Brewers end 6-game skid with late rally at Seattle
SEATTLE -- Milwaukee pinch hitter Scooter Gennett delivered an RBI single in the top of the ninth, capping off a four-run frame as the Brewers rallied from three down to beat the Seattle Mariners 7-6 while snapping a six-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon.
Gennett's lazy fly ball, which fell between Seattle outfielders Norichika Aoki and Leonys Martin on a night when the Mariners misplayed at least two fly balls, brought in Domingo Santana from second base to give the Brewers (53-70) their first lead of the seven-game road trip to Wrigley Field and Safeco Field.
Milwaukee center fielder Keon Broxton had a pair of solo home runs, including a leadoff shot that sparked the four-run ninth. Broxton entered the Seattle series with three home runs on the season, then hit three more in three games against the Mariners.
Seattle (66-57) stormed out to a 6-1 lead but gave all of it back after the fifth.
Ryan Braun's two-out, two-run double in the sixth cut the deficit to 6-3.
On an afternoon when Seattle closer Edwin Diaz was getting a break for the second game in a row, Tom Wilhelmsen filled in and promptly gave up two home runs.
Broxton's leadoff shot cut the Seattle lead to 6-4, then Chris Carter added a one-out, two-run shot that barely cleared the wall in left to tie the score 6-6. Mariners right fielder Shawn O'Malley, a defensive replacement in the ninth, appeared to catch the ball at the top of the fence before collapsing on the warning track. While he writhed around in pain, the players waited for an official call from the umpire. Several seconds passed before first base umpire Chad Fairchild motioned that the ball went over the fence, at which point Carter, who was standing on second base, began his home run trot.
Veteran reliever Vidal Nuno came on to relieve Wilhelmsen after a Santana single, and the left-hander wasn't much better. Nuno gave up back-to-back singles, including an RBI bloop off the bat of Gennett that looked like an easy out but was misplayed by Aoki in left. Aoki took a bad path toward the ball and paused to glance at Martin, who was several feet away, before arriving too late to make the catch.
The ball dropped between Aoki and Martin, allowing Santana to score the go-ahead run from second base for a 7-6 lead.
Seattle got a leadoff single from Ketel Marte in the bottom of the ninth, but he ended up getting stranded on second after three consecutive popups. Robinson Cano's pop fly to short center field ended the game while earning Milwaukee reliever Tyler Thornburg (5-4) the win.
Wilhelmsen (2-4) took the loss after allowing four runs on four hits while retiring just one of the five batters he faced.
Seattle starter Ariel Miranda allowed three runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings in his third start since being acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in a deadline deal.
Mariners right fielder Seth Smith had a pair of hits while driving in two runs. Teammate Robinson Cano added a pair of RBIs on groundouts.
Smith and Cano each had RBIs in the third and fourth innings as the Mariners opened up a five-run lead. Seattle took advantage of an error on pitcher Matt Garza during a three-run third, then the Mariners added three more in the bottom of the fourth.
Smith, Cano and shortstop Ketel Marte had RBIs in the third, followed by RBIs from Smith, Cano and Nelson Cruz in the fourth.
Seattle chased Garza in the process. Garza allowed six runs, five earned, on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings and was on the hook to take the loss before the Brewers' four-run ninth.
Aoki, who misplayed the Gennett fly ball in the ninth, also appeared to have a chance to take Broxton's first home run away in the fourth. Aoki backpedaled to the warning track but made only a half-hearted jump as the ball barely cleared his glove, and the wall, for a solo shot that cut Seattle's lead to 3-1.
Smith, Aoki, Cruz, Marte and Martin each had two hits for the Mariners, who lost for only the fourth time in 16 games.
NOTES: The Mariners expect to get LHP James Paxton back into the rotation Thursday. Paxton took a line drive off his pitching elbow on Aug. 7 and has been battling a bruise that eventually landed him on the 15-day disabled list. ... Milwaukee's six-game losing streak entering Sunday was the team's longest of the season. The last time the Brewers endured more losses in a row was last September, during an eight-game losing streak. ... Brewers GM David Stearns told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel before Sunday's game that LHP Chris Capuano, a 38-year-old reliever who has been battling elbow problems since late May, won't pitch again this season. ... Milwaukee wrapped up a seven-game road trip Sunday. The Brewers begin their 10-day homestand with a Monday game against Colorado. The Mariners begin a three-game home series against the Yankees on Monday night.