Rojas and France help the Mariners knock off the Twins 10-6
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Josh Rojas and Ty France each hit an RBI single during Seattle’s four-run ninth inning, and the Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 10-6 on Tuesday night.
Cal Raleigh connected for a pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh for Seattle, which has won three of four. Mitch Haniger hit a solo homer in the second and added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
Ryne Stanek (1-0) got two outs for the win after fellow reliever Tayler Saucedo got hurt while covering first base. Andrés Muñoz pitched a scoreless ninth.
“We were kind of waiting for this game to come," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “At some of these points, you’re going to have to find a way to score a bunch of runs to pick up your pitching, and we did that tonight.”
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Minnesota reliever Jorge Alcala (1-1) allowed four runs on four hits, issued two walks and threw a wild pitch during Seattle’s ninth-inning rally. The Twins have lost two of three after their 12-game winning streak.
“We didn’t play the kind of baseball we’ve been playing,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We didn’t play a complete game. We played pieces of a game.”
A wild three final innings was highlighted by a clutch swing for Raleigh, who was out of the starting lineup for a rare occasion. Raleigh hit for Seby Zavala against left-hander Steven Okert and drove a hanging slider to the third deck in left at Target Field.
“If you’re down in the game or the game’s close, he’s just got a way late in the game,” Servais said of Raleigh. “He has really good at-bats. He doesn’t always come through. But when he does, he usually comes through in a big way."
Down 6-4 after Raleigh’s homer, Minnesota got a run in the bottom of the seventh and another one in the eighth.
Kyle Farmer’s double followed Jose Miranda’s leadoff double in the seventh. The tying run scored as Saucedo was on the ground in pain in the eighth.
Pinch-hitter Austin Martin hit a ball to France at first base. Martin slid safe into first while Saucedo took the throw from France and stepped on the bag. But Saucedo slipped in the process and went down. As he was on the ground, Max Kepler rounded third base and came home.
After several moments, Saucedo was helped off the field with assistance from a trainer.
“He’s going to be out for a little while; a little bit of a knee issue there,” Servais said. “We’ll get some imaging on that, but we’re going to miss him.”
Ryan Jeffers hit a three-run homer in Minnesota’s four-run third. Jeffers reached base safely in a career high-tying 14th straight game.
Righty or lefty
Jay Jackson started the seventh for the Twins, loading the bases on a pair of singles and a walk before Raleigh was announced as the pinch hitter. Baldelli turned to Okert to turn around the switch-hitting Raleigh. But the seventh pitch of the at-bat got away from Okert to the middle of the zone and Raleigh went deep for his ninth homer.
“They’re always going to do it to one side or the other, so it’s just part of the game,” Raleigh said, adding that he noticed Okert was warming up quickly and knew he might face the lefty. “I was able to get work in the cages, do some stuff and make sure I had both sides ready just in case that was to happen.”
Five of Raleigh’s homers this season have come from the right side, but he entered the day with a .921 OPS from the left side versus .662 from the right.
Trainer’s room
Mariners: Servais said SS J.P. Crawford (right oblique strain) has been swinging in the cage and is feeling good, but he offered no timeline for a return. Servais also said RHP Bryan Woo (elbow inflammation) might be in line for a return to the rotation but didn’t have a particular date.
Up next
Seattle right-hander George Kirby (3-2, 3.76 ERA) starts on Wednesday night in the third game of the four-game series. Minnesota counters with righty Chris Paddack (3-1, 4.78 ERA).