Mariners outslug Brewers 7-6

WP: LeBlanc (3-0); LP: Suter (0-1); Save: Diaz (9); Homeruns: Mil., Carter (28), Villar (10), Broxton (4); Sea., Seager (23), Cano (28), Lind (18)

A game that saw very little hitting for three innings got very hitterish after, and the Mariners pounded out 11 hits over their last 5 innings, with three homeruns, scoring seven times. The Brewers found some offense too, with three homeruns of their own, but all were solo shots and Milwaukee came up a run short.

Early on, two soft tossing lefties matched sub-90 fastballs and various googly spins. Brent Suter for the Brewers and Wade LeBlanc for the Mariners kept the opposition off balance for three inning three innings. The Brewers were set down nine up and nine down, while the M’s had no hits but three walks.

Keon Broxton had the game’s first hit, a single to left, with one down in the fourth. Kyle Seager went further, with a no-doubt homer to straight away right for a 1-0 M’s lead. Seattle then got runners to first and third with two down when Kytel Marte topped one down the thirdbase line. Stefen Romero ran right into a third out when Suter picked up the ball, but Suter dropped it when he went to make the tag.

However, Suter scooped the ball up and his one-hop throw to Manny Pina easily nailed Romero at the plate.

The Brewers evened things up when Chris Carter drove one high off the batting eye in center for a 1-1 tie after the top of the fifth. The Brewers had two more hits in the inning, but Domingo Santana was caught stealing and Milwaukee failed to tack anything on.

The wheels came off for Suter in the bottom half of the inning. A bunt hit, a two run homer by Robinson Cano, and three consecutive singles ended the night for the rookie. Jhan Marinez inherited the two runners, and stranded both. Suter’s line ended at 4.1 innings, 7 hits, 4 earned, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 2 homers allowed. The teams headed to the sixth with the M’s up 4-0.

The mid-game homerun barrage continued when Jonathan Villar and Keon Broxton went back-to-back leading off the sixth inning. It took another batter to get a reliever ready, and LeBlanc struck out Ryan Braun on a 3-2 ‘fastball’. That was it for the lefty, and Drew Storen came in for the M’s to face Hernan Perez. LeBlanc’s line ended at 5.1 innings, 6 hits, 3 earned, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 3 homeruns allowed.

Storen worked around a single by Perez, who stole second, and a walk to Santana. Manny Pina swung 3-0 with two down but his drive was caught on the warning track in center to end the frame.

Seattle added their 5th run in the bottom half, an unearned tally when Orlando Arcia threw high on a routine grounder by Marte. That was Arcia’s second error of the game. The run scored on a single by Nelson Cruz (following an intentional walk to Cano); Jake Elmore almost picked it off the grass but lost it he was falling.

Milwaukee kept answering in the top of the seventh. Villar singled with two down, stole second without a throw, and came around to score on Broxton’s third hit of the game - a single to right on a 2-0 fastball from Arquimedes Caminero.

The 6th run for the M’s came amidst a dispute between the Brewers and the umpiring crew. With one down Martin got a great jump from first against Chase Anderson (making his first relief appearance in 72 major league games), and Arcia didn’t cover second. Manny Pina came up ready to throw and hurt his shoulder stopping it. He walked towards the mound, and the Brewers trainer and Craig Counsell came out to check on him. Pina took a few throws, decided he was OK, and then headed to the mound to go over signs with Anderson since there was now a runner on second.

The home umpire stopped Pina, saying he couldn’t make two trips to the mound without a pitch being thrown. Pina pointed out that it was an injury meeting, but the umpire was adamant. Craig Counsell came out, and while he was talking to the umpire Villar came down to Pina to get the new signs. Crew chief Jim Joyce stepped between Villar and Anderson and wouldn’t let him tell him the signs. If the point of all of this was to speed up the game, it wasn’t working. It took several minutes, and then Anderson gave up an RBI double on the next pitch to Marte.

Down 6-4, Chris Carter singled with one down in the top of the eighth and was promptly thrown out trying to steal second (on review). Santana bounced to second to end the inning.

An Adam Lind homerun with two down in the bottom of the eighth bumped the score to 7-4.

Edwin Diaz got his 9th save, but it took him 34 pitches as he walked 3 and gave up a two run single with two down to Ryan Braun. Diaz struck out Hernan Perez to end it, and struck out 3 in the ninth.

Tomorrow night’s game also starts at 9:10, and the Brewers (52-69) send Wily Peralta (5-8, 6.00) against the Mariners (65-56) and King Felix Hernandez (7-4, 3.34).