On Thursday night, the city of Seattle came together to watch the Mariners host the Cleveland Guardians at T-Mobile Park for Opening Day.

Before the game, fans of all Seattle sports were given a treat as some familiar names participated in the honorary first pitch. Marshawn Lynch, former Seahawks running back, Gary Payton, former Super Sonics legend and basketball Hall of Famer, Jewell Lloyd of the Storm, Kasey Keller, former Sounders goalkeeper, and Ken Griffey Jr. Mariners legend and baseball Hall of Famer shared the mound, each throwing a pitch.

Tickets to the Mariners’ opening game were completely sold out with T-Mobile Park hosting 45,268 fans of the Mariners and Guardians. Each one of those Mariners fans along with those watching at home were in for a treat.

The primetime pitching matchup of Luis Castillo of the Mariners against Shane Bieber of the Guardians did not disappoint. Bieber had a strong 2022 season as he pitched in 31 games and accumulated a record of 13-8 with an ERA of 2.88. Castillo, who was acquired late last season by the Mariners, pitched 11 games for them going 4-2 and finishing with an ERA of 3.17.

The game was a low-scoring pitching duel with Castillo and Bieber going back and forth.

Mariners fans held their breath for Castillo as his second pitch in the third inning came back at him and hit him in the head. Castillo waived off the trainers after they checked up on him and continued to pitch until the seventh inning.

Both pitchers allowed no runs and finish with a 0.00 ERA with Bieber giving up six hits and striking out three, while Castillo only allowed one hit and struck out six.

The Mariners’ young star Julio Rodríguez started off slow going 0-4 with one strikeout. He still played a big part in the game making catch after catch in center field.

Notable Mariners to finish the game with at least one hit were Ty France, Cal Raleigh, Eugenio Suárez, Jarred Kelenic, and J.P Crawford.

Cleveland bullpen pitcher James Karinchak was a target for the fans as early in the eighth inning, he received a pitch clock violation when facing Crawford. Fans got loud every time Karinchak became set to pitch the baseball. This seemed to work as France hit a three-run homer off of Karinchak later in that same inning giving the Mariners a 3-0 lead.

Andrés Muñoz closed out the game in the ninth inning for the Mariners giving up two base hits. He did not allow a run, giving Paul Sewald the win. The Mariners did not score any other runs giving the team their first win with a final score of 3-0.

The Mariners celebrated the win by dancing on the field as a team, a move they coined in the 2022 season. The Mariners are looking to make it back to the postseason as they ended their drought of 21 years last season.

The Guardians, who also made the playoffs last year, are looking to win the American League Central Division for a second straight year. If both teams are to make it to the postseason again, we could be looking at an Opening Day preview of what’s to come in this year’s playoffs.