Mariners Hold on Late, Win the Series After 8-7 Victory

May 4, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Seattle Mariners left fielder Dustin Ackley (13) and catcher John Buck (4) celebrate after scoring during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

With another big inning and another offensive outburst, the Mariners scored 8 runs to barely take the series against the Houston Astros with an 8-7 victory.

The Mariners led by as many as 4 runs in this game (7-3 and 8-4), before the wheels fell off with the bullpen.

Charlie Furbush came on in the 8th and after two batters had men on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Danny Farquhar replaced, promptly allowing those runs to score on a 2-RBI single, cutting the lead to 8-6.

After getting through the inning Farquhar came out for the 9th in hopes of nabbing the 6-out save. He allowed one run to score, then buckled down and struck out Matt Dominguez for the final out and to preserve the victory.

The team had 12-hits on the day, with every position player reaching base at least one time. Michael Saunders, Robinson Cano, and Corey Hart all had 2-hit games with RBIs to show for it.

The real story, though, was veteran backup catcher John Buck, who went 3-4 with 2-doubles, 2 runs scored, and an RBI.

With 5 innings of work, Brandon Maurer got his victory of the season, despite his obnoxiously high 6.92 ERA.

Standing now at 4-1 on the roadtrip, the Mariners head to Oakland to face the division leading Athletics in a hugely important 4-game series. If they can find a way to sweep that series, they would be tied for first in the division.

Box Score:

Seattle	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Saunders, M, CF	5	1	2	1	0	2	3	.263
Bloomquist, SS	5	1	1	2	0	1	3	.250
Cano, 2B	5	1	2	2	0	0	1	.293
Hart, DH	5	1	2	1	0	1	1	.223
1-Almonte, A, PR-DH	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.198
Seager, 3B	4	0	0	0	1	1	2	.228
Smoak, 1B	5	0	1	0	0	1	3	.240
Romero, S, RF	3	1	1	0	0	1	2	.240
Ackley, LF	2	1	0	1	2	0	1	.241
Buck, C	4	2	3	1	0	0	3	.300
Totals	38	8	12	8	3	7	19	.234

1-Ran for Hart in the 9th.

Houston	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Altuve, 2B	4	1	1	0	1	1	0	.289
Fowler, CF	5	0	1	0	0	0	1	.236
Castro, Ja, C	4	1	2	1	1	1	2	.221
1-Hoes, PR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.136
Dominguez, DH	5	1	1	0	0	2	4	.233
Presley, LF	3	2	2	1	0	0	2	.247
a-Guzman, PH	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.217
b-Krauss, PH-LF	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	.159
Springer, RF	4	1	1	0	0	1	1	.185
Carter, 1B	4	0	1	2	0	0	1	.172
Gonzalez, M, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.290
Villar, J, SS	4	1	1	1	0	1	0	.255
Totals	38	7	11	7	2	7	13	.219

a-Batted for Presley in the 8th. b-Singled for Guzman in the 8th.
1-Ran for Castro, Ja in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Buck 2 (2, McHugh, McHugh), Bloomquist (1, McHugh), Romero, S (4, Williams).
3B: Cano (1, McHugh).
TB: Cano 4; Romero, S 2; Smoak; Bloomquist 2; Hart 2; Saunders, M 2; Buck 5.
RBI: Cano 2 (18), Bloomquist 2 (2), Hart (10), Saunders, M (7), Ackley (12), Buck (1).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Romero, S; Smoak.
GIDP: Buck.
Team RISP: 5-for-13.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Almonte, A (3, 2nd base off Downs, D/Castro, Ja).

FIELDING
PB: Buck (1).

BATTING
2B: Presley (1, Maurer), Carter (7, Maurer), Dominguez (6, Furbush), Altuve (8, Farquhar).
HR: Presley (3, 2nd inning off Maurer, 0 on, 0 out), Villar, J (5, 5th inning off Maurer, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Villar, J 4; Dominguez 2; Castro, Ja 2; Krauss; Springer; Presley 6; Altuve 2; Carter 2; Fowler.
RBI: Presley (7), Carter 2 (12), Villar, J (13), Krauss 2 (9), Castro, Ja (14).
2-out RBI: Carter 2; Castro, Ja.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Gonzalez, M; Presley 2.
Team RISP: 4-for-9.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
E: McHugh (1, pickoff).
DP: (Altuve-Carter).

Seattle	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Maurer(W, 1-0)	5.0	6	4	4	2	3	2	6.92
Wilhelmsen(H, 4)	2.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3.14
Furbush	0.0	2	2	2	0	0	0	7.71
Farquhar(S, 1)	2.0	3	1	1	0	2	0	1.59
Totals	9.0	11	7	7	2	7	2	3.81

Houston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA
McHugh(L, 2-1)	4.0	8	6	5	1	4	2.79
Williams	4.0	3	2	2	2	2	6.00
Downs, D	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0.00
Totals	9.0	12	8	7	3	7	4.94

Furbush pitched to 2 batters in the 8th.

HBP: Romero, S (by Williams).
Pitches-strikes: Maurer 88-53, Wilhelmsen 30-19, Furbush 6-3, Farquhar 33-22, McHugh 85-58, Williams 62-40, Downs, D 10-8.
Groundouts-flyouts: Maurer 3-6, Wilhelmsen 2-1, Furbush 0-0, Farquhar 2-2, McHugh 4-3, Williams 6-2, Downs, D 1-1.
Batters faced: Maurer 23, Wilhelmsen 6, Furbush 2, Farquhar 9, McHugh 21, Williams 17, Downs, D 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Farquhar 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Mark Wegner. 1B: John Tumpane. 2B: Bob Davidson. 3B: James Hoye.
Weather: 73 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 3:30.
Att: 24,996.
Venue: Minute Maid Park.
May 4, 2014
Compiled by MLB Advanced Media

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