Jul 27, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb (19) hits an RBI-sacrifice fly against the Seattle Mariners during the tenth inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
SEATTLE — Arizona third baseman Jake Lamb, a native of Seattle who played at nearby University of Washington, delivered the game-winning RBI with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning to lead the Diamondbacks to a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.
With one out, Lamb flew out to shallow center field, but Mariners outfielder Austin Jackson had trouble getting the ball out of his glove and made a late throw home. Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt easily scored from third before the Diamondbacks (47-51) won for the fourth time in five games.
Reliever Oliver Perez (2-1) earned the win after blowing the save in the bottom of the ninth, while Andrew Chafin earned his second save of the season with a scoreless 10th.
Seattle catcher Mike Zunino sent the game into extra innings with a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning. That came off left-handed reliever Oliver Perez, who was trying to earn his first save since 2013 as closer Brad Ziegler took the night off after three consecutive games of work.
With Ziegler unavailable, the Diamondbacks initially turned to right-hander Daniel Hudson to open the ninth inning while clinging to a 3-2 lead. Hudson walked leadoff hitter Robinson Cano but got pinch hitter Seth Smith to ground into a double play. Former Diamondback Mark Trumbo then hit a two-out double, and Arizona turned to Perez, whose last save came on July 5, 2013, when he was pitching for Seattle, to face left-handed first baseman Logan Morrison. Perez threw a wild pitch on a full count, walking Morrison while sending pinch runner Chris Taylor to third, before Zunino lined an 0-2 pitch into left field to bring in the tying run.
Seattle closer Carson Smith, who was supposed to get the night off, came on in the 10th and gave up two walks while hitting a batter before lefty Vidal Nuno came on with the bases loaded. Lamb flew out to center, scoring Goldschmidt for the go-ahead run.
Seattle threatened in the bottom of the 10th, with third baseman Kyle Seager on second base with two outs, but Chafin intentionally walked Robinson Cano before striking out pinch hitter Seth Smith to end the game. Smith grounded into a double play in the ninth, having replaced Franklin Gutierrez.
The Mariners (46-54) have played extra innings in each of their past two games and three of the last five.
The Diamondbacks got two early home runs on the way to a 3-0 lead, and starting pitcher Robbie Ray did his part to keep Arizona in front before the ninth-inning dramatics. Goldschmidt and catcher Welington Castillo each homered, while Ray allowed just two earned runs off six hits over seven innings.
An RBI single from Seattle’s Morrison gave the Mariners their first run before Cano cut the deficit to 3-2 with a solo home run, his 11th of the year, in the sixth inning.
Cano went 2-for-3, while Trumbo had three hits — two of them doubles — and an RBI for Seattle.
Mariners starter Mike Montgomery (4-5) recovered from having served up two early home runs to pitch 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs — two earned — off five hits and four walks.
Seattle turned to J.A. Happ, who started Saturday but couldn’t get out of the second inning, to pitch the top of the ninth. Happ retired all three batters he faced, with two strikeouts.
Arizona had just five hits in the win. The Diamondbacks scored an unearned run when Seattle shortstop Brad Miller failed to come up with a ground ball with the bases loaded and one out in the second inning, resulting in what turned out to be the game-winning run.
That error came after Castillo’s home run had given Arizona a 2-0 lead in the second. A walk and two singles loaded the bases with one out when Diamondbacks left fielder Ender Inciarte lined a short-hopper right at Miller. The ball bounced off Miller’s glove and high in the air; by the time he caught it, there was no clear play available, and baserunner Lamb scored from third for a 3-0 Arizona lead.
Castillo took a pitch off his left elbow in the top of the 10th inning but was able to stay in the game long enough to run the bases. Jarrod Saltalamacchia came on as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the inning.
Home runs by Goldschmidt and Castillo gave Arizona a 2-0 lead before a bases-loaded error on Seattle shortstop Brad Miller in the second inning led to another run and a 3-0 Diamondbacks advantage.
Goldschmidt hit a two-out solo homer in the top of the first inning, then Castillo, who spent 15 days with the Mariners before being traded to Arizona in June, added a 429-foot solo shot of his own in the second inning.
NOTES: Before Monday’s game, the Diamondbacks activated C Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the 15-day disabled list. Arizona had a roster spot available after optioning RHP Dominic Leone, a former Mariner, to Double-A Mobile following Sunday’s game. … The Mariners and Diamondbacks made a minor trade before Monday’s game, with Seattle acquiring RHP J.C. Ramirez for cash considerations. Ramirez, who spent time in the Mariners’ organization earlier in his career, will join the bullpen of Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. … The Diamondbacks are in Seattle for the first time since 2009, when Ken Griffey Jr. had a game-winning hit for the Mariners in the series opener. Griffey was in his second tour of duty with Seattle at the age of 39.
