Sunday afternoon at American Family Fields of Phoenix. James Paxton made his Cactus League debut, leading a Mariners pitching staff that limited the Brewers to 5 hits over the course of the afternoon. On offense, the Mariners relied on the long ball, with Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodríguez and Jantzen Witte chipping in solo shots. The Mariners have won 3 of their last 4 games and 4 of their last 6 dating back to March 16.
In his start today, Paxton tallied 4.1 innings of 1-run ball, while racking up 8 strikeouts. He surrendered his lone run in the bottom of the first inning, but the Brewers were aided by a leadoff sun-double by Kolten Wong who eventually came around to score. After allowing the run, Paxton retired 12 of his last 13 batters, while striking out 8 and allowing only 1 walk during that span.
The Mariners plated their first run in the top of the 2nd inning with a solo blast by Jarred Kelenic to even the score at 1–1. Kelenic has recorded an extra-base hit in back-to-back games and boasts a 1.212 OPS this spring.
The 1–1 score held until the top of the 7th inning when Julio Rodríguez broke the tie with a solo shot of his own to deep center field. Jantzen Witte contributed another solo home run in the top of the eighth for the Mariners, adding an insurance run to bring the score to 3–1.
The Mariners bullpen covered 4.2 scoreless innings, including outings from JT Chargois (0.2 IP), Keynan Middleton (1.0 IP), Brady Lail (1.0 IP), Aaron Fletcher (1.0 IP) and Ljay Newsome (1.0 IP).
The Mariners return home to Peoria Stadium on Monday for a 6:40 pm PT first pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Left-hander Justus Sheffield is scheduled to toe the rubber for the Mariners, with the Dodgers rolling out right-hander Trevor Bauer as their probable starting pitcher. The game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS and broadcast live on 710 ESPN Seattle and the Mariners Radio Network.
