CLEVELAND (Interstat) — The Cleveland Guardians scored five runs in the eighth inning to erase a four-run deficit and defeat the Seattle Mariners 6-5 on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field in front of 27,934 fans.

The Mariners struck first in the second inning when Mitch Garver singled to right field, scoring Cal Raleigh to give Seattle a 1-0 lead. Seattle added two more runs in the third inning. Josh Naylor doubled to right, driving in Julio Rodríguez, and a throwing error by Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio allowed Naylor to score, extending the lead to 3-0.

Cleveland got on the board in the fifth inning. Gabriel Arias singled, Austin Hedges singled, and Steven Kwan bunted for a single to load the bases. Travis Bazzana hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Arias to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Seattle responded in the sixth inning. Victor Robles singled, stole second and scored on a single by Rodríguez, making it 4-1. The Mariners added a run in the ninth inning on a throwing error by Guardians second baseman Travis Bazzana, giving Seattle a 5-1 lead.

The Guardians mounted their comeback in the eighth inning. Brayan Rocchio singled to right, and Cooper Ingle walked. Daniel Schneemann singled to center, scoring Rocchio to make it 5-2. After Patrick Bailey sacrificed the runners to second and third, Kwan walked to load the bases. Bazzana popped out, but Chase DeLauter singled to center, driving in Ingle and Schneemann to tie the game at 5-5. Rhys Hoskins then doubled to left, scoring Kwan and DeLauter, giving Cleveland a 6-5 lead.

Seattle threatened in the ninth inning. Cole Young singled and Colt Emerson singled, putting runners on first and third with one out. Dominic Canzone struck out, and Victor Robles reached on a throwing error by Bazzana, scoring Young to make it 6-5. But J.P. Crawford grounded out to shortstop to end the game.

Emerson Hancock started for Seattle and pitched 5⅔ innings, allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out six. Gavin Williams started for Cleveland and pitched five innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts.

Matt Festa earned the win for Cleveland, pitching 1⅓ innings of relief, allowing two hits and no runs. Cade Smith got the save, his 26th of the season, pitching one inning, allowing two hits and no runs with one strikeout. Michael Rucker took the loss for Seattle, pitching no innings and allowing two hits and two earned runs.

Rhys Hoskins went 2 for 2 with two RBIs and a double for Cleveland. Daniel Schneemann went 2 for 2 with an RBI and a double. Josh Naylor went 2 for 4 with an RBI for Seattle.

The game lasted 3 hours, 18 minutes.

Seattle fell to 42-43 on the season, while Cleveland improved to 44-40.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Seattle 5, Cleveland 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Cleveland a 51.40 percent probability to win. Seattle had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 11 went under the over-under line of 8.