Field Level Media
Aug 31, 2020
Marco Gonzales threw a complete-game four-hitter to lift the Seattle Mariners to a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels Monday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.
The Mariners left-hander allowed only a leadoff home run to Justin Upton in the second inning, but had to survive a difficult ninth inning to finish it off.
After Upton's home run, Gonzales retired the next 21 consecutive Angels hitters, and sat on 92 pitches headed to the ninth. But in the ninth, pinch hitter Shohei Ohtani led off with a single and Andrelton Simmons followed with a single, bringing up Mike Trout.
Trout, who struck out in his first three at-bats, hit a line drive to third baseman Kyle Seager, who threw to second, doubling up Ohtani. Anthony Rendon followed with a four-pitch walk, but Albert Pujols popped out to shortstop to end it.
For Gonzales, who finished with 102 pitches, it was his second career complete game, the last one coming in June of 2018 against Kansas City. Gonzales (4-2) struck out eight and walked one.
The Mariners didn't get much offense either, but they didn't need it. Joseph Odom's RBI single in the third inning provided Seattle with its first run, and Jose Marmolejos homered in the sixth off Angels reliever Matt Andriese (1-2) to give the Mariners a margin for victory.
The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Upton got ahold of a 1-2 changeup from Gonzales, hitting it over the fence in center field for a home run, his fourth of the season.
Upton lately has shown signs of breaking out of a season-long slump. With his homer on Monday, he is 5 for 16 with two homers in his last five games.
The Mariners tied the game at 1-1 in the third. Jake Fraley led off with a triple into the right-field corner, and he scored on a single by Odom off Angels starter Jaime Barria.
Barria was removed from the game after a one-out walk to J.P. Crawford in the fifth. In 4 1/3 innings, Barria allowed one run on five hits and two walks, striking out three.
--Field Level Media