Seager’s slam and solo shot lift Mariners over Blue Jays, 9-3

Normally reliable southpaw Happ gets roughed up early

TORONTO — Kyle Seager hit a grand slam and added a solo homer as the Seattle Mariners routed the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-3, in American League baseball action Thursday night.

Toronto starter J.A. Happ (4-3) struggled, giving up 10 hits and seven runs in 3 1/3 innings of work. Jake Petricka pitched 1 2/3 inning, giving up a run on two hits, before Aaron Loup and Tim Mayza threw two scoreless innings apiece.

Russell Martin hit a two-run homer in the second inning for the Blue Jays (20-18) and Yangervis Solarte’s groundout in the eighth allowed a runner to score.

Ryon Healy and Mike Zunino both had home runs to back starting pitcher Mike Leake.

Leake (4-3) struck out six and allowed two runs over seven innings for Seattle (21-15). Marc Rzepczynski, Chasen Bradford, James Pazos and Edwin Diaz came out of the bullpen. Neither Rzepczynski or Bradford got an out and the former gave up a run.

Happ’s troubles began in the first as he gave up a base hit to Jean Segura, a single to Robinson Cano and then walked Ryon Healy to load the bases. That set up Seager for a grand slam and a 4-0 Mariners lead.

The next two Seattle batters got on base before Happ could induce a groundout to end the inning. The Blue Jays starter threw 38 pitches in the opening frame alone.

Seager made another impressive play in the bottom of the first, sliding on the warning track dirt to catch Solarte’s foul out by Toronto’s dugout.

Segura led off the second with a double to deep left field and then Mitch Haniger drove him in with a single to shallow right. With that, Petricka started warming up in the Blue Jays dugout.

Martin cut into the Mariners’ lead in the second inning, hitting a line drive over the left-field wall to cash in Kevin Pillar and make it 5-2.

Healy put the first pitch of the third out of the park, in what was Happ’s best inning. He retired the next three batters he faced.

Happ’s struggles continued in the fourth, giving up three consecutive singles to start the inning before sacrifice fly by Cano brought Andrew Romine home and made it 7-2. Happ finally was pulled after throwing 84 pitches, with Petricka getting out of the inning by inducing a double play.

Seager hit his second homer of the game to lead off the fifth inning, a solo shot off Petricka to dead centre.

Toronto added a run in the eighth when, with the bases loaded and no outs, Solarte hit into a double play at first and second. That advanced pinch runner Anthony Alford to third and scored Lourdes Gurriel Jr. The run was charged to Rzepczynski.

Zunino crushed a pitch from Mayza over the outfield wall to open the ninth inning, restoring Seattle’s six-run lead.