Mitch Garver provided the decisive swing with a solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Seattle Mariners edged the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 on Friday night at T-Mobile Park. The victory extended Seattle’s winning streak to seven games and kept them tied with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West.
Garver entered the night with eight home runs on the season and connected on a high fastball from reliever Connor Brogdon. The drive carried into the left-field bleachers, breaking a 1-1 tie and giving the Mariners just enough offense to support a strong effort from their pitching staff.
Seattle’s first run came in the fourth inning, when Jorge Polanco delivered an RBI double with two strikes and two outs. Polanco turned on a pitch from Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi, sending it down the left-field line to score catcher Cal Raleigh, who had doubled earlier in the frame. The hit extended Polanco’s streak of consecutive games with a double to five, tying the longest active streak in Major League Baseball this season and marking the longest for a Mariners player since Raúl Ibañez recorded six in a row in 2004.
The Angels were shut down through the first six innings before tying the game in the seventh. Logan Davidson doubled to left-center off reliever Carlos Vargas, driving in the tying run and halting Seattle’s momentum briefly. But Garver answered in the bottom of the inning, restoring the Mariners’ advantage with his ninth home run of the year.
The Mariners’ bullpen protected the lead in the late innings. Andrés Muñoz closed the door in the ninth, recording his 35th season save with a scoreless frame. Vargas (5-5) was credited with the win despite giving up the tying run, while Brogdon (3-2) was charged with the loss after surrendering Garver’s homer.
Seattle right fielder Victor Robles made one of the key defensive plays of the night in the sixth inning. With two runners aboard and two outs, he tracked down a drive off the bat of Taylor Ward at the warning track, preventing extra bases and what likely would have been two runs.
Kikuchi allowed one run and five hits across six innings, striking out seven while walking just one. The former Mariners pitcher kept his team in the game, but Los Angeles managed little offensive support. Davidson’s RBI double represented the only breakthrough until Garver’s response in the bottom half of the seventh.
The Mariners, winners of 13 of their last 16 games, remain locked in a division race with Houston, while the Angels continue to search for consistency as the season winds down.
The series resumes Saturday with Los Angeles set to start left-hander Mitch Farris (1-0, 2.45 ERA) against Seattle’s Bryan Woo (13-7, 3.02 ERA). Oddsmakers opened with the Mariners favored at -185 on the moneyline, while the Angels were listed at +155. The projected total runs line was set at 8.
