Brandon Drury’s two-out single brought home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as the Los Angeles Angels completed a three-game sweep of the host Seattle Mariners with a 2-1 victory Wednesday afternoon.
Mitch Haniger homered for the Mariners, who lost for the eighth time in their past nine games and were knocked out of a first-place tie with Houston in the American League West.
The Angels won their fourth in a row and for the seventh time in nine games, with six of the latter coming against Seattle.
Angels reliever Hans Crouse (4-0) got the victory and Carlos Estevez worked the ninth for his 20th save.
Trailing 1-0, the Angels’ Nolan Schanuel led off the eighth with a single to left field on a soft liner off reliever Gregory Santos (0-1) and moved to second as Taylor Ward hit a comebacker to the mound. With two outs, Willie Calhoun grounded a run-scoring single to left to make it 1-1. Santos was called for a balk and then left the game with an apparent lower-body injury suffered on Ward’s grounder. Trent Thornton entered and gave up the hit to Drury to drive in pinch runner Kevin Piller, but Drury was thrown out trying to stretch his single to left-center into a double.
Both starters pitched well but neither factored into the decision.
Angels starter Griffin Canning allowed just one run on four hits over five innings. The right-hander walked three and struck out six.
Canning’s only big mistake came as Haniger led off the bottom of the second inning by hitting a 3-1 fastball just over the fence in right-center. It was Haniger’s ninth homer of the season.
Seattle right-hander Luis Castillo pitched six scoreless innings. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out seven.
The Mariners loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth but failed to score. Jorge Polanco led off with a double down the first-base line, Haniger walked and Jason Vosler lined a single to right. Tyler Locklear hit a grounder to third, with Luis Rengifo throwing home to start a double play, and Canning struck out Luke Raley to end the threat.