LDN - Sports

Cano, Mariners rip Twins

[September 24, 2016] MINNEAPOLIS -- Don't tell the Seattle Mariners that they've got too big a hill to climb to make the postseason.

While many around the league were scoreboard-watching, the Mariners did some scoreboard-filling, posting a six-run seventh inning to open their three-game visit to Minnesota decisively, and blasting past the struggling Twins 10-1 on Friday.

Robinson Cano went 4-for-5, scored twice and had a pair of RBIs for Seattle, which remained two games behind Detroit for the final wild-card spot in the American League Wild Card after winning for the third time in five games.

Left-hander James Paxton (5-7) went seven innings for the Mariners, allowing one run, five hits and striking out nine Twins for his first win since Aug. 7. Although most of the damage was done after he left the game, Minnesota starter Kyle Gibson (6-11) took the loss, allowing five hits and two runs in five innings.

"Feels good. This is what we need," Paxton said. "We need to win right now. Guys are playing hard and we're doing our best to stay right there, and try to climb up in the wild-card standings."

Seattle led 8-1 in the eighth when Nelson Cruz blasted a two-run shot high off the hitters' backdrop in center field, scoring Cano to give the Mariners double digits.

"Nice to see the middle of our lineup come together. We haven't had a game like that in a while," said Mariners manager Scott Servais. "Robbie swung the bat very well tonight. Cruzie hit the ball great. Seager, really good at-bats, those guys are huge in the middle. They've carried us all year. Nice to see them get going again."

Minnesota's lone run came in the seventh courtesy of leadoff triple by Miguel Sano, followed by a Kennys Vargas single.

The Twins have lost seven in a row and have 99 losses for the season as they're on the verge of their first 100-loss campaign since 1982.

The Mariners got on the scoreboard in the third inning, stringing together some two-out hits for a 1-0 lead. Norichika Aoki singled, advanced on a Seth Smith walk, and came in from second on Cano's flare down the right field line. Next up was Cruz, who hit a long blast to straightaway center that looked bound to be a three-run homer. But center fielder Byron Buxton timed his leap perfectly to pluck the ball off the top of the wall and end the frame.

"I was grateful the air was a little heavy," Twins manager Paul Molitor joked. "When he hit it, I thought it was out of the park. And you know, as he does, he ran a good route and got back there and gave him a chance to make the catch without the wall hitting the ball out of his glove. Kept it at one at the moment. Big play at that time."

Kyle Seager led off the fourth with a walk, and was at second two outs later when Mike Zunino hit a bloop to short center field. This time Buxton's sprinting dive for the ball came up just short, and Seager scored to give Seattle a 2-0 lead.

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Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano (22) and third baseman Kyle Seager (15) celebrate designated hitter Nelson Cruz (23) home run in the eighth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

"I think it was a step in the right direction for me," Gibson said. "I felt a little bit better. But other than that it's tough to be too satisfied with a game where you only went 5 innings, threw a hundred pitches and your team loses 10-1. I think there's some positives but it's hard to focus on those at that time."

A pair of pinch hitters helped Seattle break things open in the seventh. Guillermo Heredia scored on Cano's infield single, then a Cruz double to center brought in two more runs. When Seager doubled Cruz home it was 6-0 for Seattle.

The worst was yet to come for the Twins. Minnesota left fielder Robbie Grossman twice fumbled a bloop single by Zunino, allowing two more Seattle runs to score. Grossman was saddled with two errors on the play, which made it 8-0.

"It's big for us, because the biggest thing in this game is getting it done with men in scoring position," Cano said. "The only way you can win games is to score runs. Paxton was pitching good, so we were able to give him some support early."

NOTES: A hard rain fell much of the day in Minneapolis, making it uncertain whether the game would be delayed or played at all. The rain tapered off after sunset, with the first pitch pushed back 35 minutes. ... Mariners starter James Paxton had faced the Twins only once before in his career, allowing four runs -- three of them unearned -- in a 8-5 Seattle loss on April 25, 2015. ... Friday's game was the start of the Mariners' final road trip of the season. They are playing three games each in Minnesota and Houston. ... This season's only previous series between the Twins and Mariners, May 27-29 in Seattle, was a three-game sweep by Minnesota, and one of only three series sweeps that the Twins have recorded this season.

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