By: Seattle Mariners
MARYVALE, Ariz. – Trailing 4-3 with two outs and nobody on base in the eighth inning, the Mariners scored three quick runs on a combination of patience and power to claim their second consecutive come-from-behind win by a 6-5 final over the Milwaukee Brewers in front of 1,732 at Maryvale Baseball Park in Cactus League play. Seattle has now won four straight overall.
Eric Thames started the pivotal eighth inning with a two-out walk off of Milwaukee closer John Axford. Thames stole second, then came home on a game-tying double off the bat of left fielder Carlos Peguero. Justin Smoak followed with a two-run homer to give the Mariners a 6-4 lead. The blast to right field was Smoak's second homer of the spring. He's batting .556 (5-for-9) with a double, 2 HR and 4 RBI in his first three games.
After falling behind 2-0 in the bottom of the second, the Mariners answered with three runs on back-to-back home runs from Franklin Gutierrez (#1) and Michael Saunders (#1) in the top of the third. Gutierrez's ball carried over the hitters backdrop in straightaway centerfield.
The Mariners collected 10 hits, including three homers and two doubles, and now has a combined 50 hits (23 extra base hits) during their current four-game winning streak.
Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma worked a 1-2-3 first inning in his 2013 Cactus League debut. Joe Saunders allowed two runs on three hits in his first inning of work this spring, and Oliver Perez (1.0 IP, 1 ER) and Kameron Loe (2.0 IP, 1 ER) each allowed a run, as well. Carson Smith (1-0) picked up the win with a shutout inning, and Danny Farquhar notched his first save with an impressive 1-2-3 ninth that featured two strikeouts.
The Mariners (4-1) will play the second of three straight road games tomorrow (Wednesday, February 27), travelling to Goodyear, AZ, to take on the Cleveland Indians in Cactus League play at 12:05 PT/1:05 MT. The game will be broadcast in the Seattle area on 710 ESPN Seattle and the Mariners Radio Network, delayed to 7 pm (PT); it is available live and free of charge online via Mariners.com. Left-handed pitcher Danny Hultzen is scheduled to start for the Mariners against Cleveland right-hander Brett Myers.
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