Victor Robles and Julio Rodríguez both hit two-run homers in the fifth inning, propelling the Seattle Mariners to a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. Randy Arozarena contributed with a home run against his former team, and pitcher Luis Castillo delivered a solid 5 2/3 innings helping the Mariners secure two wins in the three-game series. The victory keeps Seattle 3 1/2 games behind first-place Houston in the AL West.
This win marks the first time since mid-June that the Mariners have won consecutive series. Back in June, they won three out of four games against the Chicago White Sox and then swept the Texas Rangers in a three-game series. Robles and Rodríguez’s home runs came with two outs against left-handed reliever Tyler Alexander, providing a much-needed boost to the Mariners’ struggling offense.
Dylan Moore set the stage with a double before Robles hit a 385-foot homer into the Tampa Bay bullpen, and J.P. Crawford walked ahead of Rodríguez’s 356-foot shot into left field. The Rays initially took the lead in the second inning with a solo home run by Josh Lowe off Castillo, but the Mariners quickly equalized in the bottom of the inning when Arozarena scored on Luke Raley’s sacrifice fly against starter Drew Rasmussen.
Castillo, who allowed two runs and six hits with two walks and four strikeouts, settled in well after Lowe’s homer, only giving up one more hit until being replaced by Austin Voth in the sixth inning. Arozarena added another solo homer in the eighth inning, recording his second home run of the series. The former AL Rookie of the Year spent over four seasons with the Rays before being traded to Seattle last month.
Voth and Collin Snider combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, and Andrés Muñoz closed the game with a perfect ninth inning, earning his 20th save of the season.