4/15/25
(Cincinnati, OH) After a terrific 5-1 homestand, the Seattle Mariners hit the road for a nine-game road trip against three playoff caliber teams in a great early season test for this club. First up, the M’s headed to Cincinnati to take on the Reds at a rough time as the Reds activated three players off the IL. With a healthy Reds team with momentum, Seattle was in for a tough fight.
In the opener, Luis Castillo would face his former team for the first time since being traded to Seattle back in 2022. On the other side of things, Nick Lodolo would look to continue his hot start to the season.
Reds 8, Mariners 4 (Game 1, April 15th)
It took no time at all for the Mariners to grab the first lead of the game. On the second pitch of the opener, Dylan Moore drove a sinker out to center field that just kept carrying for Moore’s third home run of the season. The 429-foot blast got Seattle on the board with the 1-0 lead.
A special moment came in the top of the 2nd. With nobody on and two outs, Ben Williamson came to the plate for his first MLB at-bat in his Major League debut. After battling for a five-pitch AB, Williamson smoked a line drive into left field for his first career hit in his first at-bat. That extended the inning for J.P. Crawford who singled to right to put runners on the corners. Dylan Moore then cashed in for a third consecutive two-out hit with an RBI single left field. Williamson scored and Seattle extended their lead to 2-0.
Luis Castillo got out of trouble in the bottom of the 2nd but wasn’t as fortunate in the home half of the 3rd. A leadoff double by Jose Trevino put a runner in scoring position before Castillo retired TJ Friedl for the first out. Matt McLain drew a walk to put another runner on for Elly De La Cruz. Castillo would win that battle, getting Elly to fly out to right for the second out. Gavin Lux and Austin Hays then knocked back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at 2-2.
With the game still tied going into the 5th, Seattle would put some pressure on Nick Lodolo. J.P. Crawford was hit by a pitch to begin the inning. That brought Dylan Moore to the plate and once again he did some major damage. Moore yanked a first pitch changeup over the wall in left field for his second home run of the game and fourth of the season. Another two-run blast had the Mariners back out in front, 4-2.
The lead didn’t last for long as Cincinnati struck back in the bottom of the 5th. Back-to-back walks to Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz put the first two runners on for Gavin Lux. He continued his strong day with a base hit to left to score McLain to make it 4-3. A throwing error by Randy Arozarena allowed the runners to move up to second and third. Austin Hays then gave the Reds their first lead of the game with a three-run bomb for his first homer as a Red. Castillo’s return to Cincinnati didn’t have a happy ending as he left with the Mariners trailing 6-4.
Seattle left the bases loaded in the 6th and things got ugly when Gregory Santos entered to pitch the 8th. Santos gave up a double and then walked the next three batters to gift Cincinnati another run. Elly De La Cruz had an RBI groundout to make it 8-4 and that would be the end of things. Former Mariner Emilio Pagán came in and sat the Mariners down 1-2-3 in the 9th to end the game. What started off sweet turned sour quickly as the M’s dropped the opener 8-4.
Notable Performances
Mariners
- Dylan Moore- 3-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
- Ben Williamson- 1-3, First Major League Hit, R
- Luis Castillo (L, 1-2)- 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO
Reds
- Austin Hays- 2-4, HR, 4 RBI, R
- Gavin Lux- 4-4, 2 RBI, R
- Nick Lodolo (ND)- 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
What’s Next
Seattle’s four-game winning streak came to an end and the Mariners dropped back below .500 to 8-9. Cincinnati meanwhile won their fourth consecutive game in the series opener. The two teams will take the field again on Wednesday at 3:40pm as the M’s try to even up the series. Taking the mound for Seattle will be Bryce Miller (0-2, 4.50 ERA) who will look for his first win of the season. Miller gutted through five innings in his last start against Texas. For Cincinnati, it will be Nick Martinez (0-2, 6.06 ERA) who is off to a rough start. Martinez has allowed three or more runs in each of his first three starts.
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