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Seattle Mariners

Angels blast past Mariners with 4 home runs

Trout, Cron go long twice each as Los Angeles rolls over Seattle to even series

Bob Dutton Tacoma News Tribune

SEATTLE – No woulda/coulda/shoulda laments Friday night from the Mariners. This was a simple beatdown administered by the Los Angeles Angels, who hit four home runs in a 7-3 romp at Safeco Field.

C.J. Cron and Mike Trout each went deep twice, one apiece against starter Mike Montgomery and reliever Danny Farquhar.

“We didn’t give ourselves much of a chance tonight,” manager Lloyd McClendon said.

The Mariners, meanwhile, followed up Thursday’s 19-hit deluge by mustering little against Angels lefty Hector Santiago after scratching across one run in the first inning.

“He spotted up really well,” right fielder MarkTrumbo said, “and he had a lot of movement, too. You had to cover a lot of area.”

The Angels carried a 7-1 lead into the ninth inning before Trumbo’s two-run homer tightened the score. It meant little on this night; going forward … who knows?

“It felt pretty good,” Trumbo said, “but you’ve got to keep going. Hopefully, it’s one of many. The cliche is I’m not trying to do too much, but that’s pretty much what it is right now.”

Montgomery (4-3) was probably overdue for regression after compiling a magnificent 1.62 ERA over his first seven career starts and yielding just one run in 26 1/3 innings over his previous three outings.

Trout supplied the statistical correction with a three-run bomb in the third inning. Cron then opened the fourth with a homer for a 4-1 lead.

“I was trying to go up and in (to Trout),” Montgomery said, “and it ended up down and in. He likes the ball down there. That home run was the difference-maker.

“The other (homer by Cron) was a first-pitch fastball.”

Montgomery pitched out a two-on, no-outs jam in the fifth that stemmed from an off-line throw and a booted grounder but exited after David Freese’s leadoff single in the sixth.

In came Farquhar, who needed to be bailed out Thursday after inheriting a six-run lead in the ninth inning. That was after being recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Tacoma.

This wasn’t much better.

Cron hit Farquhar’s first pitch over the right-center wall, and the Angels led 6-1. That closed the book on Montgomery at five runs and eight hits in five-plus innings.

The book remained open, though, on Farquhar, who surrendered a leadoff homer to Trout in the seventh.

“The pitch to Cron wasn’t very good,” Farquhar said, “but the pitch to Trout was right where I wanted it. It was a fastball up and away. … Look at the video. It would have smacked (Mike) Zunino’s glove.

“It didn’t there.”

Santiago (6-4) gave up three hits in the first inning but limited the damage to one run by stranding runners at second and third. Thereafter, he never permitted more than one runner in any inning before exiting after seven.

“That might have been the best game he’s pitched all year,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “The first-pitch strikes were off the chart. … Everything he wanted to do he did. … Really it was a terrific job.”

   Trevor Gott worked a scoreless eighth before Vinnie Pestano served up Trumbo’s two-run bomb in the ninth. That brought Fernando Salas into the game of the final three outs.

The Mariners hustled their way to a 1-0 lead in the first inning but missed a opportunity for more.

Franklin Gutierrez punched a one-out single through the right side and went to second on Robinson Cano’s fly to deep center. Nelson Cruz produced the run with a hard ground single up the middle.

Cruz went to third on Kyle Seager’s double into the right-center gap, but the Mariners stranded both runners when Trumbo popped out.

Montgomery’s escapability ended in the third after Johnny Giavotella pulled a one-out double to left. Montgomery then hit Calhoun with a pitch before Trout crushed a 91 mph fastball for a three-run homer. Distance: 427 feet to center. Result: Angels led 3-1.

It was downhill from there.