Right-hander Alex Cobb pitched six strong innings, and the Baltimore Orioles rallied to defeat host Seattle 5-3 Tuesday night following a pregame skirmish in the Mariners' clubhouse.
Cobb (5-15) allowed one run on four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out two as the Orioles snapped a four-game losing streak.
Renato Nunez's solo homer leading off the seventh sparked a four-run inning.
The Mariners, whose playoff chances are diminishing by the day, showed most of their fight before the game.
Second baseman Dee Gordon asked all members of the media to leave the clubhouse during a time when it is normally open. Shortly thereafter, yelling could be heard and a dogpile briefly pushed the clubhouse doors open with some players on the ground, according to multiple media outlets.
Manager Scott Servais addressed the media after the incident.
"Things happen in a clubhouse," Servais said. "Certainly how our season has played out, we just haven't been consistent. And the frustration mounts from a number of different places."
Left-hander Wade LeBlanc pitched six scoreless innings for the Mariners before Baltimore rallied against the Seattle bullpen.
Nunez opened the seventh by hitting a 3-2 pitch from right-hander Adam Warren (2-2) over the fence in left-center field, tying the score at 1-1. It was Nunez's fourth homer of the season.
Pinch hitter Cedric Mullins lined a single to left field, and Breyvic Valera followed with a line-drive single to right, ending Warren's brief night.
Left-hander Zach Duke got Austin Wynns to line out to right field for the first out of the inning. Jonathan Villar grounded a run-scoring single to left, breaking the tie.
Joey Rickard greeted right-hander Nick Vincent with a sacrifice fly to right field, and then Trey Mancini lined a double to right to score Villar and make it 4-1.
The Mariners scored twice in the eighth.
With one out, Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz singled, and Denard Span walked to load the bases off left-hander Paul Fry. Right-hander Mychal Givens got Ryon Healy to ground to short for a potential inning-ending double play, but second baseman Valera's throw to first was errant, allowing two runs to score.
After an intentional walk to Kyle Seager, Givens struck out pinch hitter Chris Herrmann on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning.
Chris Davis' run-scoring single in the ninth extended Baltimore's lead to 5-3, Givens set down the side in order in the ninth to close out his sixth save.
Cano homered in the first inning, his seventh of the year.
--Field Level Media
Baltimore | Seattle | |
Alex Cobb | Player | Wade LeBlanc |
Win | W/L | No Decision |
6.0 | IP | 6.0 |
2 | Strikeouts | 4 |
4 | Hits | 6 |
1.50 | ERA | 0.00 |
Baltimore | Seattle | |
Renato Nunez | Player | Robinson Cano |
3 | Hits | 3 |
1 | RBI | 1 |
1 | HR | 1 |
6 | TB | 6 |
.750 | Avg | 1.000 |