LDN - Sports

Martin's power display fuels Mariners past White Sox

[July 21, 2016] SEATTLE -- The return of Felix Hernandez got off to an awful start Wednesday afternoon, when the Chicago White Sox jumped out to a quick lead over the Seattle Mariners on Todd Frazier's three-run, first-inning homer.

It was how the Seattle Mariners finished the day, however, that left the lasting impact.

Leonys Martin belted his second home run of the game in the 11th inning, lifting Seattle to a 6-5 win over the White Sox.

Martin's solo shot was Seattle's second walk-off homer of the series, as Adam Lind beat the White Sox in dramatic fashion two days earlier. Martin hit an 0-2 pitch from Chicago reliever Dan Jennings (3-2) for a towering homer to right.

"Every time you win a ballgame with a comeback, it's a great feeling," Martin said.

The Mariners (48-47) had a chance to win the game in the 10th, but White Sox right fielder Adam Eaton threw out Seattle baserunner Nelson Cruz at home plate to end the inning. After Cruz drew a two-out walk, he tried to score from first base on teammate Kyle Seager's double into the right field corner. Eaton's throw easily beat Cruz, who unsuccessfully tried to sidestep catcher Dioner Navarro.

Frazier hit his 28th home run of the season as Chicago grabbed a 4-0 lead in Hernandez's return from the disabled list, but the Mariners used three home runs to get back into the game. Lind's solo shot with two outs in the eighth inning tied the score at 5 and allowed Hernandez to get out of his first start since May 27 with a no-decision.

Hernandez allowed five runs on 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings, throwing 94 pitches after being activated from the disabled list earlier in the day. The 30-year-old right-hander was sidelined since June 1 due to a strained calf.

"First time out, he was probably better than I thought he'd be," Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

Hernandez was satisfied with the performance, despite the rough first inning.

"I had a good sinker," he said. "I got a lot of ground balls. They were swinging, swinging at every pitch, and that's why my pitch count didn't get up. It was good."

Frazier hit the first pitch he saw 428 feet for an upper-deck, three-run shot to left field. He matched Baltimore's Mark Trumbo for the American League lead with 28 home runs.

Chicago's Melky Cabrera, who went 3-for-6 and came a home run short of the cycle, added an RBI single in the top of the second inning to put the White Sox ahead 4-0.

Martin hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to cut the gap to 4-2.

After Chicago (46-48) added another run on Justin Morneau's RBI single in the fifth for a 5-2 lead, Seattle catcher Mike Zunino went deep in the seventh for his third home run of the season -- in only 10 at-bats. Zunino's two-run shot pulled the Mariners within 5-4.

Zunino hit the one-out home run off White Sox reliever Zach Duke, who then hit a batter and issued back-to-back walks before getting Robinson Cano to ground into an inning-ending double play.

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Mariners center fielder Leonys Martin (12) gets a sports drink shower from teammates during an interview following his walk-off solo-homer against the Chicago White Sox at Safeco Field. Seattle defeated Chicago, 6-5, in 11 innings. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle finally pulled even at 5-5 on Lind's eighth-inning solo shot. Both of Lind's heroic homers in the series came with two outs.

"It's tough, especially when you're leading both of the ones you lose late," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "Those are the ones that always hard to bounce back from."

White Sox starter Miguel Gonzalez allowed three runs on four hits over six innings.

Seattle reliever Vidal Nuno (1-1) earned the win after pitching a scoreless top of the 10th.

Cabrera had a single, double and triple in his first three at-bats but failed to get another hit over his final three plate appearances to fall short of the cycle.

"The home run was our friend early," Ventura said. "Then it quickly became our enemy."

NOTES: Seattle traded LHP Mike Montgomery and minor league RHP Jordan Pries to the Chicago Cubs for Triple-A 1B Dan Vogelbach and RHP Paul Blackburn. Montgomery started his past two outings but was mostly used out of the bullpen this season. Vogelbach, 23, was hitting .318 with 16 home runs and 64 RBIs over 89 games with Triple-A Iowa. ... The Mariners made a series of roster moves before Wednesday's game, the most notable of which was to activate RHP Felix Hernandez from the 15-day disabled list. Seattle also recalled C Mike Zunino and LF Norichika Aoki from Triple-A Tacoma. To make room for the trio of veterans, the Mariners optioned C Jesus Sucre, LHP David Rollins and OF Daniel Robertson to Tacoma. ... White Sox C Alex Avila (strained right hamstring) is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list Thursday. ... The Mariners have Thursday off before beginning a three-game series in Toronto on Friday. Chicago opens a series with Detroit on Thursday.

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