Angels spoil Mariners' extra-innings record

Seattle was 8-0 in extras prior to Friday's defeat

July 28th, 2018

ANAHEIM -- The Mariners' perfect record in extra innings came to an abrupt end Friday night as drove a first-pitch walk-off home run off in a 4-3 victory for the Angels in the bottom of the 10th.
The Mariners had been 8-0 in extra innings, but instead suffered a tough loss in the opener of a three-game series at Angel Stadium.
A huge replay reversal in the top of the 10th cost the Mariners the go-ahead run as Dee Gordon initially was ruled safe at the plate on a double steal, as he raced home when drew a throw to second.
But that run came off the board when the review showed catcher tagging Gordon just before his hand reached the plate on the return throw from second baseman , who came off the bag and fired home.

 "It was very close and could have gone either way," said Mariners manager Scott Servais. "Those are the games we typically have been winning and Dee Gordon has been a huge part of it. And he was there tonight. He gets the base hit, a stolen base, advances on an error and we're in a really good spot. We just didn't finish the deal."
Servais said Gordon is an instinctual player who thrives on those kind of plays, though Gordon said he was going after third-base coach Scott Brosius told him that play was on.
"Bro let me know ahead of time, 'if he goes and they throw through, you're going home', and that's what I did," Gordon said. "They just had a play for it."
Seattle had won 14 straight extra-inning games dating back to last season and still has the most one-run wins in baseball this year with a 27-14 record, but those things haven't been falling the Mariners' way lately.
"It's baseball," said Gordon. "It stinks how it's happening right now, but it's part of it. We have to build off it and continue to go. We can't go home now. We have a lot of games left to play and we'll see how it goes."
Gordon went 3-for-5, stole his American League-leading 24th base and made an excellent diving stop to rob on a scorched line drive in the eighth.

The Mariners have averaged just 3.1 runs while going 5-10 since July 5 and three wasn't quite enough to get it done again.
On a night both the Astros and A's lost, the Mariners failed to take advantage as they remain five back of Houston for the AL West lead and one game up on Oakland in the second Wild Card chase at 61-42.
The Mariners got a pair of opposite-field solo homers from Mike Zunino in the fifth and in the seventh, but were left shaking their heads when robbed at the top of the wall in right-center immediately after Cruz had cut the lead to 3-2.
Seattle wound up tying the game in the eighth when Zunino doubled and lofted a bloop single to right to score pinch-runner .

gave up five hits and three runs over six innings and left with a 3-1 deficit. All three Angels tallies off LeBlanc came in the second inning, capped by a two-run Calhoun double.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In addition to the overturned run on Gordon's play at the plate, the Mariners stranded runners in scoring position with one out in both the eighth and ninth innings. Seattle was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and continues to struggle to come up with timely hits of late.
"We certainly had some chances to add on there and just didn't get it done offensively in the end," Servais said. "We had chances late, first and second with nobody out and first and third in the ninth. We just didn't get the runs in."
SOUND SMART
Cruz's home run was his first extra-base hit in 16 games, dating back to July 3. The big designated hitter has batted just .217 (10-for-46) in that span, which, along with 's continued absence, explains much of Seattle's recent offensive slump. He now has 23 homers and 58 RBIs on the year.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Zunino has hit plenty of monster home runs in his time with the Mariners, but his fifth-inning homer was more about placement as he pushed an opposite-field fly just inside the right-field foul pole. Calhoun was blocked by the short wall down the line and couldn't get to the ball, and Zunino was rewarded with his 13th home run of the season.
"Coming off the DL and starting to get my timing back and my swing is starting to feel a little better," Zunino said. "It's nice to be able to drive a fastball out that way. Anytime that guy [Calhoun] is out there hunting any kind of fly ball out there, you hold your breath. With [Mike Trout] and him out there, anything to the right side has an ability to be caught. It was nice to get it out of his reach one time."

HE SAID IT
"We have so many games left, if we start scoreboard watching now it would drive you crazy. All we can control is what's in this clubhouse, play good baseball and down the stretch,we'll worry about that later." -- Zunino on missing a chance to pick up ground on the Astros and A's
MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
Gordon was out at the plate on the double steal in the top of the 10th, but only after a one-minute, 58-second review showed Briceno got the tag on his shoulder before his hand slid across the plate.
"I didn't know he touched my jersey, so I didn't know," Gordon said. "When I saw the replay I thought, 'Yeah, I might be out."
"Back in the old days, he would have been safe," said Servais. "Not so much anymore."

UP NEXT
(8-8, 5.14 ERA) faces Angels right-hander (5-7, 3.80) in Saturday's 6:07 p.m. PT game. The 32-year-old Hernandez has gone five innings in each of his last three starts while dealing with a sore back, but said he didn't have an issue in his last outing when he gave up five hits and four runs (three earned) in a 5-0 loss to the White Sox.