Thursday, September 25, 2014

LoMo's two blasts keep Mariners' playoff hopes alive

TORONTO -- Logan Morrison's strong stretch run continued Thursday as the big left fielder ripped a pair of home runs in the Mariners' 7-5 victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, helping Seattle snap a five-game skid to keep its slim playoff hopes afloat.
Both of Morrison's blasts gave Seattle a lead -- the second one for good -- and Mike Zunino added a solo shot as the Mariners ended a rough 11-game road trip on a positive note after being outscored 43-10 the previous five days.
The Mariners finished 4-7 on their cross-country trek, and Morrison came up huge again with four RBIs as Seattle stayed alive for another day -- mathematically, at least -- for one of the American League's two Wild Card berths.
The Mariners improved to 84-75, putting them 2 1/2 games back of the A's and Royals (both 86-72) with three games remaining at home against the Angels. Oakland plays at Texas and Kansas City is at the White Sox in late games Thursday. Any combination of two Seattle losses or two victories by both of those two teams would eliminate the Mariners.
Despite the late-season stumble, Seattle finished the year with a 46-35 road record, the second-most road wins for a season in franchise history.
Kyle Seager had a pair of run-scoring singles to raise his team-leading RBI total to 96. Seager's first base hit ended Seattle's 18-inning scoreless streak in the fourth and Morrison followed moments later with a three-run shot to center on the first pitch he saw from Blue Jays reliever Todd Redmond.
It was Morrison's second three-run blast on the road trip, having ended a scoreless duel in Anaheim with a ninth-inning homer in a 3-1 win seven days earlier. After Toronto tied the game back up at 4, Morrison came through again with a solo shot leading off the sixth.
Five of Morrison's 11 home runs have come in September, when he's hit .328 (21-for-64) with seven doubles and 10 RBIs to raise his season average to .256 with 37 RBIs overall.
Zunino followed Morrison's sixth-inning homer with a blast of his own as the 23-year-old extended his club record for home runs by a catcher to 22.
Both teams went with bullpen days on the mound. Seattle's Tom Wilhelmsen, making his second spot start of the year, lasted just 1 1/3 innings while giving up a pair of runs on two hits and two walks. Yoervis Medina, the fifth of nine Mariners pitchers on the day, was credited with the win.
Fernando Rodney, making just his second appearance in the last 12 days, gave up a leadoff homer in the ninth to Kevin Pillar before finishing off his AL-leading 47th save, extending his club record.

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