Taylor Ward’s 10th-inning sacrifice fly brought home the go-ahead run as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Friday night in the first meeting between the teams since a benches-clearing brawl on June 26.
Jesse Chavez (2-1) got the victory despite squandering a three-run lead in the ninth inning. Fellow right-hander Jimmy Herget pitched a perfect inning for his second save.
With Los Angeles’ Magneuris Sierra on second to start the 10th, Andrew Velazquez put down a sacrifice bunt against Paul Sewald (3-3). Ward then hit a high flyball just shy of the warning track in right field to bring home Sierra with the winner.
The score was 1-0 heading into the ninth.
The Angels’ Max Stassi hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to pad the lead, but it wasn’t enough to finish off a victory for Patrick Sandoval, who pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings.
With one out in the bottom of the inning, Jesse Winker drew a walk off Chavez. Pinch hitter Jake Lamb, a Seattle native making his Mariners debut, grounded a single up the middle. With two outs, Adam Frazier lined a run-scoring double into the right field corner, and All-Star Ty France grounded a two-run single to center to tie it at 3-3.
Sandoval allowed just three hits, two to Abraham Toro, and struck out five. The left-hander was effectively wild as he walked four and hit two batters with pitches.
Mariners lefty Robbie Ray nearly matched Sandoval as he gave up just one run on five hits in seven innings. He walked two and fanned 10.
The Angels opened the scoring in the first inning.
Ray struck out the first two batters, Taylor Ward and Shohei Ohtani, before Luis Rengifo lined a double to left. Jo Adell hit a broken-bat single to left on a 3-2 count to bring home Rengifo.
Sierra tried for an inside-the-park home run in the second, as left fielder Winker fell down while chasing Sierra’s hit into the corner. Winker recovered and threw to shortstop J.P. Crawford, whose relay to catcher Cal Raleigh nabbed the runner for the final out of the inning.
–Field Level Media