Mariners 8, Diamondbacks 5
PHOENIX, Sept. 4 — Kyle Seager belted two home runs and drove in six, while J.P. Crawford went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 8–5, Saturday night.
Mariners and Diamondbacks Both Have Big First Inning
Both starting pitchers — Humberto Castellanos for the Diamondbacks and Marco Gonzales for the Mariners — struggled in the first inning. Castellanos allowed the first five Mariners to reach base before recording an out. Crawford — the shortstop — and right fielder Mitch Haniger opened the game with consecutive singles. Seager — the third baseman — brought them home with his 32nd home run of the year, giving the Mariners a 3–0 lead. First baseman Ty France followed with a single before second baseman Abraham Toro walked. After a mound visit from pitching coach Matt Herges, center fielder Jarred Kelenic grounded to Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed, who stepped on the bag at second before throwing to first for a double play. That turned the inning around for Castellanos, as left fielder Jose Marmolejos ended the half-inning with a foul popup to third.
The Diamondbacks counterpunched in the bottom of the first. It began with a one-out walk by center fielder Ketel Marte, who scored on a loud home run by catcher Carson Kelly, up next. After first baseman Christian Walker grounded to third for the second out, two hit batsmen — second baseman Andrew Young and third baseman Drew Ellis — sandwiched a double by left fielder David Peralta. Rookie Stuart Fairchild plated Young and Peralta with a double, giving the Diamondbacks a 4–3 lead.
Mariners Retake Lead, Diamondbacks Tie It Up
To open the fourth, center fielder Jarred Kelenic and left fielder Jose Marmolejos hit a single and double, respectively. Catcher Cal Raleigh and Gonzales followed with strikeouts, bring up Crawford with two out and the Mariners still trailing, 4–3. As per the pregame plan, manager Torey Lovullo replaced Castellanos with lefty Caleb Smith, whom Crawford welcomed with a two-run single. A walk and a fly to center ended the frame with the Mariners holding a 5–4 lead.
Marte tied it up with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning. However, it could have been a go-ahead home run. Smith led off the half-inning with a double off the wall in right-center but tried to stretch it into a triple. He arrived ahead of the throw but could not stay on the base when completing his slide. Despite Smith beating the throw initially, manager Torey Lovullo said he was not okay with the attempt to take third. “I love the fact that he was trying to make a baseball play,” Lovullo said, “but I just think it was a little too close. We’ve got to be careful in that situation.”
Seager Strikes Again
In the top of the sixth, while still facing Smith, the Mariners struck again. Pinch-hitter Luis Torrens singled with one out, and Crawford followed with another single — his fourth hit of the game. Two batters later, Seager belted another three-run home run, finalizing the score with his fourth, fifth, and sixth RBI of the game. “He’s a smart hitter,” Kelly said. “He hit our mistakes…got pitches out over the plate, took the close ones, and got himself into good counts.”
Looking Ahead
Gonzales (7–5) earned the win, while Smith (4–9) took the loss. Diego Castillo pitched a scoreless ninth for his 16th save.
The Diamondbacks (45–92) and Mariners (74–62) conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon. Chris Flexen (11–5, 3.52 ERA) will take the hill for the Mariners against Diamondbacks lefty Tyler Gilbert (1–2, 2.93 ERA). First pitch will be at 1:10 Arizona time.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players/managers mentioned:
Kyle Seager, J.P. Crawford, Humberto Castellanos, Marco Gonzales, Mitch Haniger, Ty France, Abraham Toro, Matt Herges, Jarred Kelenic, Nick Ahmed, Jose Marmolejos, Ketel Marte, Carson Kelly, Christian Walker, Andrew Young, Drew Ellis, David Peralta, Stuart Fairchild, Cal Raleigh, Torey Lovullo, Caleb Smith, Luis Torrens, Diego Castillo, Chris Flexen, Tyler Gilbert
