Trout, Cron homer twice to sink Mariners
SEATTLE -- Mike Trout and C.J. Cron each ripped a pair of home runs and Hector Santiago threw seven innings of one-run ball on Friday night as the Angels topped the Mariners, 7-3, at Safeco Field.
Cron continued his recent hot streak by going 2-for-4 with three RBIs on his fourth and fifth homers of the season after Trout gave the Angels the early lead with his three-run shot in the third and then pulled into a tie with teammate Albert Pujols for the American League home run lead with his 26th, on a solo shot in the seventh.
"If you look at the way we've been swinging the bats in the last week, it's a lot more in line with what we need," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "It's good to see."
The Angels have won 10 of their last 12 to pull within a half-game of the AL West-leading Astros at 47-39. Mariners rookie southpaw Mike Montgomery (4-3, 2.29 ERA) allowed five runs on eight hits in five-plus innings and had his three-start win streak snapped as Seattle fell to 40-47.
"We didn't give ourselves much of a chance tonight," said Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon, whose club has given up four home runs in three of its last five games. "The long ball hurt us."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Trout trots twice: Trout hit his fifth home run of July and his 25th of the season when he drove a 1-0 fastball from Montgomery 427 feet to center to give the Angels a 3-1 lead in the third inning. It was Trout's fourth three-run blast of 2015 and his fourth home run against a Mariners starter this season. He followed that up with a seventh-inning blast to right-center off reliever Danny Farquhar that put the Angels up, 7-1.
"[Montgomery has had] good numbers," Trout said. "Our approach was to look for a pitch and look for a pitch over the middle of the plate, and we barreled up some balls and got on base and worked some good counts and came out with the W." More >
Video: LAA@SEA: Trout drills a three-run shot for the lead
Hustling up a run: Franklin Gutierrez used some heads-up baserunning to tally Seattle's only run off Santiago in the first. After a one-out single, Gutierrez tagged up and hustled into second base on a deep fly to center by Robinson Cano, beating the high throw from Trout. That put the veteran outfielder in position to score easily when Nelson Cruz followed with a single to left-center for his team-leading 53rd RBI.
Video: LAA@SEA: Cruz singles in Gutierrez for the early lead
Cron crushes a pair: Cron hadn't reached double figures in extra-base hits entering Friday night's game, but he changed that in a hurry, launching a solo shot to left off Montgomery in the fourth inning, followed by a two-run blast to right-center on Farquhar's first pitch of the ballgame for extra-base hits Nos. 10 and 11. It was the second-career multi-homer game for the 25-year-old designated hitter, his first since June 27, 2014. He has 12 hits in his last 21 at-bats. More >
Video: LAA@SEA: Cron delivers two homers against Mariners
A Trumbo tremor: Mark Trumbo, a former Angel, continued his awakening for the Mariners with a two-run blast in the ninth inning to cut the Halos' lead to 7-3. Trumbo's second homer since being acquired from the D-backs on June 3 was projected by Statcast™ to land 448 feet away. After his slow start, he's gone 9-for-16 in the current homestand to lift his average from .146 to .214 in 28 games with Seattle.
"You have to keep going," Trumbo said of his turnaround. "Hopefully it's one of many [home runs], I guess that's all I can say. I'm trying to stay pretty small. It's a cliche, not trying to do too much, but that's what it is right now."
Video: LAA@SEA: Trumbo slugs a two-run shot in the 9th
QUOTABLE
"With the pitch to Trout, I was trying to go up and in, and it ended up down and in. He likes the ball down there. That home run really was the difference-maker. The other [to Cron] was a first-pitch fastball. I think I got out of some jams, but they're a good-hitting team, and when you give them a small opportunity, they're going to take advantage." -- Montgomery, who gave up two homers and lost for the first time since June 18
WHAT'S NEXT
Angels: C.J. Wilson (7-6, 3.82 ERA) will get the call on Saturday in the third game of this four-game series at Safeco Field. The 34-year-old lefty earned his seventh win of the season on Sunday at Texas, allowing three runs while striking out four in six innings. Wilson is 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA in two starts against Seattle this season.
Mariners: Hisashi Iwakuma (0-1, 7.17) gets his second start since coming off the disabled list in the 7:10 p.m. PT matchup. The 34-year-old right-hander allowed four solo homers in a five-inning, five-run no-decision against the Tigers on Monday in his first game back following a 10-week layoff due to a strained lat muscle. He's 6-2, 3.05 ERA in 11 career games against the Angels.
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