SEATTLE — Just when it seemed the Seattle Mariners hit rock bottom Wednesday night, they hit back with four two-out runs in the eighth inning in a rousing 8-7 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Jean Segura pulled a two-run single through the left side after Jarrod Dyson served a two-run double into short right field.
And this time, after two failed attempts earlier this season, Edwin Diaz closed out a victory over the Angels. He gave up a two-out homer to Kole Calhoun before ending the game.
Maybe this gets the Mariners turned around.
Before their four-run rally, the Mariners appeared headed toward an appalling loss. They carried a 4-0 lead into the sixth inning behind Hisashi Iwakuma — and everything fell apart.
Let’s back up.
Iwakuma sailed through the first four innings but wasn’t the same after getting hit in the left knee by an Andrelton Simmons liner to start the fifth inning. Iwakuma finished the inning but failed to get an out in the sixth.
Let’s back up further.
The Mariners were leading just 1-0 entering the fifth. That run came on a two-out homer in the first inning by Robinson Cano against Angels starter Ricky Nolasco.
Segura’s two-run homer keyed a three-run fifth that knocked out Nolasco and stretched the lead to 4-0 before the Angels went nuclear in the sixth.
Calhoun started the LA comeback with a leadoff double to right, and Mike Trout followed with a 412-foot bomb to center. When Albert Pujols lined a single, manager Scott Servais went to the bullpen for Emilio Pagan.
It was Pagan’s major-league debut and didn’t go well.
Luis Valbuena floated a single to right that moved Pujols to third. Simmons then sent a drive to deep left that Guillermo Heredia caught above the wall. It was a sacrifice fly instead of a three-run homer.
It was also a temporary reprieve.
Ben Revere and Cliff Pennington followed with line-drive singles, which tied the game and put runners at first and third with still only one out. Servais replaced Pagan with Nick Vincent.
The Angels tried to squeeze a run home with a bunt by Martin Maldonado, but first baseman Danny Valencia grabbed the ball and tagged Maldonado as Revere held and Pennington moved to second.
Maldonado apparently didn’t like the tag, said something to Valencia, and the exchange quickly escalated with both benches and bullpen briefly emptying.
Order restored, Escobar rocked a two-run double off the center-field wall. The Angels led 6-4.