ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Pinch hitter Tim Lopes drove in Kyle Lewis with the tiebreaking run in the 10th inning, and the Seattle Mariners rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.
Lewis homered in the seventh after Justin Dunn threw six scoreless innings for the Mariners, who had lost the first two games of this four-game series.
Angels star Albert Pujols hit his 666th career double in the seventh inning to pass George Brett for sixth place in baseball history.
Pujols also scored Los Angeles’ only run on Andrelton Simmons’ single. The Angels, who had won a season-high three in a row, stranded nine runners.
Lopes came through in extra innings with another clutch hit in his hometown ballpark for the Mariners, sending Lewis home with his single off José Quijada (0-1).
Taylor Williams (1-1) stranded an Angels runner on third by striking out Simmons in the ninth, and Yohan Ramirez pitched through the heart of the Angels’ lineup in the 10th for his first save.
Both starters dominated early at the Big A. Griffin Canning yielded four hits and a run over a career-best eight innings for the Angels, while Dunn allowed one hit and four walks for the Mariners.
Canning opened with four hitless innings on just 39 pitches, improving markedly from his previous starts in an up-and-down season. Jose Marmolejos got the Mariners’ first hit with one out in the fifth, but Canning kept rolling until Lewis’ one-out homer to right, his eighth of the season. Canning finished with seven strikeouts and just one walk.
Dunn needed more pitches to do it, but he still matched zeros with Canning for six innings. Dunn, who also pitched six scoreless innings of one-hit ball against Texas last Sunday, shut down the powerful Angels lineup that produced 16 runs Saturday night.
Dunn got out of trouble to end the sixth, retiring Anthony Rendon and Brian Goodwin with two Angels on base.
Pujols connected off Anthony Misiewicz leading off the seventh for his latest milestone double. Although the three-time NL MVP has been stuck right behind Willie Mays on 659 homers since Aug. 4, he passed Brett and closed in on Craig Biggio’s 668 career doubles in fifth place.
Simmons’ two-out single to right might not have been enough to drive in the slow-footed Pujols, but right fielder Jake Fraley bobbled the ball.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels second baseman David Fletcher rolled his left ankle while trying to beat out a grounder in the third inning, but he stayed in the game on defense for another inning before leaving in the fifth. The stellar infielder is batting .313 this season, and he hadn’t missed an inning of any game so far.
TRADE BLOCK
Angels catcher Jason Castro was scratched shortly before the first pitch as a precaution while general manager Billy Eppler evaluated trade offers for the veteran, apparently closing in on a deal with San Diego. Los Angeles already traded Tommy La Stella to Oakland on Friday.
M’S MOVES
Catcher Joe Hudson and right-hander Seth Frankoff joined the Mariners from their alternate training site, while outfielder Braden Bishop and right-hander Zac Grotz were optioned. Hudson presumably provides a backup plan if Seattle trades catcher Austin Nola.
UP NEXT
Marco Gonzales (3-2, 3.63 ERA) takes the mound for Seattle in the series finale Monday afternoon, making his third start against Los Angeles already this season. The Angels hadn’t announced their starter before Sunday’s game ended.
