It’s not easy to upstage Shohei Ohtani, but Seattle Mariners rookie Cade Marlowe did just that on Thursday night.
Marlowe hit a grand slam in the ninth inning as the Mariners overcame Ohtani’s major-league-leading 40th home run of the season in a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
The four-game series between American League wild-card contenders will continue Friday night as Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo (7-7, 2.88 ERA) matches up against Angels lefty Reid Detmers (2-8, 4.35).
Until the ninth inning, the story of the series opener was Ohtani.
Ohtani was limited to four scoreless innings on the mound because of cramps in his right hand and fingers. He still was able to bat, so he stayed in the game as the designated hitter.
Ohtani sparked a two-out rally in the sixth inning with an intentional walk and a stolen base, then went deep to right in the eighth to give the Angels a 3-1 lead.
“I wish I could have gone close to 100 pitches and save the bullpen, help them out,” said Ohtani, who threw just 59. “But a loss is a loss. It happens. Just got to turn the page.”
Marlowe erased the deficit in the ninth as Seattle handed Angels closer Carlos Estevez his first blown save of the season.
After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Marlowe hit a 99.8 mph fastball over the right-field fence.
“I was just thinking about getting on top of something, hitting a hard line drive,” Marlowe said. “Swung through the first two at the top, and finally got on top of one, the last one.”
Marlowe, who was called up July 20 from Triple-A Tacoma, went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .333.
“He’s an awesome competitor,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He’s not overthinking it. Just playing baseball. … That was some kind of swing. It’s 100 miles an hour at the top of the zone. As a young player, you’re just trying to get the bat there.”
The Mariners, who have won seven of their past nine, moved a season-high five games over .500 (57-52) and pulled within 2 1/2 games of Toronto for the AL’s third and final wild-card berth. The Angels have dropped three in a row and are four games back of the Blue Jays.
Castillo pitched six scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory against the host Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, allowing two hits with seven strikeouts.
Castillo, who is 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA in four career starts against the Angels, will face them for the third time this season. He beat Los Angeles 11-2 on April 4 in Seattle by pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings, then dropped a 5-4 defeat June 9 at Angel Stadium when he gave up five runs — three earned — in six innings, although he struck out 10.
Detmers has lost his past three decisions, including a 6-1 defeat at Toronto on Saturday despite allowing just two runs on three hits in 4 2/3 innings.
He’s 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA in four career starts against Seattle. He didn’t get a decision April 3 in Seattle in the Angels’ 7-3 victory because he was pulled after 4 2/3 innings, falling an out shy of qualifying for the win.
–Field Level Media
