|
 Seattle center fielder Austin Jackson hit a bases-loaded single down
the first-base line, driving in the winning run in the bottom of the
10th inning as the Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 on
Tuesday night. Jackson's hit drove in first baseman Logan Morrison
from third base after Morrison led off the inning with a bloop
double just inside the foul line in left.
Jackson's single went the other way, hitting the foul line in right
to end the 3 ½-hour game.
"I still don't even know if it was fair," he said a few minutes
later. "I guess (the ball) hit the chalk, and the rest is history."
Right fielder Nelson Cruz and designated hitter Mark Trumbo of the
Mariners each homered in Seattle's four-run first inning, while
Baltimore's Adam Jones and Chris Davis went back-to-back in the
eighth to tie the score 5-5. Jones and Davis went deep for the
second consecutive night.
Seattle's Cruz hit his 34th home run of the season and extended his
hitting streak to 21 games, matching the longest in baseball this
season, during a four-run first. But neck spasms forced him to come
out of the game after six innings.
"I'll do a massage and everything, take some medicine, and hopefully
I'll be able to play (in Wednesday's series finale)," Cruz said
after the game.
The Orioles (57-55) have their own injury concerns after catcher
Matt Wieters was pulled from the game with a tight right hamstring
in the third.
"I don't know," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said when asked
about Wieters's status. "Usually with these things, you never know.
He might even be out there (Wednesday). We'll see. It's been a long
trip, and we'll see if we can dodge the DL."
Seattle (54-61) rode the four-run first inning to a 5-2 lead that
held up until Baltimore's Jones and Davis went back-to-back in the
eighth. Jones hit a two-run homer to cut the Mariners' lead to one
run before Davis tied the score 5-5 on a 1-0 pitch from Seattle
reliever Joe Beimel.
Seattle (53-61) piled up 13 hits, with second baseman Robinson Cano
going 3-for-4 and Trumbo delivering the big blow with a three-run
homer in the first.
Seattle starter Taijuan Walker bounced back from a rough first
inning to throw six innings while allowing just two runs off five
hits. Walker was so shaky in the 33-pitch first inning that the
Mariners got their bullpen going and sent pitching coach Rick Waits
to the mound for a chat. After that talk, which came after
Baltimore's Jonathan Schoop had given the Orioles a 2-0 lead with a
bases-loaded single, Walker settled down and retired 15 of the next
16 batters.
The four-run first inning and a sacrifice fly from third baseman
Kyle Seager in the second pulled Seattle out to a 5-2 lead, but the
Orioles came back in the eighth.
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Baltimore starter Chris Tillman lasted just 2 1/3 innings, having
given up two homers in the first while also taking a line drive from
Cano off his right triceps. After the game, Tillman said the injury
didn't affect him -- he pitched to 11 more batters before coming out
after 72 pitches, but added that how he feels Wednesday morning will
be more telling.
"I'd be surprised if he didn't (make) his next start," Showalter
said.
Jones hit a two-run shot with one out, his 19th homer of the season,
to pull the Orioles to within 5-4. After the Mariners replaced
reliever Tom Wilhelmsen with Beimel, Davis hit a 1-0 pitch over the
right-field fence to tie the score 5-5.
Beimel only threw two pitches in his abbreviated outing.
Seattle led off the bottom of the 10th with a double from Morrison,
who had gone hitless in his four previous at-bats while stranding
six runners on base. Brad Miller followed that with a bloop single
against a drawn-in infield before catcher Mike Zunino walked to load
the bases. Jackson lined the first pitch he saw from Baltimore
reliever T.J. McFarland (0-2) down the first-base line to end the
game.
"I was just looking to get a good pitch in the zone and not try to
do too much," Jackson said.
Mariners reliever Fernando Rodney (5-4) earned the win after
pitching a scoreless top of the 10th.
Seattle has now played 18 extra-inning games this season, with a 9-9
record to show for it.
NOTES: Both bullpens were in significantly better shape Tuesday than
they had been one day earlier. The Orioles had just three available
relievers for Monday's game, thanks to an 11-inning loss the
previous day, while Seattle had to use seven pitchers in an
extra-inning game over the weekend and was pretty thin as well. ...
Seattle LHP Charlie Furbush experienced a minor setback in his
recovery from a strained biceps and won't make a rehab start at
Triple-A this week, as the Mariners had hoped. The plan is for
Furbush to throw another bullpen session during the upcoming road
trip; after that, Seattle will re-evaluate an injury that has kept
him out since just before the All-Star break. ... Cruz's 34 home
runs are the second-highest total of his career as he hit 33 in 2009
and 40 last season.
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