Mariners answer Angels’ comeback with four-run seventh in 8-4 win

Young and Arroyo kept Seattle moving early

The Mariners did not need one big swing to control the first half of the game. They pieced together the opening four runs across four innings, beginning with Lazaro Montes’ ground-rule double in the second that brought home Cole Young. Leo Rivas added a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Seattle stretched the margin again in the fifth when Josh Naylor drove in Randy Arozarena on a fielder’s choice before Young’s single to centre created another run when Dominic Canzone scored on Bryce Teodosio’s throwing error.

That sequence said plenty about how Seattle’s offence functioned. Young was in the middle of nearly everything, finishing 2-for-3 with three runs scored, an RBI and two walks. Michael Arroyo added three hits, while Arozarena and Crawford chipped in two apiece. Even on a night when Cal Raleigh and Naylor combined for no hits, the Mariners still produced 12 hits, six walks and enough traffic to keep Los Angeles pitching under strain.

Seattle’s pitching helped turn those early runs into real leverage. Kade Anderson worked 3.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts, and Michael Rucker followed with 1.2 scoreless innings and three more strikeouts. Through five innings, the Angels had been held off the board entirely, and the Mariners had a game that looked orderly and under control.

One ragged inning changed the shape of it

Then came the sixth, and Seattle made the game harder on itself. The Angels, who finished without an extra-base hit, suddenly found a route back through contact, patience and a defensive lapse. Bryce Teodosio’s single to centre scored Denzer Guzman and Christian Moore, and the play grew worse for Seattle when Teodosio advanced on Randy Arozarena’s throwing error. Tyler Heineman’s sacrifice bunt brought home Wade Meckler, and Jose Siri’s groundout completed the comeback by scoring Teodosio for a 4-4 tie.

That inning landed squarely on the Mariners’ brief loss of control. Jose Ferrer recorded only one out and was charged with four runs, though only two were earned, and Seattle’s two team errors loomed over the turnaround. For Los Angeles, it was an efficient rally in one sense and an incomplete night in another: the Angels managed seven hits and five walks, but all four of their runs arrived in that one burst.

Ward and Crawford delivered the immediate reply

What separated Seattle was the speed of the response. In the bottom of the seventh, Young and Arroyo came home on Taylor Ward’s single to centre, pushing the Mariners back in front before the Angels could settle. Crawford followed by driving a 403-foot homer to right, also scoring Ward, and a 4-4 tie became an 8-4 lead in the span of two scoring plays.

Crawford’s line ended at 2-for-5 with two RBIs, and Ward turned his only at-bat into the game’s first decisive swing of the late innings. Arroyo’s three-hit game kept feeding the inning, while Young’s three runs made him the connective piece from start to finish. Seattle’s lineup was deeper than spectacular, and on this night that was enough: doubles from Montes and others, timely singles, six walks and one late home run formed a sturdier formula than waiting for someone to hit the game out of reach early.

The bullpen restored order once the lead was rebuilt. Carlos Vargas, Seranthony Dominguez and Gabe Speier combined for 3.2 scoreless innings, and the Angels never mounted a second push. Our take: this was an encouraging win for Seattle because the answer mattered as much as the lead itself. The Mariners created runs in several different ways before Crawford’s homer, which is a useful sign on a night when some middle-of-the-order bats were quiet. But the sixth inning should not be brushed aside. Four-run cushions disappear quickly when walks and throwing mistakes pile up, and stronger opponents punish that more consistently. For the Angels, the lesson is just as clear. Their comeback showed discipline, but the rest of the game was undermined by too many free baserunners and too much hard contact: Ryan Johnson and Mitch Farris combined to allow 11 hits and five walks, and Seattle converted that pressure into eight runs.

Scoring moments

1. 2nd Inning

   Montes hit a ground rule double, Young scored, Arroyo to third.

2. 4th Inning

   Rivas hit sacrifice fly to center, Young scored.

3. 5th Inning

   Naylor grounded into fielder's choice to first, Arozarena scored.

4. 5th Inning

   Young singled to center, Canzone scored on error, Young safe at second on throwing error by center fielder Teodosio, Naylor safe at third on error.

5. 6th Inning

   Teodosio singled to center, Guzman scored. Moore scored, Teodosio safe at second, Meckler safe at third on throwing error by center fielder Arozarena.

6. 6th Inning

   Heineman hit sacrifice bunt, Meckler scored, Teodosio to third.

7. 6th Inning

   Siri grounded out to third, Teodosio scored, Trout to second, Heineman to third.

8. 7th Inning

   Ward singled to center, Young scored and Arroyo scored.

9. 7th Inning

   Crawford homered to right (403 feet), Ward scored.