Orioles rally past Mariners 8-7
BALTIMORE — Welington Castillo went 4 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs, Jonathan Schoop singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners 8-7 on Wednesday for their season-high seventh straight victory.
Schoop, Mancini and Craig Gentry also homered for the Orioles, who completed their first three-game sweep of Seattle since 2012. In this one, Baltimore fell behind 6-2 in the third inning before coming back.
Mitch Haniger homered and hit two doubles for Seattle, which completed an arduous 12-game East Coast trip with five straight defeats. After winning two of three in Tampa Bay and Atlanta, the Mariners went 1-2 at Yankee Stadium and came up empty against the sizzling Orioles.
After Baltimore went up 7-6 in the sixth on a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Manny Machado, Seattle pulled even in the eighth when Haniger connected off Brad Brach (44).
In the bottom half, Castillo singled off Christian Bergman (4-5) and went to second base on a sacrifice bunt before being replaced by pinch-runner Caleb Joseph. Tim Beckham then hit a liner to short, and Joseph was called out on a relay to second. But a replay overturned the call, and Schoop followed an intentional walk to Machado with a single to centre off Marc Rzepczynski.
Zach Britton pitched the ninth for his 13th save.
Mancini hit his 23rd home run and Castillo added an RBI double in the second for a 2-0 lead, but Seattle answered with a six-run third that included a two-run double by Haniger and two-run singles by Mike Zunino and Nelson Cruz, the latter of which ricocheted off second base.
Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez was charged with all six runs, but Baltimore’s robust offence eventually took him off the hook.
Castillo homered with a man on in the fourth and Gentry followed with a drive to right. Schoop tied it in the fifth with his 30th home run, and Seattle starter Ariel Miranda faced one more batter before being pulled.
It was the fifth time this season that Miranda allowed at least six runs. TRADE WINDS In an effort to enhance their injury-riddled starting rotation, the Mariners acquired RHP Mike Leake (7-12, 4.21 ERA) from the St. Louis Cardinals for minor league INF Rayder Ascanio. TRAINER’S ROOM Mariners: RHP Felix Hernandez (shoulder) and LHP James Paxton (pectoral) are expected to throw bullpen sessions this weekend in Seattle. . SS Jean Segura was given a planned day out of the starting lineup but was available to pinch hit, manager Scott Servais said.
Orioles: SS J.J. Hardy (wrist) will likely come off the DL “sometime between Sept. 1 and 4,” manager Buck Showalter said, adding that Hardy’s recovery has been hampered by “spring training shoulder.” UP NEXT Mariners: After a day off Thursday, Seattle opens a nine-game homestand with a series against Oakland. RHP Yovani Gallardo (4-10, 6.29 ERA) looks to turn the calendar with his first start of September after going 0-3 in August.
Orioles: Toronto comes to town Thursday to open a four-game series.