The Los Angeles Angels opened a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night with a 5-4 win to keep pace in the hunt for a Wild Card berth.
The Halos struck first, plating two quick runs in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single from Albert Pujols and a sacrifice fly from Alberto Callaspo.
The Mariners did not get on the board until the top of the fourth inning, when Justin Smoak hit a solo home run. The Angels got another two runs in the bottom of the fifth as Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer to make it 4-1 and continue his red-hot streak down the stretch. Erick Aybar stretched the lead out to 5-1 in the sixth with a home run of his own.
Although Zack Greinke left the game in just the fifth inning due to a high pitch count, he struck out 13 Mariners batters and allowed just two walks. Although Greinke gave up seven hits, he held Seattle to one run on the Smoak home run.In all, the Los Angeles pitchers struck out a whopping 20 Seattle batters, besting Nolan Ryan's franchise record for most strikeouts in a single game.
The Mariners were once again able to cut the Halos' lead to one run in the top of the seventh as they scored three runs on an RBI double from Franklin Gutierrez and a two-run homer from Smoak. Smoak's two home runs in the game came from both sides of the plate.
Ernesto Frieri was able to pick up the save to seal the Angels win and keep their postseason hopes alive.