Road Warriors – Mariners Top Angels for Winner’s Bracket

Being the last seed in the American League means the Seattle Mariners play all of their Tournament games on the road. That hasn’t slowed them down. Edgar Martinez and Álex Rodríguez provided the offense, and Freddy García was great in all but one inning, as the Mariners topped the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 to become the 1st 4-0 team. Martinez set the stage with a leadoff home run off Nolan Ryan to start the game. He then walked and scored in the 3rd and 5th innings thanks to RBI singles by Rodríguez. The Angels finally pulled ahead with 4 runs on 5 hits in a rough 5th inning for García. He had allowed just one hit til then. But Rodríguez had another RBI single to tie the game in the 7th, and Martinez hit a go-ahead solo shot in the 8th. Facing 1st and 3rd with one out, reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki struck out Vlad Guerrero and Darin Erstad to end the inning. J.J. Putz pitched a perfect 9th to seal the win, sending the Angels to the Loser’s Bracket. Martinez finished 2 for 3 with 2 HR, 2 RBI, and 4 runs scored. Rodríguez was 3 for 5 with 3 RBI. The Mariners will have some time off to prepare as the remaining teams battle it out through the Tournament.

Seattle @ Los Angeles (A) – 10/4/23