Mariners Game Recap: M’s Soar Past Angels to Take Series Lead

The Seattle Mariners (41-47) took care of business on Saturday night at Safeco Field, winning 5-0 against the Los Angeles Angels (47-40) to take a 2-1 series lead. Hisashi Iwakuma (1-1, 5.22 ERA) was brilliant tonight for the M’s, earning his first victory of the season in the process. C.J. Wilson (7-7, 3.83 ERA) did not fare nearly as well for the Halos, and suffered his 7th loss of the season.

Hisashi Iwakuma blanked the Angles over 8 innings of work tonight. Kuma struck out a season high 6 batters, and allowed just 3 hits. The 34-year-old right-hander did issue 2 free passes, but they did not prove costly. Tonight’s win was Iwakuma’s first since September 26th, 2014. The last time Iwakuma pitched 8 shutout frames was August 19th of last season, and tonight he broke a streak of 4 consecutive starts in which he has allowed at least 4 earned runs. Hopefully this was a turning point for Kuma. He is a key cog in the Mariners’ rotation, and Seattle needs him if they are going to get back in the playoff hunt.

C.J. Wilson was off his game tonight, and the Mariners took full advantage of his struggles. The veteran southpaw allowed 3 runs on 5 hits across 6.2 innings of work. Wilson struck out 5, but issued 4 walks. His command was his biggest issue, and he ended up walking in the M’s first run of the game in the 2nd. Mike Morin was even less successful, allowing 2 runs to score while failing to record a single out in the 7th. Vinnie Pestano pitched a scoreless 8th for the Halos, but the Mariners’ lead was too big to fail.

Mark Trumbo made his former club pay tonight, going 2 for 3 with a pair of RBI singles for the M’s. Trumbo is tearing the cover off the ball lately, and he is finally starting to endear himself to the Mariners’ faithful. Nelson Cruz went 3 for 3 with 3 runs scored tonight for Seattle. Kyle Seager also had a nice night, going 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored and 2 walks. Seags will not represent the Mariners at this year’s All Star Game, but he remains a key component of the offensive attack.

The Angels tallied just 4 hits on the night, and thus, there were very few standout performances. Mike Trout had a decent night, going 1 for 3 with a walk. Trouty is now hitting .309 on the season, and he will be starting next week for the American League in the mid-summer classic. C.J. Cron, Kole Calhoun and Erick Aybar were the only other Angels to collect hits tonight.

The tough luck season for Robinson Cano took another crazy turn this evening in the Emerald City. 2015 has been marred by poor performance, mental miscues and bad luck for Robby. In the home half of the 5th inning, the star second baseman took a 90 mph C.J. Wilson cutter off the side of his head. Cano was shaken up, but thankfully, he remained in the game. That was the bad luck part, and the mental miscue happened moments later. Cano was on third base when a ball in the dirt got past the catcher. He sprinted towards home, but was thrown out easily at the plate. Cano has had a miserable season, but hopefully the All Star break will allow him to refocus.

Mariners Game Recap: M’s Soar Past Angels to Take Series Lead

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