 got the win with two scoreless innings in relief of Justin Dunn, who struggled with control issues. Seattle used six relievers the day before a doubleheader at home.''We tried to give our team every opportunity to win the ballgame,'' Mariners manager Scott Servais said. ''It happens. It's a crazy season. Certainly a day heading into a doubleheader you would like to get a little bit more length out of our starter. It didn't happen, we've got to adjust on the fly and that's what we'll do.'' Josh VanMeter had two hits for Arizona, including an RBI double. Luke Weaver (1-7) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings.Walton put Seattle ahead to stay with a run-scoring groundout in the second. He had a big hit against Travis Bergen with two out in the sixth, hitting a two-run double to give the Mariners a 4-1 lead.''You try to do anything you can to help the team win,'' Walton said. ''All I was trying to do was just keep it short. Just get a pitch to drive for the most part.'' Arizona got two back in the seventh on Christian Walker's forceout and Kole Calhoun's sacrifice fly. But Ervin hit an RBI double in Seattle's two-run eighth and Kyle Lewis added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.Last-place Arizona lost for the 20th time in its last 24 games.''Overall, the entire day, we weren't winning that first-pitch battle and that was a big difference in the line score,'' Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. ''They scored several runs with leadoff walks, and that's the name of the game.'' The Mariners jumped in front on Marmolejos' two-out RBI double in the first, driving in Kyle Seager.The Diamondbacks tied it at 1 with Josh Rojas' hustle around the bases. Rojas slid home just ahead of the tag on VanMeter's double to right-center in the first.Dunn walked five in two innings. He allowed one hit and struck out five.IN THE HUNTThe Mariners are in the mix for second in the AL West and a spot in the postseason. They were two games behind Houston after Sunday's win. Oakland is on top of the division.''We continue to get better, working hard. We've got some interesting series coming up, some teams that have got winning records,'' Servais said. ''But our guys are looking forward to it. They're not afraid of anything.'' LOSING SEASON CLINCHEDThe Diamondbacks, with a 17-31 record, assured themselves of a losing season in 2020 with 12 games left. It's the first one under general manager Mike Hazen and Lovullo, who both arrived before the 2017 season.''It means we've got to be better,'' Lovullo said. ''It means I'm going to need to go back and evaluate a lot of the things that happened, a lot of the things I did. I'm not going to use 60 games as an excuse. We knew it. We knew the ground rules. It may have been different, but we had plenty of time to get used to it. It's humbling but it's going to make us better.'' AIR QUALITY CHECKServais said the club is monitoring the air quality in Seattle, which has been unhealthy due to smoke from wildfires throughout the Pacific Northwest. It could affect whether the Mariners play a scheduled doubleheader at home Monday.''Sounds like the weather may get a little bit better, Servais said. ''We just have to wait and see what brings (Monday) at the ballpark.'' TRAINER'S ROOMDiamondbacks: RHP Zac Gallen, who worked five innings Saturday, has been dealing with a fingernail problem on his right middle finger, Lovullo said. Gallen has been Arizona's most consistent starter this season. Lovullo said the effect the fingernail had on Gallen's pitching was ''minimal.'' UP NEXTMariners: Head home for a makeup doubleheader with the Athletics. A three-game series at home with Oakland was postponed earlier this month due to a positive test for COVID-19 among the A's traveling party. LHP Marco Gonzales (5-2, 3.02 ERA) starts the opener for the Mariners, with the second game to be a collection of relievers with an opener.Diamondbacks: After Monday's off day, LHP Madison Bumgarner (0-4, 7.52 ERA) is scheduled to start for Arizona in Anaheim on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
France likes life as Mariner, looks to keep hitting vs. DiamondbacksTy France is one of the new Seattle Mariners, having arrived on Aug. 31 in a trade with the San Diego Padres.He has been facing National League teams that he was familiar with early in his time with the Mariners. This weekend it has been the Arizona Diamondbacks, against whom France has hit home runs in consecutive games.And France is playing every day. He has been in the lineup in all eight games since joining the Mariners, a streak that began Sept. 4. The Mariners and Diamondbacks wrap up their regular-season series Sunday afternoon in Phoenix."It's been nice getting the consistent at-bats," France said after Seattle's 7-3 win on Saturday. "Getting settled at the plate has made a huge difference. It's definitely a confidence thing just knowing you're going to get the start the next day regardless of if you're 4 for 4 or 0 for 4. Just building off that momentum." The Mariners (20-25) also scored seven runs off one of the top starting pitchers in baseball on Saturday, Zac Gallen of the Diamondbacks.Gallen hadn't allowed more than three runs in any of the first 23 starts of his career until he allowed four in five innings at San Francisco on Monday, and he had been particularly stingy at home."Our guys did a really good job of controlling the strike zone," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "We really made him make pitches." The Mariners have come to Chase Field and hit the ball hard consistently in consecutive games."It's not just one guy. It's a number of guys chipping in there," Servais said, "and that's what it's going to take." Right-hander Justin Dunn (3-1, 4.09 ERA) gets the start Sunday. Dunn, also 24, will be making his first career start against Arizona. In three starts against National League teams, he has no wins or losses and a 15.43 ERA in 4 2/3 innings.The Diamondbacks (17-30) seek their first series win since a three-game sweep of the Padres on Aug. 14-16. Their bullpen has been effective of late despite their record, with three earned runs allowed in 18 innings over the last four games.That's good for a shiny 1.50 ERA."The bullpen continues to be an area that even though there are some moving parts down there, they seem to take the ball when asked and go out and execute a game plan," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "They've been real solid for us." Arizona concludes its second-to-last homestead of the regular season Sunday with right-hander Luke Weaver (1-6, 7.12 ERA) on the mound. Weaver has a 4.30 ERA in his last five starts, having lowered it from an 11.85 ERA from 18 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings pitched in his first four.Weaver is set to make his first career start against the Mariners.The Diamondbacks are 5-10 in series finales this season, 1-23 in games in which they've scored three or fewer runs, and 5-7 in day games.The Mariners are 7-4 in the third game of a series and 5-2 on Sundays this season.--Field Level Media
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Seattle Mariners
Arizona Diamondbacks
Pick Center
MLB
FINAL (9/13/2020)
TomBartonSports
