Adam Lind’s three-run homer in ninth inning lifts Mariners over St. Louis

SEATTLE – Adam Lind provided the clutch hit that escaped the Mariners during their six-game losing streak.

It came in game-winning fashion.

Lind hit a winning three-run home run in the ninth inning off St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal to give the Mariners a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals on Friday night.

The long ball snapped Seattle’s skid and provided a brief respite from an otherwise miserable stretch. Seattle was on the verge of losing for the fifth time in seven games after holding the lead before Lind’s 11th homer that landed deep in the right-field seats.

“We’ve had a lot of tough ones lately, but we did pull it out,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.

The Mariners opened the ninth with a double by Kyle Seager just fair down the left-field line and a walk to Dae-Ho Lee on a 3-2 pitch. Lind reached down and drove a 1-1 pitch out to right field for his fourth career walk-off home run.

Lind had been hitless in his previous 10 at-bats before the homer.

“You know it’s a long season, long road trip,” Lind said. “We played some good teams, the Cardinals are a really good team as well. If you want to be good you have to play well against these teams.”

It was the third home run allowed this season by Rosenthal (2-3) and his third blown save. Rosenthal has struggled of late, giving up at least two runs in three of his past five appearances.

“It was a change-up, it was probably more on the inner-part of the plate than we had hoped,” Rosenthal said. “I don’t remember the last time I’ve given up a hard-hit ball on my change-up. It was under the zone, but he just did a great job with it.”

St. Louis had scored three times in the eighth inning without the help of a base hit. Seattle reliever Joaquin Benoit issued three walks and a hit batter, and Seager’s error on Matt Holliday’s hard ground ball allowed two runs to score.

Benoit’s problems nearly ruined the night for Seattle starter Wade LeBlanc. Making his first start in the majors since 2014, LeBlanc threw six shutout innings, scattering three hits and striking out three after being acquired in a trade with Toronto earlier this week.

LeBlanc left with a 1-0 lead after Lee’s bases-loaded ground out in the sixth scored Seth Smith from third. Nick Vincent pitched a perfect seventh but it fell apart for Seattle in the eighth.

“Throwing strikes, changing speeds, that’s pretty much all I’ve got,” LeBlanc said.