Mariners at Angels
The Seattle Mariners are a major league-best 9-1 on the road as they enter the second contest of their four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. Seattle snapped its six-game losing streak - all at home - with an 11-10 marathon win over the Angels in Thursday's opener.
The slumping Ryon Healy hadn't notched a hit since the previous Thursday before erupting for the eighth multi-homer performance of his career as he went deep twice and drove in five runs in the slugfest. "I got two mistakes and capitalized on them, something I hadn't been doing much of lately, missing my pitches," Healy said in a postgame television interview. "It was really nice to capitalize on the mistakes and help the team win." The Angels have dropped four straight games - one shy of their season-worst skid - and have allowed 33 runs during the stretch. Albert Pujols recorded two RBIs to raise his career count to 1,991 in a game in which Los Angeles rallied from a 10-2 seventh-inning deficit to knot the score before Seattle went ahead on Jay Bruce's pinch-hit single in the ninth.
TV: 10:07 p.m. ET, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), FS West (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Marco Gonzales (4-0, 3.19 ERA) vs. Angels RH Felix Pena (0-1, 3.65)
Gonzales, who is looking to become the first five-game winner in the majors, settled for a no-decision in his last outing after he gave up two runs and five hits over 5 1/3 innings against Houston. The 27-year-old's top effort of the season occurred versus the Angels on April 2, when he allowed one run and four hits over 8 1/3 frames in a 2-1 victory. Gonzales is 4-0 with a 2.96 ERA in nine career starts against Los Angeles and has struggled versus Mike Trout (9-for-20, one homer) and Andrelton Simmons (9-for-22) while handcuffing Pujols (2-for-20).
Pena hasn't pitched since April 10, when he allowed one unearned run and three hits over four innings against Milwaukee. The 29-year-old has worked fewer than five frames in all three of his outings but has struck out 12 in 12 1/3 innings. Pena recorded just one out while losing to the Mariners in his lone appearance against them last season as he was torched for seven runs, six hits and two walks in an 8-5 loss.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mariners C Omar Narvaez went 3-for-4 with a homer and a season-best four RBIs in the series opener.
2. Trout (groin) has been unable to play in the field the last four games and is unlikely to do so on Friday.
3. Seattle DH Daniel Vogelbach reached base five times (two singles, three walks) and scored twice on Thursday.