Martin's power display fuels Mariners past White Sox
SEATTLE -- Leonys Martin belted his second home run of the game in the 11th inning to lift the Seattle Mariners to a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon.
Martin's solo shot gave Seattle (48-47) its second walk-off homer of the series after teammate Adam Lind beat the White Sox in dramatic fashion two days earlier. Martin hit an 0-2 pitch from Chicago reliever Dan Jennings (3-2) for a towering homer to right.
The Mariners had a chance to win the game in the 10th, but White Sox right fielder Adam Eaton threw out Seattle baserunner Nelson Cruz at home plate to end the inning. After Cruz drew a two-out walk, he tried to score from first base on teammate Kyle Seager's double into the right-field corner. Eaton's throw easily beat Cruz, who unsuccessfully tried to sidestep catcher Dioner Navarro.
Chicago third baseman Todd Frazier hit his 28th home run of the season on the way to a 4-0 lead in Seattle starter Felix Hernandez's return to the mound, but the Mariners used three home runs to get back into the game. Lind's solo shot with two outs in the eighth inning tied the score at 5 and allowed Hernandez to get out of his first start since May 27 with a no-decision.
Hernandez allowed five runs off 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings, throwing 94 pitches after being activated from the disabled list earlier in the day. The 30-year-old right-hander went on the DL with a strained calf on June 1.
The White Sox rudely greeted Hernandez back to the mound with a three-run first inning. Frazier hit the first pitch he saw 428 feet for an upper-deck, three-run shot to left field.
Frazier matched Baltimore's Mark Trumbo for the American League lead with 28 home runs.
Chicago's Melky Cabrera, who went 3-for-6 and came a home run short of the cycle, added an RBI single in the top of the second inning to put the White Sox ahead 4-0.
Martin hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to cut the gap to 4-2.
After Chicago (46-48) added another run on Justin Morneau's RBI single in the fifth for a 5-2 lead, Seattle catcher Mike Zunino went deep in the seventh for his third home run of the season -- in only 10 at-bats. Zunino's two-run shot pulled Seattle to within 5-4.
Zunino hit the one-out home run off White Sox reliever Zach Duke, who then hit a batter and issued back-to-back walks before getting Robinson Cano to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Seattle finally pulled even when Lind tied the score 5-5 with an eighth-inning solo shot. Both of Lind's heroic homers in the series came with two outs.
White Sox starter Miguel Gonzalez allowed three runs off four hits over six innings.
Seattle reliever Vidal Nuno (1-1) earned the win after pitching a scoreless top of the 10th.
Chicago's Cabrera had a single, double and triple in his first three at-bats but failed to get another hit over his final three plate appearances to fall short of the cycle.
NOTES: Seattle traded LHP Mike Montgomery to the Chicago Cubs for Triple-A 1B Dan Vogelbach, according to multiple reports. Montgomery has started back-to-back games but was mostly used out of the bullpen this season. Vogelbach, 23, was hitting .318 with 16 home runs and 64 RBIs over 89 games with Triple-A Iowa. ... The Mariners made a series of roster moves before Wednesday's game, the most notable of which was to activate RHP Felix Hernandez from the 15-day disabled list. Seattle also recalled C Mike Zunino and LF Norichika Aoki from Triple-A Tacoma. To make room for the trio of veterans, the Mariners optioned C Jesus Sucre, LHP David Rollins and OF Daniel Robertson to Tacoma. ... White Sox C Alex Avila was scheduled to make his final rehab start at Triple-A on Wednesday and is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list Thursday. ... The Mariners have Thursday off before beginning a three-game series in Toronto on Friday. Chicago opens a series with Detroit on Thursday.