Mariners Game Recap: M’s Blow Late Lead, Drop Opener vs. Angels

The Mariners did something they’ve rarely done on Friday night at Safeco Field, blow a late inning lead.

The Los Angeles Angels (14-21) staged a late comeback to beat the Seattle Mariners (21-14) 7-6 on Friday night at Safeco Field. Joe Smith (1-2, 4.00 ERA) was credited with the win for the Angels, and Steve Cishek (2-2, 1.86 ERA) took the loss for Seattle. Fernando Salas shut the door in the ninth to earn his first save of the season.

The Halos got on the scoreboard first in the top of the fourth inning. Mike Trout worked a one-out walk, and he immediately swiped second base to put himself in scoring position. Daniel Nava came through in the clutch, singling up the middle with two outs to plate Trout. Nava’s RBI gave the Angels a 1-0 lead.

Seattle fought back to tie the game in the home half of the frame. Seth Smith got the rally started with a one-out walk. Adam Lind singled, and Chris Iannetta followed with a walk of his own to load the bases. Leonys Martin drove in Smitty with a deep fly ball to right-center field. After four innings, the score was tied 1-1.

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The Mariners pushed out in front in the bottom of the fifth. Nelson Cruz muscled up on a Nick Tropeano fastball, depositing it into the seats in right-center field. The dinger was Cruz’s 7th of the season, and it gave Seattle a 2-1 lead.

The M’s padded their lead in the sixth, scoring 3 runs. Seattle loaded the bases after Iannetta singled, Martin singled, and Nori Aoki walked. Ketel Marte has been red hot as of late, and he laced a bases clearing triple to make it a 5-1 game. Marte is quickly becoming an All-Star caliber shortstop for the Mariners.

Nate Karns turned in yet another solid outing for the Mariners on Friday night. The 28-year-old right-hander was very effective, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits through 6.1 innings of work. Karns fanned 4 Angels and walked 3 en route to picking up the no-decision. It’s safe to say that the Texas Tech alum has been a find for Jerry Dipoto and the M’s so far in 2016.

Vidal Nuno was thrown into a bases loaded jam with only one out in the top of the seventh. The veteran southpaw got Kole Calhoun to fly out, but the ball was deep enough to score the runner from third base. Nick Vincent came on and allowed an RBI single to Mike Trout.

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Iannetta extended the Mariners’ lead back to 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh. The M’s backstop yanked an 82 mph slider over the wall in left field for a solo home run making it a 6-3 game.

Joel Peralta was asked to work the eighth inning for the Mariners. The veteran right-hander struck out the leadoff man, but served up a solo home run to C.J. Cron. Johnny Giavotella doubled with two outs, and trotted home to score on a Jefry Marte two-out double. Marte’s RBI double shrunk the M’s lead to 1.

The Mariners turned to Steve Cishek in the top of the ninth, and things did not go according to plan. The M’s closer allowed a pair of singles and issued a four pitch walk to load the bases with only one out. Cron struck again, this time driving in 2 runs on a single to give the Angels a 7-6 lead.

Salas sat down the Mariners in order to secure the win for the Angels in the series opener.

Next: Mariners Minor-League Roundup: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not

Up next for the Mariners is another date with the Los Angeles Angels at Safeco Field in Seattle. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 pm from the corner of Edgar & Dave on Saturday night. Hisashi Iwakuma (1-4, 4.19 ERA) will be on the bump for the M’s, and Jhoulys Chacin (1-2, 5.40 ERA) will make his debut for the Halos. As always, Root Sports Northwest will carry the game live locally and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices.