Mariners topple Brewers to extend winning streak to three
MILWAUKEE –J.P. Crawford has relied on a simple approach that has him in quite a groove.
Crawford had three hits and three RBIs, and Wade LeBlanc struck out six in five innings to help the Seattle Mariners beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 Wednesday night for their third straight win.
“I’m just trying to be on time, not miss my pitch,” said Crawford, who is batting .368 (21 for 64) with 11 extra-base hits and a 1.1045 OPS over his last 18 games. “Just trying to hit the ball back up the middle.”
Crawford put Seattle on the board with an RBI double in the first inning and then made it a 3-0 game with a run-scoring triple in the second.
Those runs came at the expense of Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser, who had earned a spot start with an impressive showing out of the bullpen over the past few weeks.
Houser (2-2) allowed three runs and four hits. He walked three and struck out four.
“He just didn’t have command of his fastball from the get-go tonight,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “That was basically it. We were thinking of 60 to 70 pitches and he kind of just ate them up right away.”
Houser had excelled in a relief role for Milwaukee but found himself in an early hole as Mallex Smith opened the night with a leadoff triple then scored on Crawford’s double.
Freddy Peralta came on in the third inning and struck out five while allowing two hits and a pair of walks over four scoreless innings.
Mariners opener Matt Carasiti needed just 18 pitches to get through his one inning. LeBlanc (5-2) took over in the second and kept Milwaukee off the board until Mike Moustakas led off the sixth with his 23rd home run.
Ben Gamel got the Brewers to 3-2 when he hit a line drive down the left-field line that bounced around, allowing him to score on an inside-the-park home run – the first by a Brewer since Tyler Saladino did it on May 14, 2018, at Arizona, and the first at Miller Park since Orlando Arcia on June 17, 2017, against the Padres.
“It happens,” LeBlanc said. “Fortunately, it was less runs than they gave up.”
LeBlanc allowed five hits and a walk in five innings. With the right-handed-hitting Jesus Aguilar set to lead off the seventh, the Mariners turned to right-hander Austin Adams, who left the tying run stranded when he struck out Christian Yelich.
Crawford struck again in the ninth, driving in Mallex Smith with a two-out double off Jeremy Jeffress, and Rolenis Elias worked two scoreless innings for his 10th save of the season.
“Good ball game,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We had just enough offense to get it done, but the key was really the pitching. A nice night for our bullpen again and Wade LeBlanc was really sharp, too.”
The M’s go for the sweep today when RHP Mike Leake (7-6, 4.54 ERA) faces off against Chase Anderson (3-2, 4.70 ERA).