Courtesy Seattle Mariners
PHOENIX – Starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma turned in another
solid start and left fielder Michael Morse hit his spring training leading sixth home run as the Seattle
Mariners defeated the Oakland A's 6-5 Monday afternoon at Phoenix Municipal
Stadium.
The Mariners extended their Cactus League winning streak to five
consecutive games to improve to 16-7. Seattle also had a 10-game winning streak
earlier this spring.
The A's jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Derek Norris home run off
Iwakuma in the bottom of the fourth inning. Seattle answered right back with
three runs in the top of the fifth, with third baseman Brad Miller providing a two-run
double. Oakland tied the game in the bottom half of the inning, but Morse gave
the Mariners the lead for good with a towering home run over the fence in
left-center field.
First baseman Justin Smoak (2x3, R, 2B) and
second baseman Dustin Ackley (2x4, 2 RBI) both recorded multi-hit games. Smoak is now batting
.390 (16x41) in 13 Cactus League games.
Iwakuma (2-0) battled the Arizona heat to allow six hits and
three runs in 5.0 innings. Relievers Stephen Pryor (1.0 IP, K) andCarson Smith (1.0 IP) helped hold
off the A's, with Smith recording his first save.
The Mariners (16-7) return to Cactus League play tomorrow night
against the San Francisco Giants (9-10-3) at Peoria Stadium (7:05 p.m.). The
game will be televised by ROOT Sports and broadcast on 710 ESPN Seattle and the Mariners Radio
Network. Right-hander Brandon Maurer (2-1, 0.90) is scheduled to make his fifth spring appearance and
second start vs. Giants left-hander Barry Zito (1-0, 3.38).
