By Bob Dutton
The News Tribune
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Wolfpack, the Seattle Mariners’ vaunted relief corps, spit back a fur ball Tuesday by blowing a pair of leads in a 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
Archimedes Caminero gave up a pair a two-out runs in the eighth inning — after retiring Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. They were the first runs permitted by Caminero since he arrived in an Aug. 6 trade from Pittsburgh.
Cliff Pennington supplied the winning run with an RBI triple after Jett Bandy tied the game with a homer.
That was after Nick Vincent served up two homers in squandering a three-run lead in the sixth inning.
The Mariners entered the game with a 1.25 ERA from their bullpen over their previous 14 games. The loss was just the second for the Mariners in 11 games, but it allowed the Angels to break an 11-game losing streak.
Caminero (1-1) inherited a 6-5 lead to start the eighth inning. He struck out Trout and retired Pujols on a pop to second before things slipped away.
Marte turned around a 97-mph fastball for a homer to left that just stayed fair. It got worse.
Jett Bandy lined a single into left, and Pennington followed with an RBI triple in the right-field corner. The Angels led 7-6, and Fernando Salas closed out the victory with a scoreless ninth.
Mariners starter Ariel Miranda had a 4-1 lead when he started the sixth inning by walking Kole Calhoun and Trout on full-count pitches. That brought Vincent into the game.
Pujols rocked a 1-2 fastball for a three-run homer.
Game tied.
Not for long.
Bandy sent a full-count fastball with one out on a high drive to left that hit the foul pole, which makes it a fair ball — and a home run. The Angels led 5-4.
LA turned to one-time Mariner JC Ramirez to protect the lead in the seventh inning. It was as if the Mariners ordered room service.
First, second baseman Cliff Pennington booted Robinson Cano’s leadoff grounder for an error. Ramirez then walked Nelson Cruz on four pitches before throwing two wild pitches with Kyle Seager at the plate.
Cano scored, and Cruz moved to third.
Seager hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field, and the Mariners regained the lead at 6-5.
The just couldn’t hold it.
Miranda started the first inning by walking Yunel Escobar, who went to third on Calhoun’s double into the left-field corner. Trout’s sacrifice fly to deep center made it 1-0 and moved Calhoun to third.
The Angels settled for one run when Pujols popped to second, and Jefry Marte grounded out.
The Mariners answered with a two-out burst in the second inning against LA starter Jhoulys Chacin after Mike Zunino doubled past third and went to third on Leonys Martin’s ground single to left.
Slumping Ketel Marte then pushed a bunt single up the third-base line that refused to go foul. Zunino scored. Chacin then loaded the bases by hitting Nori Aoki with a 1-2 pitch.
Seth Smith followed with a two-run single up the middle for a 3-1 lead.
Miranda breezed through the second and got two quick outs in the third inning before yielding a sharp single to Calhoun. After a four-pitch walk to Trout, Pujols popped out.
The Mariners knocked out Chacin with another two-out rally in the fifth.
Cano walked and went to second on Cruz’s soft single to right before Seager served an RBI single into left for a 4-1 lead. LA replaced Chacin with Jose Valdez, who stranded two runners.
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