Dustin Garneau homers, Chad Bettis solid for 7 in Rockies’ win of Mariners
Colorado Rockies' Daniel Descalso scores on a wild pitch as Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Tony Zych turns to try to put on a tag during the ninth inning. (AP)
SEATTLE — Dustin Garneau snapped a scoreless tie with a three-run homer in the seventh and Chad Bettis pitched three-hit ball over seven innings, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.
Bettis (7-5), making his fourth start since coming off the disabled list, struck out six and walked three.
The Rockies had just three hits through six innings before breaking through against Hisashi Iwakuma (7-4). After DJ LeMahiue grounded out, Justin Morneau and Ben Paulsen had consecutive singles. Garneau then ripped the first pitch over the left-field wall for his second homer, snapping a streak of 24 1-3 scoreless innings by Seattle pitchers.
Seattle cut the lead to 3-2 in the eighth off Christian Friedrich when pinch-hitter Shawn O’Malley walked to open and Kyle Seager followed with his 24th home run.
The Rockies added a run in the ninth on singles by Daniel Descalso and Charlie Blackmon and a two-out wild pitch by Tony Zych.
After Justin Miller, Boone Logan and Jairo Diaz combined to finish the eighth for Colorado, John Axford pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 27 opportunities.
The Mariners had two on in the ninth, but Axford struck out Kyle Seager on a full-count pitch.
Training room
Rockies: C Nick Hundley, who left Sunday’s game with a stiff neck, was placed on the 60-day DL with a cervical strain. C Tom Murphy was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque.
Mariners: OF Franklin Gutierrez, who had missed the last six games with a strained right groin, struck out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. “Guti’s making real good progress,” manager Lloyd McClendon said before Friday’s game. “He’ll be available to pinch hit tonight and, if all is well tomorrow, we could see him in the lineup.” … LHP James Paxton, who has been out since late May with a strained finger on his pitching hand, is expected to start Sunday after experiencing no problems following a bullpen session. “It’s trending toward Paxton,” McClendon said. “No setbacks, not yet.”
Up next
Rockies: Left-hander Yohan Flande (3-2,4.65 ERA) will be making his 17th appearance and ninth start. Since moving into the rotation, he is 2-1 with a 4.93 ERA. Tagged for six runs in 4 1-3 innings in his last start against San Francisco.
Mariners: Left-hander Roenis Elias (4-8, 4.30 ERA), will be making his fourth start since being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Aug. 23. He has pitched 5 1/3 innings in each of his last two starts.
