They combined all three of those traits in a rousing, drama-filled matchup with the Baltimore Orioles.
Denard Span hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the 11th inning after Kyle Seager delivered a two-run homer in the ninth, and the Mariners pulled out an 8-7 victory Wednesday night.
Playing without injured Nelson Cruz for a second straight game, Seattle got a home run from Ryon Healy and collected 14 hits while improving its record in extra innings to 7-0.
It was the Mariners’ major league-leading 25th one-run victory, and it marked the 16th comeback win in which they have taken the lead in the seventh inning or later.
In this one, Seattle gave up a deflating three-run homer to Chris Davis in the eighth inning before rallying.
”We’ve had some great wins this year. We’ve done a lot of this at home,” manager Scott Servais said. ”To do this on the road, after giving up the big home run in the eighth inning, it’s how we’re wired. We play all 27 outs, guys don’t quit. They figure out and find a way.”
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.
Cruz has been bothered by a sore lower back, but the Mariners have done just fine without him.
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.
”We have stepped up and started playing great baseball,” Diaz said. ”Our defense, hitting and pitching are all doing great. We’re in a good moment right now.”
The Orioles trailed 5-4 in the eighth inning before Davis interrupted his season-long slump with a shot 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 Boone Logan Milwaukee Brewers Jersey , in the Seattle ninth, Mitch Haniger singled off Zach Britton and Seager delivered his 15th home run and second in two nights.
Britton, who has pitched in only eight games this season after returning from surgery on a torn Achilles tendon, said, ”I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I didn’t want it to be like this, but it is what it is and I’ve just got to push through it.”
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.
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.
”He’s better than that,” Showalter said. ”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.”
ALL-STAR ENDORSEMENT
Machado leads AL shortstops in fan voting for the All-Star Game, but Servais believes Jean Segura is playing well enough to be a backup.
”There are a lot of good shortstops out there Patrick Omameh Color Rush Jersey , but our guy ranks top five in almost every statistical category,” Servais insisted.
Segura is batting .338 with 44 RBIs. He’s got nine errors but has displayed exceptional range.
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.
Orioles: Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday, Jimmy Yacabonis will make his first major league start Thursday in place of injured Dylan Bundy.
—
Mike Sullivan knew the Stanley Cup hangover was coming. Even if the Pittsburgh Penguins coach danced around the phrase whenever the subject came up during the opening three months of the season as the two-time defending champions alternated between sizzling and sleepy.
”The first part of the year was a bit of a struggle,” Sullivan said. ”It wasn’t anything we didn’t anticipate as a coaching staff going into it.”
Sullivan didn’t panic – to be fair, he never really does – and instead offered a reminder to his team that nothing was inevitable.
Maybe not. It just sort of feels that way in Pittsburgh when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins are involved.
The proof came on Saturday night, when a pair of third-period goals by the NHL’s best power play pushed Pittsburgh to a 5-2 victory over Montreal to clinch a franchise-record 12th straight postseason berth.
”If you don’t make it to the playoffs you can’t win the Stanley Cup,” said forward Patric Hornqvist, who picked up the 200th goal of his career in the first period. ”That’s the first step in this room, to make the playoffs. Now we have to make sure we try to get better every single time we come to the rink. We know what it’s all about in the playoffs. Hopefully we’ll have a really fun run.”
Something that’s become a rite of spring since Sullivan took over in December 2015. The Penguins became the first club in nearly 20 years to win back-to-back Cups last June and considering their play since New Year’s Day, they look like a very legitimate threat to give the NHL its first three-peat since the New York Islanders won four straight from 1980-83.
”By no means are we satisfied,” Sullivan said. ”We know there’s another level to our team and that’s what we’re striving for.”
Phil Kessel, Riley Sheahan, Conor Sheary and Carl Hagelin scored for Pittsburgh, which dominated the largely listless Canadiens to improve to 17-1-1 in their last 19 games at homes. Matt Murray finished with 24 saves for the Penguins, who swept their season series with Montreal for only the second time in franchise history.
”We will use these last couple games to try to find some little things so we are ready to go for when the playoffs start,” Murray said.
Jeff Petry and Jonathan Drouin scored for the Canadiens, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Antti Niemi made 28 stops but Montreal couldn’t handle the NHL’s top-ranked power play. The Penguins went 3 for 5 with the man advantage, including Kessel and Sheahan scoring less than two minutes apart in the third period to blow open a one-goal game.
Niemi actually began the season as the Penguins’ top backup after Marc-Andre Fleury was traded to Las Vegas and Murray became fully entrenched at the top spot. The plan lasted all of a month. Niemi found himself on waivers in late October after going 0-3 with a 7.50 goals against average, all of the losses coming on the road. While Niemi has rediscovered his game in Montreal, perhaps it’s fitting the Penguins reached the postseason with their former teammate – however briefly it lasted – in the opposing net. Niemi’s awful numbers in Pittsburgh weren’t entirely his fault. The play in front of him at times was lethargic.
The team Niemi faced on Saturday still has some issues in its own end, but the Penguins also have the kind of firepower few can match. Pittsburgh scored three goals in a 4:55-span in the first to erase a one-goal deficit. Kessel and Sheahan beat Niemi 1:49 apart in the third and the countdown to a potential three-peat was officially on.
”Obviously you want to go into the playoffs with a lot of swagger and a lot of confidence,” Hagelin said. ”Hopefully we can string a few more together.”
NOTES: Penguins F Derick Brassard missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. … Kessel left in the third period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. … The Penguins are now 9-7-2 on the first night of back-to-backs this season. … Pittsburgh C Sidney Crosby’s five-game goal streak ended, though he did have one assist. … The Penguins’ 12-year playoff run is a franchise record. The team reached the postseason 11 straight times from 1990-2001.
UP NEXT
Canadiens: Host New Jersey on Sunday. The teams have split their first two games, each winning on home ice.
Penguins: will try to take the season series from Washington on Sunday night. Pittsburgh won two of the first three meetings.
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09.08.2018 04:42
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