Marte's inside-the-park HR fuels Mariners' big day

March 26th, 2016

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Ketel Marte cranked an inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning, Seth Smith continued his hot spring with a solo shot in the sixth and Kyle Seager notched three extra-base hits as the Mariners topped the Dodgers, 7-6, in Cactus League action at Peoria Stadium.
Right fielder Scott Van Slyke racked up three hits and scored a run for the Dodgers, while left-hander Scott Kazmir allowed five hits and two runs over four innings, lowering his spring ERA to 7.71 in four outings since signing a three-year, $48 million deal in free agency.
Kazmir had no walks and five strikeouts while totaling 70 pitches.

Marte greeted reliever Adam Liberatore with a deep drive off the wall in left center with one out in the fifth. Center fielder Trayce Thompson slipped and fell as the ball bounded toward center and Marte circled the bases before left fielder Jacob Scavuzzo could track it down and make the relay throw to the plate.

Marte went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs as well as notching his second homer of the spring. Seager also had three hits -- a triple and two doubles -- with three RBIs and his two-run double in the seventh gave Seattle a 6-4 lead.

Smith went 2-for-3, including his leadoff blast in the sixth inning, as he hiked his spring average to .559 (19-for-34) with three doubles, two triples and a home run.
Seattle's Wade Miley, acquired in a trade from the Red Sox in December, threw six innings of three-run ball. The southpaw surrendered eight hits, but limited the damage with three double-play grounders in his 89-pitch outing.
"We talked about it in the first inning. Everything was in the air," Miley said. "I just needed to get the ball down and I was able to do that. It makes a little bit of a difference."

Miley said he was happy to hold Van Slyke to three singles, given the big outfielder has five homers and three doubles against him in his career while batting .444 (8-for-18).
"That's been a long process for a while," Miley said. "Three singles is a good day for me against him. And we broke a couple of his bats and got some double-play grounders after he got on. That's a good day."
Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis ripped a two-run double into right-center off Miley in the first, but the Mariners countered quickly against Kazmir as Marte doubled and scored on Seager's triple down the right-field line. Seager then crossed the plate on Stefen Romero's ground out to make it 2-2.
The Dodgers regained the lead in the fourth when Brandon Hicks walked and scored on Scavuzzo's double into the left-field corner, before Marte re-tied it with his homer. Scavuzzo finished with three hits and three RBIs, including a ninth-inning RBI single.

Second baseman Chase Utley had a pair of hits for the Dodgers, who were playing a split-squad game with a lineup consisting largely of backups.
Up next for the Dodgers: The Dodgers host the Reds at Camelback Ranch Glendale on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PT, with Kenta Maeda starting for the Dodgers and Alfredo Simon pitching for Cincinnati on MLB.TV. In his first Major League camp, Maeda has been the most consistent of the Dodgers starting pitchers this Spring with a 1.32 ERA.
Up next for Mariners: Left-hander James Paxton gets the start against the Cubs in a 1:05 p.m. PT game in Mesa as he continues battling for the Mariners' final rotation spot with Nathan Karns. Paxton has a 9.00 ERA in four Cactus League starts, but is looking to build on a solid five-inning Minor League outing from Tuesday. The game will be televised live by Root Sports and MLB.TV.