Jackson drives in four in M’s win
SEATTLE – Austin Jackson is starting to settle in with the Mariners.
Acquired in a trade with the Detroit Tigers before the deadline, Jackson matched a career-high with four RBIs to lead the Mariners to a 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
Jackson joined the Mariners in Baltimore on Aug. 1 and has started all 10 games since the trade. Now back in Seattle, Jackson is beginning to feel comfortable in his home clubhouse.
“Once we arrived here and got that first game here under our belts, we kind of settled in a little bit,” Jackson said of himself and fellow deadline acquisition Chris Denorfia. “Just seeing that we’re close (to a playoff spot), I think that gives us a lot of extra motivation to go out there and get those wins. I don’t think we could have gotten traded to a better team.”
Logan Morrison began a two-out rally for the Mariners in the second inning off Chicago’s John Danks (9-8) with a hard line drive single off the wall in right field. Infield singles by Chris Taylor and Jesus Sucre loaded the bases for Jackson.
A career .400 hitter against Danks, Jackson doubled down the left-field line to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead. He finished 3 for 4.
“I can’t escape him,” Danks said. “I’ve thrown everything I know how to.”
Seattle starter Erasmo Ramirez was pulled mid-batter in the fifth inning as Dominic Leone entered to face Gordon Beckham with a 2-1 count. Leone got Beckham to ground into a double play to end the inning. Leone (5-2) picked up the victory and Fernando Rodney earned his 33rd save.
Taylor drew a leadoff walk in the seventh and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sucre. Jackson singled to left as Taylor beat the throw home to give Seattle a 4-0 lead.
Tyler Flowers homered off Tom Wilhelmsen to lead off the seventh for Chicago. Rodney allowed the first two runners to reach in the ninth. After two strikeouts, Conor Gillaspie singled to center to drive in Alexei Ramirez. Rodney then hit Flowers to load the bases before striking out Jordan Danks to seal the victory.
Mariners 4, White Sox 2
Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
De Aza lf 3 0 1 0 1 0 .243
Al.Ramirez ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 .291
J.Abreu dh 4 0 1 0 0 2 .304
A.Dunn 1b 4 0 2 0 0 1 .220
Viciedo rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .234
Gillaspie 3b 4 0 1 1 0 0 .313
Le.Garcia pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182
Flowers c 2 1 1 1 0 0 .250
Jor.Danks cf 4 0 2 0 0 1 .130
G.Beckham 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .220
Totals 32 2 9 2 1 7
Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
A.Jackson cf 4 0 3 4 0 0 .273
Ackley lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .252
Cano 2b 2 0 0 0 2 0 .330
K.Morales dh 4 0 0 0 0 0 .214
Seager 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .275
Denorfia rf 4 0 2 0 0 1 .176
Morrison 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .222
C.Taylor ss 2 2 2 0 1 0 .400
Sucre c 2 1 1 0 0 0 .167
Totals 30 4 9 4 3 1
Chicago 000 000 011—2 9 0
Seattle 030 000 10x—4 9 0
LOB—Chicago 6, Seattle 6. 2B—A.Jackson (26), C.Taylor (5). HR—Flowers (9). RBIs—Gillaspie (41), Flowers (40), A.Jackson 4 (38). S—Sucre. RLISP—Chicago 3; Seattle 3. RMU—Ackley. GIDP—J.Abreu, Viciedo, G.Beckham, Ackley, Morrison. DP—Chicago 2; Seattle 3.
Chicago IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Jh.Danks L,9-8 61/3 8 4 4 2 1 4.96
Surkamp 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 7.11
D.Webb 11/3 1 0 0 0 0 3.74
Seattle IP H R ER BB SO ERA
E.Ramirez 41/3 4 0 0 1 2 4.06
Leone W,5-2 12/3 1 0 0 0 1 2.06
Wilhelmsen H,6 2 1 1 1 0 1 2.29
Rodney S,33-36 1 3 1 1 0 3 2.40
IR-S—Surkamp 1-0, D.Webb 2-0, Leone 2-0. IBB—Cano. HBP—Flowers 2. T—2:50. A—27,236 (47,476).