CLEVELAND — The sun was shining, the green grass looked immaculate, and for the first time in more than a year, all felt right with the world at Progressive Field.
Before a crowd if 22,970, the Indians easily dispatched the Seattle Mariners 7-0 Friday night. The game was billed as "Opening Day 2.0," for it was the first time the stadium was allowed to open without capacity restrictions since September of 2019.
The star of the show was Tribe starting pitcher Aaron Civale, who initially gave up a single, hit a batter, and walked another to load the bases for Seattle in the first. He recovered to retire the side, thus beginning a string of 22 set down in a row to bolster eight shutout innings, including 11 strikeouts.
Offensively, Cleveland (33-27) got going early, with Eddie Rosario driving home Cesar Hernandez in the bottom of the first to get the scoring started. Every starter reached base at least once, and rookie Bobby Bradly led the way with three RBIs on three hits, the most notable being a solo home run in the third inning.
There was a scary moment just after Bradley's blast, when a fastball from Seattle starter Justin Dunn hit Austin Hedges on the left side of his helmet. The Indians catcher was down on the ground for several minutes but initially remained in the game, only to be replaced two innings later by René Rivera. Cleveland was up 5-0 by that point, and the team described Hedges' exit as merely a precaution after he suffered a bruise.
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Dunn lasted just three innings for the Mariners (31-34) and gave up those five runs, while Will Vest surrendered two more in the sixth. Blake Parker gave up Seattle's second hit but pitched a scoreless final frame to secure Civale's American League-leading ninth win.
The victory keeps the Tribe within 4 1/2 games of the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL Central. Triston McKenzie (1-3, 6.26 ERA) will be called back up to start Saturday afternoon against the M's' Yusei Kikuchi (3-3, 4.05).