SEATTLE – Evan Longoria and Buster Posey both homered for the second straight game, and the San Francisco Giants took advantage of the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen issues for a 6-3 win Friday night.
Posey went deep leading off the third inning and Longoria added a two-run shot off starter Yusei Kikuchi in the sixth to tie it at 3.
A night after San Francisco’s bullpen struggled late, it was Seattle’s turn to have problems with one of its relievers.
The Giants scored three times in the seventh off Drew Steckenrider (0-1). Donovan Solano had the big blow with a two-out, two-run double, but a pair of walks earlier in the inning created the problems for Steckenrider. Longoria also had an RBI single.
Jake McGee pitched the ninth for his first save.
Kikuchi was outstanding, getting ahead in counts and putting away batters. The left-hander threw 67 strikes in his 89 pitches, and his 10 strikeouts matched his career-best total from a 2019 game against Cleveland. Kikuchi walked only one and reached 97 mph with his fastball.
The problem for Kikuchi was the long ball. Posey ripped the first pitch from Kikuchi out to deep center field, and Longoria stayed with a misplaced fastball and drove it out to right.
It was the first time Posey – who opted out of the shortened 2020 season – homered in consecutive games since May 2017. Longoria last homered in back-to-back games in July 2019.
Luis Torrens had an RBI double and Evan White added a two-run single as Seattle jumped to a 3-1 lead. The Mariners managed just four baserunners – three walks and a single – over the final six innings.
Seattle expects CF Kyle Lewis (knee) to begin hitting in the batting cage early next week, manager Scott Servais said. Lewis is on the 10-day injured list with a bone bruise in his right knee. “The final hurdle obviously will be out on the field running around and seeing how it happens there chasing some balls in centerfield, things like that, and he’s a ways away from that,” Servais said.
