Angels can't finish off pesky Mariners in extras

May 6th, 2018

SEATTLE -- A wild back-and-forth showdown between the Angels and Mariners finally came to an end after delivered a walk-off single off to lift Seattle to a 9-8 win in 11 innings at Safeco Field on Saturday night.
The Angels took an 8-7 lead after scored on ' infield single in the 11th, but the Mariners staged the final rally in the bottom half of the inning. drew a leadoff walk against Jim Johnson and scored on 's double to tie the game. Healy then shot a single down the left-field line to bring home Seager from second to conclude the four hour and 29-minute affair.

The Angels' bullpen allowed three leads to slip away Saturday, bringing an end to the club's four-game winning streak.
"Give those guys credit," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Those guys kept battling back, getting the lead, and we just couldn't make that big pitch when we needed it to try to hold the lead and keep going. Our bullpen went out there and just at the end, just had a little trouble putting some guys away. Those guys didn't miss many mistakes."
hammered a game-tying home run off closer to erase a two-run deficit in the ninth, and the Angels regained the lead on Chris Young's bloop single in the 10th, but they couldn't slam the door on the Mariners, as Ben Gamel scored on a throwing error by to tie the game once again.

The Angels built a 4-0 lead behind Simmons' RBI single in the first inning and Marte's three-run homer in the sixth, but Cano delivered a two-run double to bring the Mariners within two. Mike Zunino's towering two-run shot off rookie reliever Justin Anderson then highlighted a four-run eighth that gave Seattle its first lead of the night.
The loss spoiled a strong start from Angels left-hander , who yielded two runs on six hits while walking one and striking out seven over 5 1/3 innings. Skaggs befuddled the Mariners' lineup for much of the evening and cruised through five scoreless innings before stumbling a bit in the sixth.

led off the inning with a single, Mitch Haniger doubled, and Cano lined a first-pitch fastball to center field for a two-run double. Skaggs departed with runners on the corners and one out, but bailed him out by striking out Healy looking and coaxing a flyout from Zunino to end the inning.
"They've been pitching their butts off the whole season," Skaggs said of the Angels' bullpen. "They've definitely been helping the starting staff. They've been pitching a lot, too, so I know those guys aren't fresh down there, but they did a hell of a job today. We're just on the wrong end of it."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Marte's costly error: The Angels took a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the 10th, but Gamel singled off Johnson to begin the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by . Segura subsequently punched a grounder to Marte, who made a diving stop but then uncorked an off-balance throw that eluded Johnson and allowed Gamel to score the tying run from third.
"It's not an easy play, because you've got a lot of moving parts," Johnson said. "I tried to knock it down. I got too far down the line. If I knock it down, I can keep it first and third and the double play is in order still. It's just one of those things."

Zunino's moonshot vs. Anderson: Anderson has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last month, ascending from Double-A to the Majors and quickly pitching his way into the back end of the Angels' bullpen with 6 1/3 scoreless innings to start the season. He was entrusted with another high-leverage spot Saturday, entering the game in the eighth with a runner on first, one out and the Angels leading, 4-2, but he faltered.
Anderson yielded an RBI single to Healy and a two-run homer to Zunino, allowing the Mariners to go ahead, 5-4. He walked before being replaced by , who gave up a double to Andrew Romine and allowed Heredia to score on a wild pitch to extend the Mariners' lead to 6-4.

"It's the life of a reliever," Scioscia said. "You're going to make pitches sometimes, sometimes guys are going to hit them."
SOUND SMART
Simmons went 4-for-6 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games Saturday. He is hitting .486 (18-for-37) with eight runs, five doubles, one triple, two home runs and 13 RBIs over that span.

UP NEXT
will return to the mound Sunday as the Angels and Mariners close out their three-game series at 1:10 p.m. PT at Safeco Field. Ohtani, who missed his scheduled start against the Orioles on Tuesday because of a mild left ankle sprain, will pitch for the first time since April 24. The two-way phenom will be opposed by veteran right-hander .