SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners dropped their season opener on Thursday night, losing 6-4 against the Cleveland Guardians at T-Mobile Park. It was a disappointing loss that saw the M's play from behind most of the night.

They were down 1-0, then led 2-1, and then trailed 3-2 before tying the game at 3-3. Jose Ramirez hit a two-run double in the seventh to make it 5-3 and Seattle clawed back to within 5-4 before Cleveland scored again in the top of the ninth inning.

Though the outcome was tough, there were some positives on the day. Dominic Canzone had two home runs and Luke Raley had one as well, and Brendan Donovan made an excellent first impression.

The leadoff hitter, acquired this offseason in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, had two hits, including a leadoff home run.

Not only was that blast the first home run of the M's season, it made history on multiple fronts. Donovan's homer was the first leadoff home run in M's Opening Day history.

And there's also this note, courtesy of Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Leadoff HR in first PA with Mariners: Brendan Donovan tonight and Rickey Henderson on 5/20/2000  

Rickey debuted with SEA on 5/19/2000 as a pinch runner.  He led off the following night with a HR off Tampa Bay’s Esteban Yan

h/t @EliasSports

Any time you can join the Hall of Famer in history, you've done something right. Donovan is going to be a huge part of the offensive attack for Seattle, as he will give the team a capable leadoff hitter. Furthermore, his ability to just put the ball in play (13 percent K rate in 2025), was on display, as he hit a check-swing double in the fifth inning.

After the game, Donovan said: "I try to use the whole bat and I try to use the whole field, so some may not be pretty, but I just want to have a good quality at-bat. It's not even about results, (Kevin) Seitzer and I were talking about it: He keeps track of all the quality at-bats and puts a dot next to quality at-bats and our goal is just to chase as many as dots as possible..."

--Starting pitcher Logan Gilbert went 5.1 innings in a no-decision, giving up three runs. He struck out seven and nearly hit the 90-pitch marker, which is something manager Dan Wilson said they were hoping for. Gilbert did not use his own PitchCom device, which was something heavily talked about at the end of spring training.

--The bullpen was shaky on Thursday. Gabe Speier gave up two runs on three hits while Jose Ferrer allowed multiple hits. Casey Legumina loaded the bases and Cooper Criswell gave up a homer in the ninth.

Matt Brash, Andres Munoz, Eduard Bazardo and Carlos Vargas should all be available on Friday. Game time is 6:40 p.m. PT.

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