DETROIT — Abraham Toro hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Wednesday night for their fifth win in six games.
Toro, recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday, had two hits and Eugenio Suarez also hit a two-run homer for the Mariners.
“I just like those moments,” Toro said. “Tight situations and you just want to drive that run in. … You want to get the ball in the air and I was able to do that.”
Seattle manager Scott Servais feels Toro’s .187 batting average is deceiving.
“He goes up there in an aggressive mode,” Servais said. “He’s gotten a lot of big hits. People look at his batting average and inconsistencies but the home runs he’s hit late in games and the big hits he’s had late in games have won us quite a few games.”
Seattle starter Marco Gonzales (10-12) allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings. Paul Sewald worked around two walks in the ninth to get his 17th save.
Gonzales didn’t give up a run in his last four innings after making a uniform change.
“I came in and changed my jersey,” he said. “I just needed to change it up. I didn’t feel like myself. I felt kind of shaky, a little off. I came in and changed my jersey and we rolled from there.”
Jeimer Candelario drove in two runs for Detroit. Starting pitcher Tyler Alexander allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings, while Alex Lange (4-4) took the loss.
Suarez’s 25th homer of the season came on a 3-0 pitch from Alexander in the first inning.
Detroit evened the score with two second-inning runs on Candelario’s RBI single and Willi Castro’s fielder’s choice grounder. Candelario’s second run-scoring single of the game gave Detroit a 3-2 edge in the sixth.
The Tigers had some bad luck, as three innings ended with line drives with runners on base.
“A foot either way and you’re talking about breaking the game open,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “In a close game, it feels like you have to be perfect. They’ve been very good in close games and I think we saw why tonight.”
Seattle regained the advantage when Toro followed Adam Frazier’s triple with a one-out blast off Lange in the seventh. Ty France drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth to give the Mariners a two-run lead.
GRAND MILESTONE
Scott Servais managed his 1,000th game for the Mariners on Wednesday. Servais has managed the second-most games in Mariners history, trailing only Lou Piniella (1,551 games).
ROSTER MOVES
Mariners: LHP Matthew Boyd and OF Taylor Trammell will be activated when the rosters expand to 28 players on Thursday. Boyd made 143 starts for Detroit from 2015-21 and signed with San Francisco as a free agent during the offseason while recovering from left flexor tendon surgery. Boyd, who was traded to Seattle in early August but has yet to make his season debut, will be used out of the bullpen. Trammell has appeared in 32 games with the Mariners this season, batting .235 with three homers.
Tigers: 1B Spencer Torkelson and INF Ryan Kreidler will be activated when rosters expand on Thursday. Torkelson batted just .197 in 83 games with Detroit before getting demoted to Triple-A Toledo, where he hit .228 with five homers in 34 games. Kreidler batted .213 with eight homers in 56 games with the Mud Hens. … RHP Michael Pineda (right tricep tightness) will also be activated from the 15-day injured list. Pineda’s last major-league appearance was July 23.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners; SS J.P. Crawford (strained pectoral muscle) didn’t start the game but entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth.
UP NEXT
Mariners: RHP Logan Gilbert (10-5, 3.49 ERA) will look to end a nine-game winless drought in the series finale on Thursday afternoon. Gilbert’s last victory came on July 5.
Tigers: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-3, 3.60 ERA) has won both of his starts since coming off the restricted list. Rodriguez has a 4-3 record and 3.46 ERA in nine career outings against Seattle.
