LDN - Sports

Cards bash 6 solo homers to blow past Mariners

[June 27, 2016] SEATTLE --The St. Louis Cardinals used 13 extra-base hits, including six solo home runs over the final four innings, to beat the Seattle Mariners 11-6 on Sunday and salvage the final game of a three-game series.

Tommy Pham hit his first two home runs of the season with solo shots in the seventh and ninth innings. Matt Carpenter added a pair of homers, and St. Louis teammates Jedd Gyorko and Matt Holliday also hit solo home runs.

The Cardinals (39-35) scored their final six runs on solo shots after amassing four extra-base hits to rally from a 3-1 deficit with a four-run fifth.

"We've done that a few times this year," Gyorko said after the Cardinals matched their season high of six home runs. "We get a few guys swinging, and then it goes from there."

Gyorko broke a 6-6 tie with a leadoff homer in the seventh, and Pham followed with his first home run to give St. Louis an 8-6 lead. The blasts came one inning after Seattle's Franklin Gutierrez tied the score with a three-run homer.

Holliday went deep in the eighth for his 14th home run of the season, then Carpenter hit his second home run of the game in the ninth.

"Offensively, we hit a pretty good groove," Carpenter said. "We have a lot of guys who can do some things from a power standpoint, who can put pressure on opposing pitchers. (Sunday) was a good example of that."

St. Louis piled up four singles, five doubles, two triples and the six home runs to snap a two-game losing streak. The Cardinals' 13 extra-base hits were a Safeco Field record.

"Obviously, they swung the bats very well today, and we didn't throw the ball very well," said Seattle manager Scott Servais, who got tossed from the game in the bottom of the sixth inning and watched the Cardinals' final five home runs from a television inside his office.

Carpenter went 3-for-6 with two home runs and a triple. Holliday finished 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs and two RBIs, while Aledmys Diaz chipped in with three doubles.

Seattle (38-38) had 12 hits and a pair of home runs in the loss. Nelson Cruz hit his 19th home run of the season in the third inning.

St. Louis reliever Kevin Siegrist (5-2) earned the win despite serving up the Gutierrez homer on his third pitch of the game. Seattle's Nick Vincent (2-3) took the loss after giving up seventh-inning home runs to Gyorko and Pham.

The Cardinals used four consecutive extra-base hits to take a 5-3 lead during a four-run top of the fifth inning. Diaz, Holliday and Stephen Piscotty doubled in consecutive at-bats, with RBIs from Holliday and Piscotty tying the score 3-3. Brandon Moss then tripled into the right field corner to score Piscotty for a 4-3 lead. An error on Seattle third baseman Kyle Seager brought Piscotty home as the Cardinals went ahead 5-3.

St. Louis had two triples and four doubles to account for all five runs over the first five innings.

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Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter (13) after being splashed with a cup of water for hitting a home run during the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. The Cardinals won 11-6. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals' four-run fifth proved to be the downfall for Seattle starter James Paxton. The left-hander allowed five runs on eight hits over five innings, with seven strikeouts and two walks.

St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia allowed five runs on 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings. He left the mound with the Cardinals leading 6-3 in the sixth, then Siegrist served up the Gutierrez homer to tie the score.

Seattle's Servais, a first-year skipper, was ejected for the first time in his managerial career when he came out of the dugout to argue in the bottom of the sixth inning. Plate umpire Carlos Torres called Seattle's Shawn O'Malley out on a third-strike check swing, and Servais complained that Torres should have consulted the first base umpire. Servais, standing between the home dugout and home plate, shouted something at Torres that caused him to get tossed.

"I went out and talked to (Torres), after I got tossed, and I'm pretty sure he felt like he missed the call," Servais said, "because he wouldn't respond to me. That's what's so frustrating, just from a respect standpoint, because I had already been kicked out of the game."

NOTES: The Mariners have not yet named a Wednesday starter, but all indications are that LHP Wade Miley will be back after a 15-day stint on the disabled list due to a left shoulder impingement. Miley, who is eligible to be activated Tuesday, should fill the roster spot that comes available when RHP Adrian Sampson (elbow surgery) is placed on the DL in the next day or two. ... Cardinals 1B Matt Adams (back soreness) was out of the lineup for a third consecutive day Sunday. Technically, he was in the lineup for Friday night's game, but he was a late scratch due to back spasms. ... Seattle DH Nelson Cruz has 24 home runs against left-handed pitching since the beginning of the 2015 season, the most in baseball. ... The Mariners interleague record this season fell to 8-2. ... Seattle has Monday off before hosting the Pirates in a two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday. St. Louis will play at Kansas City in a two-game series that begins Monday, then the Royals and Cardinals will play two more in St. Louis.

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