ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Two hours before game time Tuesday night, Cliff Pennington was not in the Los Angeles Angels' starting lineup. But more than three hours after the first pitch, Pennington played the pivotal role in ending the team's longest losing streak since 1999.

The veteran infielder hit a triple in the bottom of the eighth inning to drive Jett Bandy home with the winning run, giving the Angels a 7-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

Bandy, Jefry Marte and Albert Pujols each hit home runs for the Angels, who broke an 11-game losing streak, the longest in manager Mike Scioscia's 17-year tenure.

"It's really good to break a streak like we had," Scioscia said. "But we've got a long way to go. Our challenge is in front of us. We need to play better."

Pujols' homer was his 22nd of the season and the 582nd of his career, putting him within one of Mark McGwire, who holds 10th place all-time. The Angels' designated hitter now has 92 RBIs this year.

Pennington replaced Andrelton Simmons as the starting shortstop when Simmons had to attend to an undisclosed personal matter, then moved to second base in the seventh inning. His game-winning hit came an inning after making a critical error that enabled Seattle to score the tying run.

"In this game, good things, great things, bad things and terrible things are going to happen in the course of a game," Pennington said. "You've got to turn the page as quickly as you can."

The Angels, who relinquished a 5-4 lead in the seventh, scored twice in the bottom of the eighth with two out against reliever Arquimedes Caminero (1-1). Marte forced a 6-6 tie with his ninth home run of the season down the left-field line off Caminero's 97 mph fastball.

Jett Bandy followed with a single to left field, then Pennington hit a triple down the right-field line to bring Bandy home.

"It hadn't been a great night up until that point," Pennington said.

Despite his lack of speed, Bandy remained in the game because he was the Angels' only healthy catcher.

"Our issue was not being able to put a runner in for Jett," Scioscia said. "Jett worked hard to get a secondary lead and on a double, he was going to try to score. I thought Jett did a good job of cutting the bases, even though he wasn't fast."

The Mariners put the potential tying run on base when Robinson Cano began the bottom of the ninth with a bloop single against reliever Fernando Salas. But Salas earned his third save when he made Nelson Cruz hit into a double play and got Kyle Seager to fly out.

Left-hander Brett Oberholtzer received his first American League victory in relief. Oberholtzer (1-0) allowed one hit and recorded one strikeout in his lone inning of work.

Seattle re-took a 6-5 lead in the seventh by combining an error, a walk, two wild pitches and a sacrifice fly in the seventh against reliever J.C. Ramirez. Cano began the inning by hitting a ground ball off the heel of second baseman Pennington's glove for an error.

Then after Cruz walked, Ramirez threw two successive wild pitches with Seager at the plate. The first moved Cano and Cruz into scoring position. The second brought Cano home and sent Cruz to third base. Seager followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Cruz.

"We believe we can win games late and we've done that a lot this year," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "Getting those two runs, we felt good about where we were, especially with the way our bullpen's been throwing."

Los Angeles trailed 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning when Pujols and Bandy put the hosts ahead, 5-4. After Mariners left-hander Ariel Miranda issued walks to Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout to begin the inning, right-hander Nate Vincent replaced Miranda.

On a 1-2 pitch, Pujols sent Vincent's 90 mph fastball over the fence in left-center field to tie the score. One out later, Bandy propelled Vincent's 89 mph fastball off the screen on the left-field foul pole for his seventh homer.

Those homers kept Miranda from earning his first major league victory in his second start. In five-plus innings, the Cuban rookie allowed three runs, three hits and four walks while striking out two and throwing a fastball that reached 95 mph.

Miranda started for left-hander James Paxton, who was scratched Monday and went on the disabled list Tuesday with a bruised left elbow.

"He hadn't been out there in a while and I thought he threw the ball really well," Servais said. "I like his demeanor and the way he goes about his job. But in the sixth, a couple of walks came back to bite him."

With the loss, Seattle fell 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the American League West and three behind the Boston Red Sox, who hold the second wild-card spot.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Yunel Escobar drew a lead-off walk, moved to third base when Calhoun laced a double down the left-field line and scored on Trout's sacrifice fly.

The Mariners responded in the second by combining four hits and a hit batter into three runs against right-hander Jhoulys Chacin. Mike Zunino began the rally with a two-out double past a diving Escobar at third base.

After Leonys Martin's single sent Zunino to third, Zunino came home when Ketel Marte bunted down the third-base line for a single. Chacin hit Nori Aoki to load the bases, then Seth Smith singled up the middle to bring Martin and Marte home.

Chacin lasted 4 2/3 innings and allowed four runs, seven hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out two.

NOTES: Seattle put LHP James Paxton on the disabled list with a bruised left elbow and recalled RHP Cody Martin from Triple-A Tacoma. Martin could start Wednesday night. ... The Mariners outrighted OF Daniel Robertson to Triple-A Tacoma. Robertson was designated for assignment Friday. ... The Mariners bullpen owns a 2.77 ERA since Aug. 1, the American League's best during that span and second-best in the major leagues. ... Los Angeles SS Andrelton Simmons and C Geovany Soto were scratched from the starting lineup about 90 minutes before the first pitch. INF Cliff Pennington replaced Simmons and C Jett Bandy took Soto's place. ... Angels 2B Gregorio Petit ended an 0-for-14 slump Tuesday night.