Logan Evans pitched five solid innings to win his major league debut and Cal Raleigh hit his American League-leading 10th home run of the season as the Seattle Mariners defeated the visiting Miami Marlins 7-6 in an interleague game Sunday afternoon.
J.P. Crawford also went deep for the AL West-leading Mariners, who won their sixth consecutive series.
Mariners closer Andres Munoz worked the ninth for his AL-best 10th save. Munoz has yet to allow a run in 14 appearances.
Miami’s Agustin Ramirez homered twice and Connor Norby once. It capped a remarkable first week in the majors for Ramirez, who batted 9 for 19 with four doubles, three home runs and five RBIs with a 1.682 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
Evans, recalled from Triple-A Tacoma after M’s ace Logan Gilbert went on the 15-day injured list with a Grade 1 strain of the flexor in his right elbow, allowed two hits, walked three and struck out three. The only hits the right-hander allowed were a first-inning solo shot to Ramirez to deep left-center and a leadoff single to Norby in the fifth.
Raleigh’s towering solo homer to right with two outs in the bottom of the first evened the score at 1-1 and tied him with Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez for the major league lead.
The Mariners took the lead for good with three runs in the second off Marlins right-hander Max Meyer (2-3). Crawford lined a one-out single to center and Miles Mastrobuoni and Leo Rivas drew two-out walks. Julio Rodriguez grounded a two-run single into right before Jorge Polanco lined an RBI double to left-center to make it 4-1.
Rivas and Rodriguez walked with two outs in the fourth before Polanco lined a run-scoring single up the middle to extend the lead to 5-1.
Meyer gave up five runs on five hits over four innings, with four walks and six strikeouts.
Norby’s single, a walk to Liam Hicks and a wild pitch put runners in scoring position in the fifth and the Marlins got one run back on Otto Lopez’s groundout.
Crawford answered with a two-run shot to right-center in the bottom of the frame to make it 7-2.
The Mariners needed all of those runs as Ramirez led off the sixth with a blast into the second deck in left off reliever Collin Snyder.
The Marlins pulled within a run in the eighth as Eric Wagaman and Kyle Stowers led off with singles and, and one out later, Norby hit a three-run shot to left off Trent Thornton to make it 7-6.
