Brad Miller homers twice as Mariners beat Indians
PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) - Brad Miller hit two home runs, and Mike Zunino also connected to as the Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Indians 4-3 on Monday.
Miller and Chris Taylor, both competing to be the starting shortstop, were in the lineup together in the absence of star second baseman Robinson Cano. He is away from the team after the death of his grandfather and expected to return Friday.
Miller got the start at shortstop and started a double play in the first inning by flipping the ball to Taylor.
Miller and Taylor each went 2-for-2, Taylor doubled and singled.
"I'll take them in singles, doubles, pairs, whatever," said Miller, 4-for-6 during spring training. "It was awesome, especially early. We know we're probably going to get a couple of at-bats, and you just want to make the most of them."
Cleveland's Brandon Moss, as the designated hitter, got his first at-bats in a game after October hip surgery and hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to tie it at 3.
"It felt good to have to run the bases," Moss said. "It felt weird to run the bases for sure, then you hit a ball hard and all of a sudden you have to run. That was exciting and very scary at the same time.
"There's nothing I can do to really reinjure it unless I were to do something to tear the labrum again."
Yan Gomes added a two-out, two-run double in the sixth.
Mariners reliever Tyler Olson, competing for one of the left-hander spots in the bullpen, struck out the side in his lone inning of work. He hasn't allowed a base runner in nine batters faced this spring.
Mark Lowe also fanned all three batters he faced in the ninth.
D.J. Peterson's sacrifice fly drove in Ketel Marte with the winning run in the bottom half.
MARINERS SIGN CORREIA
The Mariners signed right-hander Kevin Correia to a minor league contract on Monday, and the 12-year veteran reported to spring training before Monday's game.
Correia split last season between the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers, going a combined 7-17 with a 5.44 ERA in 32 games. He has also pitched for San Francisco, San Diego and Pittsburgh, compiling a 76-95 career mark in 353 games - including 216 starts.
Correia was an NL All-Star in 2011 while he was with Pittsburgh.
STARTING TIME
Indians: Carlos Carrasco, 8-7 with a 2.55 ERA last season between the bullpen and starting rotation, made his spring training debut on Monday. He allowed a run and two hits, and struck out two in three innings.
"One pitch at a time," Carrasco said. "A lot of ups and downs but last year I tried to come back from that. I hope I can continue to do that this year, too."
Mariners: Taijuan Walker's bid to make the starting rotation on opening day is off to a good start. After two scoreless innings last week, he faced the minimum nine batters in three shutout innings. Walker also struck out four.
"Everything felt good," Walker said. "I guess I could probably work on my fastball command a little more. I threw it for strikes but not where I wanted to throw it sometimes."
NEWS FROM LATIN AMERICA
The Mariners announced on Monday that they have consolidated Latin American baseball development operations at their Dominican Republic academy, moving players from their Venezuela facility to the island. They will field two teams in the Dominican Summer League, and no longer have an entry in Venezuela's summer league.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Indians: Pitcher Gavin Floyd was scheduled for a scan of his right elbow on Monday. He felt soreness last week and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday. ... OF Nick Swisher is working his way back from knee surgery and is expected to start playing in games later this month. ... P Josh Tomlin is day-to-day due to right shoulder soreness.
Mariners: RHP Tom Wilhelmsen is scheduled to pitch an inning in his spring training debut on Wednesday. He has been dealing with a sore back.
UP NEXT:
Indians: RHP Trevor Bauer makes his second spring training start Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs in Goodyear, Arizona.
Mariners: Rotation ace Felix Hernandez, recently named as the opening day starter, makes his spring training debut Tuesday in Scottsdale against the Colorado Rockies.