Home runs help Seattle Mariners past Blue Jays 7-4

SEATTLE – Omar Narvaez and J.P. Crawford homered, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 on Friday night for their fifth win in six games.

Narvaez led off the second inning with his 18th homer and Crawford did the same leading off the fifth, belting his sixth of the year.

Seattle took the lead for good in the sixth, scoring three times with just one hit as Toronto’s bullpen struggled to throw strikes. Toronto used five relievers and issued seven walks in four innings of relief.

Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager continued his hot August at the plate with doubles in consecutive at-bats along with a pair of walks. Seager started the day hitting .323 with eight homers and 18 RBIs this month.

Teoscar Hernandez had two hits and two RBIs and Bo Bichette collected three hits, but the Blue Jays were stymied by Seattle’s bullpen.

Five Mariners relievers combined to allow four hits and an unearned run. Matt Wisler (3-2) got the victory and Matt Magill worked the ninth for his third save.

Seattle’s bottom of the sixth took 30 minutes. It featured three runs, three Toronto pitchers, two run-scoring wild pitches and just one hit. Nine batters came to the plate and only a sliding catch by Hernandez in center field kept the damage from being any worse.

Sam Gaviglio (4-2) recorded just two outs. He walked three and was charged with three runs.

Seattle rookie Justus Sheffield struggled early in his first major league start. Sheffield allowed a pair of runs in the first inning as Toronto sent eight batters to the plate and left the bases loaded. Sheffield rebounded and allowed one run and three hits the rest of his outing, but his high pitch count ended his night after just four innings.

Tuesday showdown

Manager Scott Servais said left-hander Yusei Kikuchi will move back into the rotation on Tuesday night when the Mariners host the New York Yankees. His opponent on the mound: fellow Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka in a matchup that is sure to draw plenty of attention in Japan.

Kikuchi was skipped this turn in the rotation in order for Sheffield to start. Kikuchi threw a two-hitter in his last start.

With Kikuchi returning to the rotation and the additions of Sheffield and Felix Hernandez, the Mariners will move lefty Wade LeBlanc to the bullpen.