Angels get to Mariners' bullpen to end skid

ANAHEIM -- A Mariners bullpen that had the lowest ERA in the Majors in August suddenly sprung a leak on Tuesday as the Angels rallied for a 7-6 victory that snapped the Halos' losing streak at 11.
Jefry Marte tied the game with a two-out homer off Arquimedes Caminero in the eighth and Cliff Pennington followed with an RBI triple, the first runs Caminero has allowed in seven innings since being acquired from the Pirates.
"It was a big win for us, it was huge," said Angels center fielder Mike Trout, who added a sacrifice fly in the first inning for his 10th RBI in his last 10 games.
The Angels also got a three-run homer by Albert Pujols and a solo shot by Jett Bandy off reliever Nick Vincent in the sixth as they rallied from a 4-1 deficit.

"It was kind of a crazy game," said Mariners manager Scott Servais. "Our bullpen has been so good through this whole stretch. Tonight we just didn't get it done. We left some pitches in the middle of the plate. You have to give them credit. They're on a tough slide and they hung in there, but I still thought we had enough to get it done there at the end. We just didn't execute some pitches." More >
The Mariners scored twice in the seventh inning without a hit, with Kyle Seager driving in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly, but couldn't hold on as they lost for just the third time in the past 14 games. Seattle (63-55) slipped to 6 1/2 games back of Texas in the American League West and three games out of the final Wild Card berth.
Aríel Miranda, making his second start for Seattle since being acquired from the Orioles for Wade Miley, held a 4-1 advantage into the sixth inning. But Miranda walked the first two in that frame and Vincent immediately surrendered the three-run homer to Pujols and solo shot by Bandy.
Angels starter Jhoulys Chacín (2-6, 5.92 ERA) allowed four runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings, but wound up with a no-decision. The Angels (50-69) avoided tying a franchise record of 12 consecutive losses in a single season set in 1988.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Perfect placement: Mariners shortstop Ketel Marte has struggled at the plate since returning from a three-week bout with mononucleosis, going 1-for-19 in his first five games back. But Marte found a way to get things going for Seattle in the second inning when he dropped a perfect two-out bunt down the third-base line to score Mike Zunino for the Mariners first run. Seth Smith followed with a two-run, bases-loaded single up the middle to give Seattle a 3-1 lead.

Climbing the ladder: Pujols' three-run shot in the sixth inning not only tied the game, but also gave him 582 career homers, one shy of tying former teammate Mark McGwire for 10th on baseball's all-time list.
"Albert always comes through for us like that it feels like," Bandy said. "It was great, it was just like a new ball game and we were right back in it." More >
Seager keeps driving 'em in: The Mariners regained the lead with a pair of runs in the seventh, with Seager's sacrifice fly to deep center driving in the go-ahead run to make it 6-5. The Angels helped out plenty in the inning as Robinson Canó reached on an error by second baseman Pennington to open the frame and reliever J.C. Ramirez walked Nelson Cruz, then unleashed a pair of wild pitches, the second of which scored Cano from third. Seager's sac fly pushed Seattle on top and gave him two RBIs on the night while increasing his team lead to 79.
"We believe that we can win games late," Servais said. "We've done it a lot this year. Getting those two runs, we felt good about where we were at, especially the way our bullpen has been throwing. It just didn't happen tonight."

Ready to play: Pennington delivered the go-ahead hit for the Angels on a night when he was not even in the initial lineup. Pennington was a late replacement for Andrelton Simmons, who was scratched about 90 minutes before the game to attend to a personal matter.

QUOTABLE
"He's one of the best hitters in the game. He's not going to miss those pitches. Not many guys are going to miss pitches that are middle of the plate going toward them. It was just a bad overall night." -- Vincent on the home run by Pujols
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Mariners leadoff hitter Norichika Aoki reached base four times by going 3-for-4 with a double and a hit by pitch. Since being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on July 20, Aoki is batting .310 (22-for-71) in 21 games to raise his average to .259.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
The Angels successfully challenged a call in the top of the eighth, when Aoki attempted to steal second with one out. Aoki was initially ruled safe, but replays confirmed he popped off the bag as the tag was applied by second baseman Pennington. The call was overturned after a review of 43 seconds.

WHAT'S NEXT
Mariners:Cody Martin (1-2, 2.70 ERA in five relief appearances) makes his first start for Seattle -- and the third of his MLB career -- in Wednesday's 7:05 p.m. PT game at Angel Stadium as the 26-year-old right-hander fills in for the injured James Paxton. Martin was 9-7 with a 3.93 ERA in 23 games, including 18 starts, for Triple-A Tacoma.
Angels: Left-hander Tyler Skaggs (1-1, 4.37 ERA) gets the ball for the Angels on Wednesday in the third game of a four-game series against the Mariners at Angel Stadium. Skaggs is 0-1 with a 5.21 ERA in three career starts against Seattle. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PT.
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