SEATTLE (AP) - Ryon Healy was more exhausted than jubilant as teammates chased him into the outfield.
Don’t worry, the Seattle Mariners were plenty happy.
“I think with the walk-off, it was more so just like, ’We get to go home, we’re really happy, we won the game,’” Healy said.
Healy’s single just fair down the left-field line scored Kyle Seager with the winning run in the 11th inning, giving the Mariners a wild 9-8 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.
Seattle was the last team in the majors to play an extra-inning game and made up for the lengthy drought by rallying twice in extras to answer the Angels. Healy provided the decisive blow, his third hit in the final four innings.
“With our lineup, it’s just a matter of getting somebody on base. When it gets rolling, you can feel it, it’s a momentum thing, the confidence,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “And it doesn’t matter who really is in the box, guys feel good about it.”
Both teams staged rallies in the eighth and ninth innings, and Seattle overcame runs by the Angels in the 10th and 11th.
The Angels took the lead in the 11th when Andrelton Simmons was safe on an infield single with two outs, allowing Mike Trout to score - the second straight inning the Angels took the lead with two outs.
Seattle answered immediately both times. In the 11th, Robinson Cano walked against Jim Johnson (2-1) leading off and with one out scored from first on Seager’s double that one-hopped the wall in right-center field.
Eduardo Paredes replaced Johnson, and Healy turned on an 0-1 pitch, pulling it down the line. Zack Cozart made a diving attempt, but the ball ricocheted off his glove, and Seager scored with ease.
“Give those (the Mariners) credit. They kept battling back. We kept getting the lead, and we just couldn’t make that big pitch when we needed it to try to hold the lead,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “Our bullpen went out there and just had a little bit of trouble putting guys away. Those guys didn’t miss many mistakes.”
It was a wild final few innings with clutch hits on both sides. None was bigger than Justin Upton’s two-out, two-run home run in the ninth off Seattle closer Edwin Diaz. Upton stunned the crowd with a two-strike homer to tie it at 6. The Angels stayed alive when Trout’s double fell just fair down the left-field line, then Diaz left his two-strike slider in the middle of the plate and Upton didn’t miss, hitting it out to center field for his sixth homer of the season.
While Upton’s homer sent the game to extras, it was Mike Zunino’s two-run home run that gave Seattle the lead in the eighth inning after trailing 4-0.
“Anytime we can pick up our pitching staff like we did today; they’ve been outstanding for us and what we want to be as a team is pick one another up and everyone answered from top to bottom,” Zunino said.
The Angels took the lead in the 10th on Chris Young’s two-out single to shallow center field to score Cozart, only to see Seattle pull even in the bottom of the inning as Ben Gamel singled and eventually scored on Jefry Marte’s throwing error trying to get Jean Segura at first base.
The Angels took the lead again in the 11th, although Simmons’ hit traveled all of 70 feet. Third baseman Seager made a tough play on the slow chopper, but Simmons beat the throw and Trout scored. Trout opened the inning with a walk against Eric Goeddel (1-0), who struggled to throw strikes but got the victory.
NO RAIN
Fans and players got a little wet during the fifth inning as a brief glitch kept Safeco Field’s retractable roof from closing after rain showers suddenly popped up in the area. It was mostly light showers but enough to get seats wet and send fans scrambling briefly for the concourses. By the time the roof started closing, most of the rain had passed.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: RHP Matt Shoemaker (right forearm strain) came out of his most recent bullpen session with no problems and is slated to have another one Sunday. “He felt really good. That was a good sign. Put good effort into it. No residual effects so hopefully he’s on the right track,” manager Mike Scioscia said. Shoemaker has been on the disabled list since the first week of the season.
Mariners: RHP Dan Altavilla is expected to start a rehab assignment at Double-A Arkansas early next week. Altavilla was placed on the disabled list on May 1 with AC joint inflammation in his right shoulder.
UP NEXT
Angels: Shohei Ohtani (2-1) returns to the mound after missing his previously scheduled start due to an ankle sprain. Ohtani last pitched on April 24.
Mariners: Felix Hernandez (4-2) goes for his fourth win in his past five starts. Hernandez is 3-1 with a 3.99 ERA in his past five outings.
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