ANAHEIM, Calif. — Pinch-hitter Franklin Gutierrez came through with a tiebreaking RBI single in the 10th inning and Nelson Cruz added a two-run homer, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
No. 9 hitter Ketel Marte greeted Jose Alvarez (0-1) with a leadoff single, advanced on a sacrifice by Norichika Aoki and scored when Gutierrez lined a 1-0 pitch to center field. Cruz then lined his third homer of the season just over the short fence in the left field corner on a full count.
Joel Peralta (1-0) got the victory with a perfect inning of relief.
Steve Cishek pitched a perfect 10th for his fourth save in four chances. The seven-year veteran right-hander is back to being a full-time closer, two seasons after posting a career-high 36 saves for the Miami Marlins.
Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma allowed two runs and six hits over eight innings, giving up solo homers to Kole Calhoun and C.J. Cron after getting staked to a 2-0 lead. The right-hander struck out three and walked one.
Iwakuma was scheduled to pitch the second game of the series, but ended up working on his regular four days’ rest after Felix Hernandez was scratched because of an illness.
Angels right-hander Nick Tropeano threw 96 pitches over 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, four hits and four walks while striking out five. He began the season at Triple-A, but was recalled to replace the injured Andrew Heaney in the rotation.
Tropeano found himself in a bases-loaded, no-out situation after his first 10 pitches, and the Mariners grabbed a 2-0 lead on sacrifice flies by Cruz and Adam Lind.
Calhoun got one of the runs back in the fourth with his second homer of the season.
Cron tied it in the fifth with a leadoff homer to center field, his first of the season. The Angels got only one more hit after that.
SPIKE MARKS
Mariners: Cruz led the majors last season with 27 home runs on the road. … Manager Scott Servais spent the previous four seasons as the Angels’ assistant general manager. … Iwakuma is with a 3.35 ERA in 13 starts since his no-hitter against Baltimore on Aug. 12. … C Chris Iannetta, who spent the previous four seasons with the Angels before signing with Seattle as a free agent in November, was 1 for 4 in his return to the big A.
Angels: Tropeano picked off Aoki at first base in the second inning. … Escobar robbed Cruz of extra bases with a diving grab across the third-base line to open the Mariners’ eighth. Ortega threw out Lind trying to stretch his hit down the left-field line into a double leading off the ninth. … Albert Pujols is 6 for 42 with nine strikeouts against Iwakuma, and Mike Trout is 9 for 39 with 12 strikeouts against him.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: Hernandez spent the night back at the team’s hotel after receiving some medication. If he is still under the weather on Saturday, Servais said he may give the ball to reliever Mike Montgomery, who started 16 games as a rookie last season and had back-to-back shutouts in June.
Angels: LHP C.J. Wilson, who has been on an extended spring training in Arizona while rehabbing from shoulder surgery last August, rejoined the club on Friday. He is expanding his throwing program to distances of 90 feet before he is cleared to get back on a mound. … Bullpen coach Scott Radinsky was back in the clubhouse after being hospitalized in Oakland last week because of chest pains. But he is not yet ready to resume his normal duties, and is scheduled to undergo more tests.
UP NEXT
Mariners: Hernandez (1-1) is 7-2 with a 1.37 ERA in his last 14 starts against the Angels — including four last season in which he pitched at least six innings and allowed fewer than two runs.
Angels: LHP Hector Santiago (1-0) pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and struck out 10 last Monday in a 7-0 victory against the White Sox at Chicago. He is 3-0 over his last nine starts, and Los Angeles has won all of them.
