SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners secured a series split against the Cleveland Guardians after an 8-0 shutout Sunday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Despite not being able to secure a series win in their first set of the season, the Mariners (2-2) owned the most lopsided wins: the aforementioned 8-0 result Sunday and a 5-1 win in game two Friday.

Here's several takeaways from Seattle's first set of games of 2026 against Cleveland:

In his first start last season, right-handed pitcher Emerson Hancock had one of the worst outings of his career. He allowed six earned runs on seven hits in 0.2 innings pitched against the Detroit Tigers. Not long after, he was optioned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.

Hancock went into this offseason with a focus to get better. He worked with a nine-pocket before the spring to try and refine his arsenal. Manager Dan Wilson compared it to the training Rocky did in comparison to Ivan Drago's tech-focused approach in the movie "Rocky IV."

In his first start of 2026, Hancock threw six innings and didn't surrender a run or allow a hit. He struck out nine Guardians, hit a batter and walked another. He joined Mariners legend Felix Hernandez as the only pitchers in team history to pitch six-or-more innings, strikeout eight-or-more batters and not allow a hit in a single game.

Hernandez accomplished that feat in his perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 15, 2012.

Hancock's nine strikeouts also marked a new single-season career-high for the former first-round draft pick.

"I think that's just part of the journey," Hancock said in a postgame interview Sunday. " ... A year ago, right now, we were having a completely different conversation. Things went completely different. I think that's just part of this game. You're going to struggle. There's going to be ups, there's going to be downs. But I think if you're able to be fully committed to what you're doing and your process of how you go about each day, you're just growing. You're constantly growing. You're constantly evolving and you're constantly adapting."

Hancock made the starting rotation this year due to an oblique injury suffered by right-hander Bryce Miller in spring.

If Hancock keeps at his current pace, it's not out of the question he'll maintain a spot on the pitching staff when Miller returns.

The first four games of the season have not been kind to the No. 2-4 hitters in Seattle's lineup.

Catcher Cal Raleigh, center fielder Julio Rodriguez and first baseman Josh Naylor all struggled to find base hits against the Guardians.

Raleigh had two hits in 15 at-bats, Rodriguez had one hit in 15 at-bats and Naylor is still hitless in 15 at-bats. The three combined to go 3-for-45 in the series.

All of Raleigh's and Rodriguez's hits came in the team's most recent contests, which could be a sign they're starting to find their timing.

Rodriguez registered a game-tying RBI single against Cleveland in game three of the series Friday. That hit tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth before the Mariners ultimately fell 6-5 in extras.

Raleigh's first hit of the season was a single in game three. His second was an RBI ground-rule double in the bottom of the sixth in game four that bolstered the Mariners' lead to 6-0.

The trio own the contracts with the longest duration and most money on the team among position players. With those deals comes expectations.

However, most of those expectations come from themselves and it's likely the three will start to hit their stride sooner rather than later.

Most of the offseason, Seattle was linked to 2025 All-Star utility player Brendan Donovan in trade rumors.

The Mariners pulled the trigger and acquired Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals on Feb. 2 in a three-team trade that also involved the Tampa Bay Rays.

Through four games, Donovan has proven why he was a priority target for Seattle this offseason.

Donovan had multi-hit days in three of his first four games in an M's uniform. He went 6-for-14 in the season-opening series, including a double and two home runs with four RBIs.

Donovan's second homer came Sunday. It was a three-run shot to right field in the bottom of the fourth that increased the Mariners' lead to 4-0.

"(I understand) who I am and not trying to be a hero. Just trying to do my job," Donovan said in a postgame interview Sunday. "By doing that, I think the game kind of tells you when to take your shots. When to maybe try and work a little bit of a deeper count. But at the end of the day, I think it comes down to competitiveness and understanding there's gonna be weeks and — hopefully not a month — the ball's not rolling your way. But I think if you can keep that competitiveness up, then I think you're gonna like where you're at by the end of the year."

Seattle will face the New York Yankees in the first of a three-game series at 6:40 p.m. PT on Monday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Luis Castillo will start for the Mariners and Ryan Weathers will start for the Yankees.

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