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Seattle Mariners

Tom Murphy, Austin Nola lead Mariners to 9-3 win over Rays

Seattle Mariners' Tom Murphy (2) shakes hands with third base coach Chris Prieto (13) after Murphy hit a three-run home run off Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Brendan McKay during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 19, 2019, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Chris O'Meara / Associated Press)
By Mark Didtler Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Tom Murphy homered twice and drove in four runs, Austin Nola also went deep and had three RBIs, and the Seattle Mariners beat the playoff-contending Tampa Bay Rays 9-3 on Monday night.

Murphy, who had three hits and a walk, hit a three-run drive in the first inning and added a solo shot in the fifth. He has 15 homers in 52 games.

Nola had a two-run homer during a four-run second off Rays two-way player Brendan McKay (2-3) and had an RBI single in the fourth.

Marco Gonzales (13-10) went five innings, giving up three runs and five hits to get the win.

Tommy Pham and Austin Meadows homered for Tampa Bay, which is 2-2 on a six-game homestand against Detroit and Seattle. The Rays had their lead over Oakland for the second AL wild card cut to one game.

Tampa Bay dropped to 33-30 at home, which matched the total number of losses at Tropicana Field (51-30) all of last season.

McKay struggled again, allowing seven runs, three hits and three walks over two innings. The lefty was coming off an outing last Tuesday at San Diego where he gave up four runs, five hits and six walks in four innings.

The Rays used five relievers before turning to infielder Mike Brosseau, who worked a perfect ninth.

Murphy’s homer in the first was set up by consecutive one-out walks to J.P Crawford and Nola.

Crawford had an RBI single and Nola hit a two-run shot in the second that helped put the Mariners up 7-1.

Pham got his third homer in five games leading off the first. Meadows had a two-run drive in the fifth.