SEATTLE — — Frustrated and blocked by All-Star Sonny Gray through the first four innings, the Seattle Mariners shifted their focus to resolving one of the best pitchers in the American League.
Jarred Kelenic’s two-run single capped Seattle’s big fifth inning against Gray, and Eugenio Suarez added a two-run homer in the seventh as the Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 7-6 on Monday night.
The Mariners overcame a shaky first innings on Logan Gilbert’s mound to hand Gray his second straight loss and snap the Twins’ three-game winning streak coming out of the All-Star break.
“I thought the quality of the at-bat got better as the game went on,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “It didn’t start so well and Sonny Gray is really good. But after we made some adjustments, we realized you’re not going to hit the long ball to Sonny Gray. You have to take your singles, work your walks and we were able to do that and put together a great inning together.”
Gray (4-4) couldn’t get past the sixth and his outing ended after a wild pitch allowed Cal Raleigh to score from third. Gray allowed five runs, five hits, walked four and struck out five. In his last start before the break, Baltimore hit him for six runs.
Max Kepler tried to jump-start a rally for Minnesota in the fourth in unconventional fashion. He hit a throw to right field for what should have been an easy double. But he seemed to trip over his bat coming out of the batter’s box, and he fell to the ground and had to scramble to second base on a head slide.
Minnesota made it interesting in the ninth when Kepler hit a two-out, three-run homer off reliever Ty Adcock to pull within 7-6. Seattle closer Paul Sewald came on and struck out Ryan Jeffers for his 19th save.
In Game 2 on Tuesday, RHP Bailey Ober (5-4, 2.61 ERA) will take the mound for the Twins. Ober has pitched at least six innings and allowed three earned runs or fewer in his last five starts. In his last two, Ober has allowed one earned run in 13 innings with 13 strikeouts.
Rookie RHP Bryan Woo (1-1, 3.63) makes his first post-All-Star start. Woo pitched six innings in each of his last two starts before halftime and allowed a total of three earned runs.
The first release is at 8:40 p.m. ESPN 102.3/AM 1000 KSOO.
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LOOK: 50 images of winning moments in sports history
Sometimes images are the best way to honor the figures we have lost. When tragedy quickly reminds us that sports are far from the most important thing in life, we can still remember the winning moment of an athlete who felt larger than life, grateful for his sacrifice on the field and bringing joy to millions. .
Read on to explore the full collection of 50 images compiled by Stacker showing various iconic winning moments in sports history. Covering achievements from a multitude of sports, these images depict impressive personal achievement, team championships, and athletic perseverance.
