Mariners offense explodes in ninth, defeats Angels

It was an offensive showing in the ninth inning Thursday night, as there were a total of eight runs scored. Ultimately, the Mariners’ five runs were the difference maker, as they defeated the Angels 8-5.

Seattle entered the inning up by only a run, but they quickly put the game out of reach. Shed Long led the inning off with a solo homer off of Hansel Robles. After back-to-back walks, J.P. Crawford singled in two runs to push their lead to 6-2. Two more singles from the Mariners gave them the 8-2 lead entering the bottom of the ninth.

The Angels did what they could in the bottom half of the ninth. Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer to cut LA’s deficit to only three. Unfortunately they couldn’t put across any more runs, as they fell 8-5.

On the pitching side of things, Dylan Bundy gave the Angels yet another solid start. After his one-run outing in Oakland last week, he followed it up with a three-run outing tonight. He threw six innings, allowing three runs while striking out eight. Bundy has 15 strikeouts in 12 ²⁄₃ innings this year. Though it’s only been two starts, he’s showed flashes of what made him a No. 4 overall pick nearly a decade ago.

The Angels’ bullpen held the Mariners in check over the next two innings, as Felix Pena and Hoby Miller allowed no runs and combined for two strikeouts. It was the top of the ninth in which Robles allowed four runs and then Kyle Keller allowed a run.

Thursday particulars

WP: Marco Gonzales (1-1) 6 ¹⁄₃ IP, 0 ER, 6 SO

LP: Dylan Bundy (1-1) 6 IP, 3 ER, 8 SO

Home runs: Shohei Ohtani (2), Max Stassi (2), Shed Long Jr. (1), Jose Marmolejos (1)

Up next

The Angels (2-4) welcome the Astros (3-3) to town starting Friday night. Matt Andriese takes the mound for LA and faces off against Lance McCullers Jr. First pitch is at 6:10 p.m. PT.