Cruz’s blast keeps Mariners’ fading playoff hopes alive
Ninth-inning homer beats Indians and snaps Seattle’s six-game skid
Nelson Cruz hit a gameending two-run homer in the ninth inning, lifting the Seattle Mariners over the Cleveland Indians 3-1 on Friday night.
Cruz lined a 2-1 pitch from closer Cody Allen (3-7) out to deep rightcentre field, snapping Seattle’s sixgame skid and improving its very slim wild-card hopes. The Mariners are five games behind Minnesota for the last AL playoff spot with eight games remaining.
Cruz also cooled baseball’s hottest team. Cleveland lost for the second time since Aug. 23, a span of 29 games that included a historic 22-game winning streak. It ended a franchise record 14-game road winning streak — the Indians hadn’t lost away from home since Aug. 20 at Kansas City.
Robinson Cano singled off Allen to open the ninth and Cruz followed with his 36th home run.
Erasmo Ramirez shut down Cleveland for a career-high eight innings and Edwin Diaz (4-6) pitched the ninth to cap a threehitter.
It was a pitchers’ duel most of the way between Ramirez and Trevor Bauer. Giovanny Urshela homered for Cleveland’s only run, but Seattle pulled even in the seventh. Kyle Seager led off with a double, and Yonder Alonso followed with a single to right.
Urshela’s homer was his first of the season and seventh of his career. His last home run came on Sept. 14, 2015.
Ramirez is the first Seattle pitcher to go eight innings since Andrew Moore on July 3.