KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cal Raleigh homered and drove in three runs as the Seattle Mariners rallied for a 6-5 win over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.
The Mariners have won two of three after dropping five of six as they try to hold off the Baltimore Orioles for the third and final wild-card spot. They closed to a half-game behind Tampa Bay, which lost to Toronto.
With one out in the ninth, Jarred Kelenic and Jesse Winker singled ahead of Raleigh’s tiebreaking RBI double off Brad Keller (6-14). Raleigh had tied the score 5-5 as a pinch-hitter with his 25th homer, a two-run shot to start the sixth inning.
Paul Sewald (5-4) earned the victory with two scoreless innings and Andres Munoz worked the ninth for his fourth save.
The loss ended the Royals’ season-best four-game win streak.
Both teams had multiple baserunners in each of the first four innings, trading scores as the Royals led 5-3.
The starting pitchers struggled from the outset. The Royals’ Kris Bubic, who has not won since July 24, a span of 11 starts, allowed 11 runners before departing with two out in the fifth.
Seattle’s Logan Gilbert had not allowed more than three runs in his past seven starts, dating to Aug. 14, before giving up five runs and seven hits over five innings.
Ty France had three hits and reached safely four times for the Mariners.
Salvador Perez extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a double in the first inning for Kansas City. Vinnie Pasquantino followed with his ninth homer for a 2-1 lead.
J.P. Crawford had an RBI single in the second to tie for the Mariners before the Royals regained the lead on Drew Waters’ RBI triple in the bottom of the inning. Nate Eaton’s sacrifice fly in the third put Kansas City up 4-2.
France’s RBI single in the fourth pulled Seattle within one before Bobby Witt Jr.’s run-scoring hit put the Royals back up by two in the bottom of the inning.
UP NEXT
After recently signing a five-year contract extension, Mariners RHP Luis Castillo (7-6, 2.85 ERA) faces Royals RHP Max Castillo (0-1, 2.97).
