SEATTLE (Interstat) — Emerson Hancock and Cooper Criswell combined on a two-hit shutout and Brendan Donovan’s three-run homer broke open a scoreless game in the fourth inning as the Seattle Mariners routed the Cleveland Guardians 8-0 on Sunday at T-Mobile Park.

A crowd of 30,800 watched the Mariners even their record at 2-2 by taking the rubber match of the season-opening series in a brisk 2 hours, 38 minutes. The Guardians also moved to 2-2.

The most important sequence of the game arrived in the bottom of the fourth inning, transforming a tense pitchers’ duel into a comfortable Seattle lead. With two outs and the game still scoreless, Dominic Canzone sparked the rally with a double that deflected off Cleveland left fielder CJ Kayfus. After a walk to Cole Young, Leo Rivas lined a single to right field, scoring Canzone for the game’s first run. Donovan then stepped in and demolished a Slade Cecconi offering on a line drive to right field for a three-run homer, suddenly making it 4-0.

That blast provided more than enough support for Hancock, who was dominant. The Mariners right-hander earned the win by working six perfect innings, striking out nine and walking none. He retired all 18 batters he faced, overpowering the Cleveland lineup with efficiency. Hancock improved to 1-0.

Criswell, who relieved Hancock to start the seventh, secured his first save of the season with three innings of two-hit ball, striking out five.

Cecconi took the loss for Cleveland, falling to 0-1. He was charged with six runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out five. The Guardians’ offense was stymied all afternoon, managing just two singles — one by Chase DeLauter in the seventh and one by Daniel Schneemann in the eighth. They never advanced a runner past first base.

After Donovan’s homer put Seattle ahead, the Mariners added two more runs in the fifth. Julio Rodríguez walked and scored on a Randy Arozarena double. Arozarena then came home on an RBI single by Luke Raley, extending the lead to 6-0.

Seattle tacked on a run in the sixth when Donovan singled and scored on a ground-rule double by Cal Raleigh. Their final run came in the eighth, aided by a fielding error by Guardians second baseman Brayan Rocchio. Rodríguez reached on the miscue and later scored on an RBI single by Arozarena, who finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs.

Donovan led the Mariners’ nine-hit attack, going 2 for 3 with the homer, three RBIs and two runs scored.

For Cleveland, reliever Colin Holderman provided a bright spot with two scoreless innings of one-hit ball, striking out two.

The result defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 3-2 Seattle victory. The Mariners were installed as favorites with a -1.5 spread, and the combined eight total runs stayed under the over/under line of 7.5.

The Guardians now head to Los Angeles to begin a three-game series with the Dodgers on Monday. The Mariners will remain at home to open a three-game set against the New York Yankees, also on Monday.