SEATTLE (AP) – Cedric Mullins and Freddy Galvis hit a two-run homer in Baltimore’s five-run eighth inning as the Orioles rallied for a 5-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.
Shut down by Seattle’s bullpen for seven innings; the Orioles broke loose in the eighth. Mullins started it with a shot off Anthony Misiewicz (2-1) to the right-center field, nearly stolen at the wall by right fielder Mitch Haniger. The ball appeared to graze the top of Haniger’s glove as he crashed into the fence.
“I knew it had a chance, and at the same time, I knew it had a chance to stay in,” Mullins said. “When he jumped, I had no visual of what had happened. I saw him jump up, heard the crowd go wild, and thought he had it. But he looked like he wasn’t sure. He was kind of slow to get up.”
It was the first earned run allowed by Misiewicz in his 13th appearance.
“I know I’m out there often, but it’s my job. When my number is called, I have to perform to the best of my ability,” Misiewicz said. “Tonight, I had an off day.”
Maikel Franco added an RBI groundout to score Austin Hays after he doubled, and Galvis followed with the decisive blow, taking Wyatt Mills out to left-center.
Mullins’ homer was his fifth of the season, and Galvis hit his third.
Dean Kremer had arguably the best start of his young career, throwing six innings for Baltimore and allowing two hits and one run. The only blemish was Tom Murphy’s solo homer in the fifth.
“I thought Dean was in control the whole way through. I liked his tempo, and the life of his fastball. Saw some good changeups tonight,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “He pitched highly aggressively tonight, and that was fun to watch. Cole Sulser (1-0) pitched the seventh, but Shawn Armstrong ran into trouble in the eighth. He gave up a two-run homer to Haniger, his eighth of the season. That’s all the Mariners got, though, as Tanner Scott finished the eighth, and César Valdez pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
Seattle has scored three runs or fewer in six of its past nine games.
With injuries to the starting rotation, the Mariners turned to their bullpen to try and navigate the Orioles’ lineup. Erik Swanson started with two perfect innings, and the four relievers that followed continued to blank Baltimore until the eighth. Seattle had not allowed a run in 21 innings before Mullins went deep.
“You never know what will happen in a bullpen game,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “When you use that many, it’s hard for all of them to be perfect when they go out there.”
