Seager 9th inning HR helps Mariners beat Orioles 8-7 in 11
BALTIMORE (AP) — Denard Span hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the 11th inning after Kyle Seager delivered a two-run homer in the ninth, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Orioles 8-7 Wednesday night to move within a victory of an unprecedented four-game sweep in Baltimore.
Playing without injured Nelson Cruz for a second straight game, the Mariners got a home run from Ryon Healy and collected 14 hits while improving their record in extra innings to 7-0.
The Mariners came to town having lost six of seven. Now, after winning three straight over the lowly Orioles, they can complete the first four-game road sweep of Baltimore in franchise history.
Seattle has never swept a two-game series in Baltimore, and its last three-game sweep of the Orioles on the road was in 2007.
Jean Segura led off the 11th with a double against Mychal Givens (0-5), and Span drove in the go-ahead run with a deep fly to center off Donnie Hart.
Chasen Bradford (5-0) worked the 10th and Edwin Diaz got three outs for his major league-leading 30th save, a club record before the All-Star break. He has earned the save in each game of this series.
The Orioles trailed 5-4 in the eighth inning before Chris Davis interrupted his season-long slump with a three-run homer off Alex Colome. The drive, on a 3-1 pitch, soared onto Eutaw Street far beyond the right-field wall.
Davis entered the game with a .147 batting average, and on Friday returned from an eight-game hiatus in which he worked to get his swing back. This was his second home run since coming back, and it produced a rare feel-good moment for a struggling team and its belabored slugger.
Then, in the Seattle ninth, Mitch Haniger singled off Zach Britton and Seager delivered his 15th home run and second in two nights.
Much earlier, Seattle made up deficits of 2-0 and 4-2 to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning against Alex Cobb.
Baltimore has lost four in a row overall and 14 of 15 at home.
Cruz has been bothered by a sore lower back, but the Mariners have won a pair of one-run games without him.
DO THE HUSTLE
Orioles shortstop Manny Machado heard some boos Tuesday night when he trotted to first base after hitting into a 4-6-3 double play.
Manager Buck Showalter promised the matter would be addressed, and he did so on Wednesday.
“I talked to Manny about it,” Showalter said. “He’s better than that. It’s a really bad presentation, and he knows that. The toughest thing about it is that it’s a poor presentation of what he’s really about.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: Servais says Cruz “is moving in the right direction” and could return Thursday.
Orioles: RHP Darren O’Day (hamstring) and OF Craig Gentry (rib fracture) were placed on the 10-day disabled list.
UP NEXT
Mariners: Mike Leake (8-4, 4.11 ERA) gets his 17th start in the series finale Thursday afternoon. In his last outing, he threw eight shutout innings to beat Boston.
Orioles: Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday, Jimmy Yacabonis is expected to make his first major league start Thursday in place of injured Dylan Bundy.