Randy Arozarena and Jorge Polanco each hit two-run home runs, and the Seattle Mariners scored five runs in the first inning to win 10-4 against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
After being shut out for the ninth time this season, Seattle began the game with five consecutive hits, and all five batters scored.
Julio Rodríguez led off with a double to left field and scored on Cal Raleigh’s single. Luke Raley, after Arozarena’s single, hit a two-run double. He and Justin Turner later scored on Mitch Garner’s two-out single, making it 5-0.
“I just think that we kind of came to the park a little mad today and took advantage of some pitches left over the plate,” Raley said. “To start the game off with five straight hits is a great start.”
Arozarena’s 390-foot home run to left field off Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas (8-11) in the second inning extended the lead to seven runs. It was his first career home run at Busch Stadium and his first against the Cardinals.
Arozarena began his career with St. Louis and later became a postseason star and MVP of the 2020 AL Championship Series with Tampa Bay.
“At that point, it was going to be up to us to hold that lead, and the guys kept adding on,” manager Dan Wilson said. “It was a really nice offensive day for us.”
Polanco hit a 419-foot home run into the center-field bleachers in the fifth inning off Steven Matz, giving the Mariners a 9-2 lead.
Mariners starter Luis Castillo left the game after three-plus innings due to a left hamstring strain and walked off the field carefully after throwing his 59th pitch.
