CLEVELAND (AP) — J.P. Crawford hit a two-run homer, Luke Raley and Dylan Moore added solo shots and the Seattle Mariners stayed baseball’s hottest team with an 8-5 win over the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night.
With their fourth straight win and eighth in nine games, the Mariners improved to an MLB-best 17-5 since May 26.
Seattle began a nine-game trip on top of the AL West by nine games — the largest lead in any division. It’s the club’s biggest advantage since the end of the 2001 season, when the Mariners won 116 games.
Crawford homered in the third inning off Triston McKenzie (3-4) and added an RBI double in the fourth.
Raley, who grew up in nearby Medina, Ohio, connected in the fifth to put the Mariners ahead 6-1. The homer came only minutes after Raley made a diving catch on the track down the left-field line. He was ejected after striking out in the ninth.
Bryce Miller (6-5) held the Guardians to three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. It was the second straight solid outing for the right-hander, who pitched seven scoreless innings last week in a no-decision against the White Sox.
Cleveland’s Steven Kwan reached base for the 23rd straight game and extended his hitting streak to 12 in a row with a single in the eighth.
Down 7-1, the Guardians didn’t go quietly. They scored two in the sixth, one in the seventh and another in the eighth — helped by Seattle’s Trent Thornton hitting two consecutive batters — before Andrés Muñoz worked out of a jam.
Muñoz finished up for his 13th save.
McKenzie worked around leadoff walks in the first two innings, but another in the third came back to bite him as the Mariners took a 4-1 lead.
After No. 9 hitter Moore walked, Crawford connected for a two-run homer that barely cleared the wall and Guardians rookie center fielder Daniel Schneemann’s glove.
Cal Raleigh’s RBI double made it 3-0, and after McKenzie issued his fourth walk, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt pulled the right-hander. who lasted just 2 1/3 innings — his shortest outing this season.
TEE TIME
With both teams off Monday, Vogt and Seattle manager Scott Servais went golfing.
The winner?
“Ask him,” Servais cracked.
They were together last season as Vogt served as Seattle’s bullpen coach. Servais said it didn’t take long for him to recognize Vogt was ready to manage and he’s not surprised by Cleveland’s strong first half under their rookie skipper.
“They’re a good team,” he said. “They have a lot of speed. They’ve hit a few more homers this year. They’ve got great pitching. They play good defense, They have all the ingredients it takes.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Guardians: RHP Gavin Williams (elbow) will make his next rehab start at Double-A Akron on Friday. Williams threw 52 pitched in his previous outing for Triple-A Columbus. There’s still no clear timetable for his season debut after getting hurt in training camp. ... RHP Shane Bieber (Tommy John surgery) is around for the homestand after getting a routine post-operation checkup.
UP NEXT
Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (4-2, 3.94 ERA) starts Wednesday against Mariners RHP Bryan Woo (3-0, 1.07), who missed his last start with arm discomfort. Woo underwent an MRI that came back clean. Servais said the Mariners will keep a close eye on Woo.