The Seattle Mariners bounced back from a tough series-opening loss on Friday night, and got some help with a late-game miscue from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cameron Maybin came in to score from third base on a balk call against reliever Dylan Floro in the 10th inning, giving the Mariners a 5-4 win on their home field Saturday night. Nelson Cruz was on base at the time this took place and was seen screaming "balk" to coax the call from the umpiring crew, and it worked. According to manager Scott Servais, this is a common thing for the slugger, who finally got one right.
The Mariners did hold a 4-1 lead as late as the eighth inning, but the Dodgers used the long ball once again to force extra innings. Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and Cody Bellinger all hit solo home runs to tie the game. Although, if you want to beat the Mariners, you almost have to do so in nine innings. The win on Saturday helped Seattle improve to 12-1 in extra-inning games, as well as 31-16 in one-run games this season.
Despite Floro getting called for the balk, it was Caleb Ferguson who took the loss after giving up the beginning of the game-winning rally. He gave up singles to Mitch Haniger and Robinson Cano, as well as a fielder's choice to Maybin, before Floro took over and gave up the winning run. Floro walked Cruz to load the bases, as Kyle Seager was at the plate when he was called for the balk.
Seager did go deep with a three-run shot earlier in the night, while Adam Warren earned his second win out of the Mariners' bullpen.
Seattle's win keeps them 3.5 games out of the final American League Wild Card spot and first place in the AL West Division, as the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros are now tied atop both of those races. Meanwhile, the Dodgers wasted a chance to gain a game on the Arizona Diamondbacks, as they remain two games out of the top spot in the NL West. The rubber game of this series will take place on Sunday afternoon.
The Mariners did hold a 4-1 lead as late as the eighth inning, but the Dodgers used the long ball once again to force extra innings. Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and Cody Bellinger all hit solo home runs to tie the game. Although, if you want to beat the Mariners, you almost have to do so in nine innings. The win on Saturday helped Seattle improve to 12-1 in extra-inning games, as well as 31-16 in one-run games this season.
Despite Floro getting called for the balk, it was Caleb Ferguson who took the loss after giving up the beginning of the game-winning rally. He gave up singles to Mitch Haniger and Robinson Cano, as well as a fielder's choice to Maybin, before Floro took over and gave up the winning run. Floro walked Cruz to load the bases, as Kyle Seager was at the plate when he was called for the balk.
Seager did go deep with a three-run shot earlier in the night, while Adam Warren earned his second win out of the Mariners' bullpen.
Seattle's win keeps them 3.5 games out of the final American League Wild Card spot and first place in the AL West Division, as the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros are now tied atop both of those races. Meanwhile, the Dodgers wasted a chance to gain a game on the Arizona Diamondbacks, as they remain two games out of the top spot in the NL West. The rubber game of this series will take place on Sunday afternoon.
