Mariners hold off Brewers for 7-6 win

[August 20, 2016]  SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners had been rolling through August, due in part to the success of their new closer, and the Milwaukee Brewers have already wrapped a bow on their season. So when Seattle opened a 7-4 lead into the ninth inning on Friday night, with rookie flame-thrower Edwin Diaz taking the mound, it looked like the game was academic.

As it turned out, the hapless Brewers nearly pulled off a comeback for the ages.

Ryan Braun's two-out, two-run single on a night when Diaz lost his command pulled Milwaukee within a run before Seattle came away with a 7-6 win.

"It's one of those at-bats you look forward to as a competitor," Braun said after delivering a bases-loaded single with a line drive to left on a 2-2 pitch. "He's probably one of the best, if not the best, closers in the game right now. It felt good to come through in that situation. Unfortunately, we didn't get the win."
 

The Mariners used two home runs to jump out to a 4-1 lead and held on to hand the Brewers (52-69) their fifth consecutive loss.

Seattle (65-56) kept pace at three games back in the American League wild-card race with the win.

"A win is a win," Seattle manager Scott Servais said. "They're hard to get in the big leagues."

Diaz, who came on with a 7-4 lead, walked three batters in the ninth, then gave up the two-run single to Braun to cut the Mariners' lead to one. Diaz struck out Hernan Perez, stranding runners on the corners, for the final out to pick up his ninth save of the season.

"He's human," Servais said of Diaz, who has been nearly perfect since taking over for struggling closer Steve Cishek in early August. "He's not a robot. He's not going to strike every one of them out every night throwing 100 miles per hour. We asked him tonight to go out and get three outs before they scored three runs, and he did that."

Kyle Seager, Robinson Cano and Adam Lind each had a home run for the Mariners, and Chris Carter, Jonathan Villar and Keon Broxton had solo homers for the Brewers.

Villar and Broxton opened the sixth inning with back-to-back shots off Seattle starter Wade LeBlanc, pulling the Brewers within 4-3.

The Mariners got RBI singles from designated hitter Nelson Cruz and shortstop Ketel Marte in the sixth and seventh to pad their lead, then Lind delivered his 18th home run of the season with an eighth-inning solo shot that opened a 7-4 advantage.

"The guys battled all night and kept adding on runs," Servais said, "which were obviously important there at the end."

Diaz came on and walked the first batter before striking out two in a row. He lost his control from there, issuing back-to-back walks before Braun hit a 3-2 pitch to left to drive in two runs. With the score 7-6, Diaz struck out Perez to finish off the win.

Broxton had three hits and two RBIs for the Brewers, who totaled 10 hits. Seattle had 11 hits, with Seager, Shawn O'Malley and Cruz delivering two apiece.

LeBlanc (3-0) allowed three runs -- all solo homers -- and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Home runs by Cano and Seager led the Mariners to a 4-1 lead in the first five innings. Cano broke a 1-1 tie with his 28th homer of the year -- a two-run shot in the fifth.

Mariners first baseman Stefen Romero, who was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the day, added an RBI single for a 4-1 lead in the fifth.

Seager hit his 23rd home run of the season with a one-out shot in the fourth for the game's first run. Milwaukee tied the score on a colossal, 464-foot homer to dead center field from Brewers slugger Chris Carter -- his 28th home run of the season.

Milwaukee rookie left-hander Brent Suter, who was making his major league debut, got off to a good start by throwing 3 1/3 innings of hitless ball before Seager's homer.

Suter, the Brewers' first left-handed starter since August 2013 -- a span of 474 games -- allowed four runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings after being called up earlier in the day.

"It was a dream come true," Suter said of making his major-league debut. "I took a moment when I was warming up to kind of soak it all in. I'm very thankful that I got this opportunity."

Broxton had the first hit by either team with a one-out single in the fourth. LeBlanc retired 10 batters in a row to open the game.

The Mariners got a scare in the top of the fifth when Cano went down after a knee-to-knee shot as Milwaukee's Domingo Santana tried to steal second. Santana's left knee hit the inside of Cano's left knee, leaving the veteran writhing in pain for a few seconds before standing up and staying in the game.

NOTES: Brewers starter Brent Suter was making his major league debut. Suter, 26, has been in Milwaukee's organization since the Brewers selected him in the 31st round of the 2012 amateur draft. ... To make room for Suter on the roster, Milwaukee sent RHP Damien Magnifico bacl to Triple-A. The Brewers also activated OF Domingo Santana from the 15-day disabled list and designated OF Ramon Flores for assignment. ... The Mariners announced the official approval of the sale of the team Friday morning. Earlier this season, a group led by Nintendo agreed to sell the team to local owners. The sale officially marks the retirement of CEO Howard Lincoln, who was succeeded by John Stanton as of Friday. ... Seattle made a series of roster moves before Friday's game, with former closer Steve Cishek being activated from the disabled list while 1B Dae-Ho Lee was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Lee, a former platoon player who'd played his way into an every-day role by early July, was 6-for-55 after the All-Star Break. The Mariners recalled OF/1B Stefen Romero from Tacoma and optioned RHP Joe Wieland there.

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