Seattle Mariners squander 3-0 lead in 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays
TORONTO, CANADA - AUGUST 29: Charles McAdoo #26 of the Toronto Blue Jays slides home to score on a single off the bat of Alejandro Kirk #30 (not pictured) in the sixth inning of their MLB game against the Seattle Mariners at Rogers Centre on August 2 (Cole Burston / Getty Images)
The Mariners squandered a 3-0 lead as the Toronto Blue Jays capitalized on multiple walks from Seattle pitchers to score four unanswered runs in a 4-3 Mariners loss on Saturday.
Kade Anderson ran into trouble in the fifth inning, and two runs scored on an Eduard Bazardo walk and wild pitch to George Springer in the fifth inning. José Ferrer walked two more batters in the sixth before RBI singles from Brett Bateman and Alejandro Kirk gave the Blue Jays the lead.
The backstory:
Cal Raleigh hit his 19th home run of the season for a 1-0 lead in the second inning, and Taylor Ward drove in a pair of runs on a bases loaded single with two outs in the fourth for a 3-0 lead.
José Soriano allowed three runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts over seven innings for Toronto.
Anderson – making his second career start for Seattle – pitched four scoreless innings before the problems began. He allowed one hit and one walk over three innings before leaving a pair of runners stranded in the fourth.
A one-out single by Myles Straw and walk of Brett Bateman ended Anderson's day. Bazardo walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to load the bases and bring George Springer to the plate.
Springer's home run off Bazardo in Game 7 of the ALCS last October was the knockout blow for the Mariners in their pursuit of their first World Series appearance in franchise history. And the matchup went in Toronto's favor again on Saturday. Bazardo walked Springer on a wild pitch that bounced away from Raleigh. While Straw scored with the walk alone, Bateman came racing around from second base attempting to score as well. Bazardo did not appear to recognize the second runner was heading home and made no attempt to place a tag on Bateman on Raleigh's throw as he slid into home.
The only upside for the Mariners is that the Houston Astros also lost on Saturday, 6-2 to the New York Mets, to keep Seattle four games back in the AL West race.
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The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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