CLEVELAND (Interstat) — Luis Castillo pitched six innings of four-hit ball and Colt Emerson hit a solo home run as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 on Friday night at Progressive Field before 32,832 in a tightly contested duel between two teams hovering around .500.

The Mariners improved to 42-41 while the Guardians dropped to 42-40, but neither team’s record told the story of a game dominated by starting pitching early. Castillo, who entered with a 2-6 record and had allowed four earned runs in each of his previous two starts, gave up only one run on four hits while striking out four and walking none. He outdueled Cleveland left-hander Joey Cantillo, who allowed just two hits and one earned run over six innings while striking out nine.

Cleveland struck first in the bottom of the first inning. After Travis Bazzana struck out to start the frame, Kyle Manzardo singled to center field. Brayan Rocchio flied out, but Kahlil Watson followed with a sharp double to left field that scored Manzardo, giving the Guardians a 1-0 lead. Cooper Ingle grounded out to end the inning.

Seattle answered in the top of the third. After Rob Refsnyder struck out and Cole Young flied out, Emerson launched his seventh home run of the season to right field, tying the game at 1-1. Cantillo then struck out Randy Arozarena to end the inning. Emerson’s homer was his only hit of the night in two official at-bats, though he also drew two walks and scored twice.

From that point, the game settled into a pitchers’ duel. Cantillo retired nine of the next 11 batters he faced, striking out five of them. Castillo matched him, retiring 10 of 12 after the first inning, allowing only a single to Brayan Rocchio in the fourth and a single to Steven Kwan in the fifth. The game remained tied at 1-1 through six innings.

Seattle broke the deadlock in the top of the seventh. Cal Raleigh led off with a walk, and Dominic Canzone also walked, putting runners at first and second with no outs. Josh Naylor then grounded into a double play, shortstop Brayan Rocchio to first baseman Kyle Manzardo, but Raleigh advanced to third on the play. J.P. Crawford followed with a single to second base, scoring Raleigh and giving the Mariners a 2-1 lead. Refsnyder popped out to end the inning.

Seattle added an insurance run in the eighth. With one out, Emerson walked and Arozarena walked, moving Emerson to second. Julio Rodríguez singled to left field, scoring Emerson and extending the lead to 3-1. Rodríguez’s hit came off Cleveland reliever Daniel Espino, who had entered after Hunter Gaddis struck out two batters in two-thirds of an inning. Raleigh and Canzone both struck out to end the inning, but the Mariners had a two-run cushion.

Cleveland’s bullpen kept the game close. Matt Festa pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing two hits but striking out one. Gaddis struck out two in two-thirds of an inning. Espino gave up the run on one hit with one strikeout in one-third of an inning. But Seattle’s bullpen proved just as effective.

José A. Ferrer pitched a scoreless seventh inning for Seattle, allowing no hits and striking out one. Gabe Speier followed with a perfect eighth inning, allowing no hits and no walks. Andrés Muñoz then closed the game in the ninth, striking out Kyle Manzardo and Brayan Rocchio before Kahlil Watson grounded out to shortstop Emerson. Muñoz earned his 15th save of the season, his second in as many days, having also saved Seattle’s win Tuesday against Pittsburgh.

The game featured several key defensive plays. In the second inning, Seattle’s J.P. Crawford grounded into a double play after Dominic Canzone had walked, erasing the baserunner. In the seventh, Naylor’s double play allowed Raleigh to move to third and set up Crawford’s go-ahead single. Cleveland’s defense also turned a double play in the sixth, when Travis Bazzana and Manzardo combined to retire Cole Young.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for Seattle, which had lost 5-1 in Pittsburgh on Thursday and 11-1 on Wednesday. The Mariners had won three of their previous four games before those losses. Cleveland, meanwhile, had won its previous game 4-3 in 10 innings at Chicago on Wednesday but had lost two of its previous three.

The Mariners and Guardians will meet again Saturday at Progressive Field for the second game of the three-game series. Seattle then returns home to host the Los Angeles Angels beginning Monday, while Cleveland remains home to host the Texas Rangers starting Monday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cleveland 5, Seattle 4, and its ELO system gave Cleveland a 52.30 percent probability to win. Seattle had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5, and the total score of four runs went over the over-under line of eight.