Seager, Seattle walk off for 3rd straight win

June 21st, 2017

SEATTLE -- doubled in pinch-runner Tyler Smith with no outs in the bottom of the 10th inning for a walk-off win as the Mariners topped the Tigers, 5-4, on Tuesday night at Safeco Field for their first extra-inning win in five chances this season.
Tigers reliever walked leading off the inning. Smith replaced Cruz and took second on a wild pitch before Seager laced a line drive into the right-field corner for Seattle's third straight win.
"It's a great feeling," Seager said after notching the second walk-off hit of his career, the other coming in 2014. "It was a battle all night, a good game on both sides. We both had our little runs there and fortunately we came out on top."

overcame a rough start to throw seven innings of two-run ball for the Mariners, but wound up with a no-decision after the Tigers rallied with a pair of runs off reliever to tie the game at 4 in the eighth.
and hit solo homers in the first two innings, but Miranda then slammed the door as he allowed just four hits -- none in his final four frames.
Cruz ripped a two-run double in the first, broke a 2-2 tie with a solo home run in the bottom of the second and Ben Gamel added his own homer in the seventh to cap a 3-for-5 night, while hiking his average to .351.

The Tigers tied the game back up in the eighth when Kinsler scored on a wild pitch before J.D. Martinez evened the score with a homer to right.
"It definitely rallied them a little bit," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "There was an energy when [Kinsler] came back in the dugout. Then J.D. follows with a home run. I felt like the momentum might have shifted in our favor at that point."
allowed six hits and three runs over 6 2/3 innings for the Tigers.
"Basically the whole game I had to battle," Zimmermann said. "It seemed like the first guy got on every inning and I had to work out of a lot of trouble. Getting towards the end, I was pretty gassed."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
No reason to wait: The Tigers jumped on Miranda with leadoff homers in both the first and second innings. Kinsler started the game with a shot to left-center for his fourth leadoff homer this year and 44th of his career, which ties him with Brady Anderson for fifth all-time in Major League history. Upton did his damage to start off the second with a 411-foot blast to center for his 14th homer of the season. After giving up 11 homers in his first 13 starts of the season, Miranda has now allowed five in his last two.

Momentum turner for Miranda: The Cuban southpaw had already given up the two homers and had runners on first and second in the third when he got Upton to ground out to third baseman Seager to get out of that jam. From there on, Miranda was in command as he retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced, with only a Seager error in the seventh interrupting that string. Miranda has been sensational at Safeco, where he is 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA in seven starts this year compared to 3-2 with a 6.56 ERA in six road games.
"It was an outstanding effort from Miranda," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "After the home runs in the first couple innings, he really settled in. And we've seen him do that often here, get all his pitches working because they were a little shaky early on. He righted the ship, and getting seven innings out of him tonight was awesome because they run nine right-handed hitters out there and they can really swing the bats."

QUOTABLE
"There was a little boy in the dugout giving me updates and that's a tough day to match. I think I'm going to give him the edge today." -- Seager on getting word from his son about his brother 's three-homer game for the Dodgers
"There's guys in here that are frustrated. They expect themselves to hit. They expect themselves to pitch. This is a really good team. I think everyone in here knows that. It's just a matter of getting on a run and winning a few games. We're just in a tough spot right now." -- Zimmermann on the Tigers, who have lost nine of their last 12 games
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Gamel, the Mariners' rookie left fielder, is hitting .460 during a 12-game hitting streak and .424 over his last 23 games.
The Tigers have lost their last five games at Safeco Field, their longest skid at the ballpark since they lost seven in a row from April 21, 2001, to April 25, 2003.
REPLAY REVIEW
The Mariners challenged a third-inning play when Mitch Haniger was caught stealing second on a strikeout by , but the call stood after a 2-minute, 23-second review when it couldn't be determined if Haniger touched the base before the tag by shortstop .

The Tigers tried to challenge a ninth-inning call from first-base umpire Mark Carlson that had forced 's hand off the bag on 's pickoff attempt. However, after a crew-chief review, umpires determined that the play wasn't reviewable under replay regulations. The call stood, and the Tigers weren't charged with a challenge.

WHAT'S NEXT
Tigers: (4-4, 4.50) will try to avenge a low-scoring no-decision against the Mariners in Detroit back in April when he takes the mound at Safeco Field Wednesday night for the third game of this four-game set. First pitch is 10:10 p.m. ET.
Mariners: (5-2, 3.23 ERA) will be looking to rebound from back-to-back losses when he gets the start in Wednesday's 7:10 p.m. PT game at Safeco. Paxton lasted a season-low 3 2/3 innings in his last outing, giving up seven hits and seven runs vs. Texas.