ANAHEIM, Calif. — Taijuan Walker pitched a three-hitter for his first career shutout as the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-0 Tuesday night to win their season-high seventh straight.
Walker (6-10) was perfect through 5 2/3 innings before Kaleb Cowart hit a grounder to shortstop Ketel Marte, who threw wild to Daniel Vogelbach at first base. Vogelbach couldn’t pick the low throw and Cowart reached safely on an error charged to Marte.
Kole Calhoun ended Walker’s no-hit bid with a leadoff single through the right side in the seventh inning. Only two balls left the infield until Calhoun’s single. Walker matched a career high with 11 strikeouts — the fifth time he’s reached that mark. It was his first complete game since July 31, 2015.
In his last start against Los Angeles on Sept 3, Walker gave up five earned runs in only two-thirds of an inning, his shortest start of the season.
Nelson Cruz and Norichika Aoki hit home runs and Seth Smith hit a grand slam to close the scoring.
Angels rookie Alex Meyer (0-3) gave up four earned runs and five hits over four innings in his fourth major league appearance.
Smith’s grand slam, his second this season, came off of reliever Mike Morin with two outs in the sixth. He drove Morin’s 1-1 off-speed offering over the scoreboard and into the right field stands.
The Mariners hit Meyer — acquired from Minnesota along with Ricky Nolasco at the trade deadline — hard from the beginning. Cruz launched a massive two-run shot that nearly reached the concourse in left field in the first inning and Leonys Martin scored on sac fly in the second before Aoki’s home run, making the score 4-0.
Trainer’s Room
Angels: SS Andrelton Simmons remained out of the lineup for the second straight day with a bruised right hand. Simmons injured the hand in Sunday’s series finale against the Rangers and is day-to-day.
Up Next
Mariners: RHP Hisashi Iwakuma will take the mound in the series finale. Iwakuma has lost his last two straight starts against Los Angeles but is 8-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) against the Angels.
Angels: LHP Tyler Skaggs makes his 10th start since returning from 2014 Tommy John surgery. Skaggs is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA over his last three starts. Against Seattle, he’s 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in three starts.
