Associated Press
SEATTLE — Wade LeBlanc and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Friday night.
LeBlanc (6-1) gave the Mariners 7 1/3 strong innings in the team’s first game after the All-Star break. LeBlanc surrendered two hits in the first, including Daniel Palka’s RBI double to center field, but gave up only two hits and a walk in his next 6 1/3 innings. He finished with a season-high 10 strikeouts.
Seattle answered Chicago’s early run in the bottom of the first. Dee Gordon, who went 4 for 4, singled to lead off the game against White Sox right-hander James Shields (4-11) and scored on Nelson Cruz’s sacrifice fly.
The Mariners took the lead in the fourth. Kyle Seager hit a one-out, ground-rule double and advanced to third on Denard Span’s single. Ryon Healy followed with a hard grounder that bounced off third baseman Yolmer Sanchez’s glove, allowing Seager to score on the fielder’s choice.
Reliever Alex Colome finished off a scoreless eighth, and Cruz singled in a run in the bottom of that inning to give Seattle a two-run lead. Mariners closer Edwin Diaz, pitching for the first time since blowing a save but getting the win for the American League in the All-Star Game, pitched a scoreless ninth for his league-leading 37th save.
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