Three times over the past two months, the Seattle Mariners had a chance to climb over the .500 mark.
They finally succeeded Saturday on their fourth try.
Julio Rodriguez hit one of Seattle’s four solo home runs and Bryan Woo pitched seven scoreless innings as the Mariners defeated the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 Saturday.
The Mariners will go for a three-game sweep of the interleague series Sunday afternoon.
Luke Raley, Dominic Canzone and Colt Emerson also went deep as the Mariners won their fifth game in a row and moved above .500 (30-29) for the first time since they were 3-2 on March 30.
“It feels like things are clicking and finally going our way,” said Rodriguez, a notoriously slow starter whose 10 homers in May are the most he’s hit in a month in his career.
Woo allowed just two hits, both in the fifth inning, and matched his season high with nine strikeouts.
“When you’re scuffling and not playing up to your standards, you look a bunch of different ways of what do we need to change and what do we need to do,” Woo said. “Sometimes it’s just like taking a step back and trying to just relax and let your game come out on its own.”
The Diamondbacks had won five consecutive games and 10 of 12 entering this series.
They avoided the shutout in the ninth when Geraldo Perdomo walked with two outs, took second on defensive indifference and scored from there on a passed ball when Mariners reliever Alex Hoppe failed to cover the plate.
“We’re a good offensive team and I always feel like we can beat those types of guys at any point in time but today was his game,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said of facing Woo. “I thought that after the first go-around we would get a little bit better but he got better. He did a really nice job of moving the ball around the zone. … There were some good swings and I thought there were a couple moments that we built some innings but it was late. I think it was too little too late.”
The Diamondbacks played without third baseman Nolan Arenado, who was a late scratch for “precautionary reasons.” Arenado, who has been dealing with groin tightness, was hit in the back of the left elbow by a 97.8 mph fastball from Mariners closer Andres Munoz in the ninth inning Friday night.
“He was (available). I talked to him prior to the game. He said he’d let me know in the fourth or fifth inning when he gets loose but there was never really any need for him,” Lovullo said. “He wants to play and he’s in the lineup (Sunday). I already made the lineup for tomorrow and he said he wants to play third base and he’s excited to get back in there.”
The series finale will feature a pair of right-handers in Arizona’s Merrill Kelly (5-3, 5.25 ERA) against Seattle’s Bryce Miller (1-0, 2.25).
Kelly has won his past four starts. He defeated host San Francisco 6-2 Monday by allowing two runs on four hits over seven innings, with four strikeouts. Kelly is 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in three career starts against Seattle.
Miller pitched five innings of relief in a piggyback situation with Luis Castillo to get a 9-2 victory against the Athletics on Monday in West Sacramento, Calif. He gave up two runs on five hits with four strikeouts.
This will be Miller’s first time facing the Diamondbacks.
-Field Level Media
