ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Seattle Mariners may have gotten some good news on a night they blew a four-run lead.
Taijuan Walker left his start in Tuesday 8-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays with what the team called an “aggravated right Achilles” tendon.
However, Seattle manager Scott Servais said after the game that the injury was not to the Achilles tendon.
“It’s a tendon or something in the side of his foot,” Servais said. “He’s got some tendinitis in there. Right now we’re hopeful he’s going to make his next start but we’ll see how he is over the next couple of days.”
Walker left after allowing a one-out triple to Cory Dickerson in the fourth inning. He looked to be in discomfort after delivering the pitch that Dickerson drove to left field.
After a conference with Servais and a team trainer, Walker walked off the mound and was replaced by Edwin Diaz.
“It just popped up again,” said Walker, who first felt discomfort in the second inning. “Hopefully I’ll get it taken care of and make my next start.”
Evan Longoria, Dickerson and Steve Peacre homered for the Rays, who trailed 4-0 in the second.
“That was an awesome win,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Longoria’s three-run shot off Nick Vincent tied it 7-7 in the seventh.
Mike Montgomery (2-2) entered and walked two straight before Dickerson’s RBI single put Tampa Bay ahead 8-7.
Seattle lost May 13 when a four-run lead against the Los Angeles Angels ended in a 7-6 defeat.
Ryan Garton (1-0) got the final two outs in the seventh for his first major league win. Alex Colome worked the ninth to get his 19th save in as many chances.
Tampa Bay right fielder Steven Souza Jr. left in the seventh with left hip soreness after making a diving attempt on Nelson Cruz’s single.
“X-rays were negative,” Souza said. “We’ll just come in (Wednesday) and see how I feel.”
Souza’s replacement, Taylor Motter, made a nice catch at the wall later in the seventh on Adam Lind’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly before Norichika Aoki’s RBI grounder gave the Mariners a 7-4 lead.
“We had a lot of opportunities tonight to score more runs than we actually did,” Servais said. “We probably should have scored double digits tonight, but it didn’t happen.”
The Mariners were 3 of 14 with runners in scoring position.
Kyle Seager hit a two-run homer during a four-run second for the Mariners.
Dickerson, who hit a grand slam off Walker in the right-hander’s only other start against Tampa Bay on May 11, had a two-run drive in the bottom of the second.
Walker allowed four runs and three hits, while Tampa Bay’s Jake Odorizzi gave up five runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings.
LEADING OFF
Seattle CF Leonys Martin, who returned Friday from a strained left hamstring, hit leadoff and had a two-run double in the second. “He looks like he’s got his legs back under him,” Servais said. “Put him at the top of the lineup and go from there. He was certainly kind of headed that way before the injury.” Aoki has batted leadoff 50 times this season.
SEATTLE STRUGGLES
The Mariners have lost three straight and 8 of 11. . The bullpen has given up 15 runs over 20 innings in the past five games. . The Mariners had their six-game winning streak at Tropicana Field end.
UP NEXT
Rays: LHP Drew Smyly (2-7) will face Seattle on Wednesday night on nine days’ rest.
Mariners: Former Tampa Bay RHP Nathan Karns (5-2) starts for Seattle.
