Mariners get to Austin Gomber, beat Rockies 5-3 in series opener in Seattle

The baseball gods gifted the Rockies a couple positive omens to open their road series in Seattle on Friday. Neither panned out.

First, would-be Mariners starter Marco Gonzales was scratched, as the former Rocky Mountain star went on the paternity list. That led soft-throwing veteran Tommy Milone to get the spot start instead, and in the opening inning Kris Bryant proceeded to park Milone’s piped 87-mph fastball into the left field seats for his first homer of the year and a 1-0 lead.

From there, however, it was back to the usual programming: A team with a glaring lack of bona fide starting pitching depth, struggling to contend when a pitcher not named Freeland or Marquez is taking the hill.

Southpaw Austin Gomber was tagged for five earned runs over 3 2/3 innings pitched, and the…