Randy Arozarena hit two homers and drove in four runs and Cal Raleigh went deep for the major-league-leading 33rd time this season as the Seattle Mariners defeated the visiting Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Monday.
Mariners starter George Kirby (2-4) allowed one run on three hits over six innings as the Mariners earned their second victory in a row and their sixth in the past nine games. The right-hander didn’t walk a batter and struck out five.
The Royals lost for the eighth time in nine games.
Kansas City starter Michael Wacha (4-8) cruised through the first 3 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on one hit, before Arozarena went deep to right-center to tie the score at 1-all.
The Mariners broke the tie with four runs in the fifth. Cole Young, J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez began the inning with singles to load the bases. Raleigh gave Seattle the lead with a sacrifice fly to right before Arozarena hit a three-run shot to center to make it 5-1.
Wacha went five innings and allowed five runs on eight hits, with two walks and one strikeout.
Raleigh added to the Mariners’ lead with a blast to center leading off the bottom of the seventh against Royals reliever Daniel Lynch IV.
Bobby Witt Jr. drove in both runs for the Royals, who have scored just 20 runs over their past nine games — with nine of those coming in their lone victory in that span.
Kansas City scored its first run with a two-out rally in the third inning. Kyle Isbel and Johnathan India singled before Witt hit a liner off the glove of diving second baseman Cole Young to plate Isbel.
The Royals added a run in the eighth off Trent Thornton after loading the bases with one out as John Rave singled, Isbel walked and India was hit by a pitch. Rave scored as Witt grounded into a forceout.
–Field Level Media
