SEATTLE — The Cleveland Indians had mashed 17 hits but only had three runs to show for it by the 12th inning of Sunday’s game in Seattle. It took a walk to finally give the Indians the run that mattered.
A bases-loaded walk from Seattle’s seventh relief pitcher, Dominic Leone, resulted in the go-ahead run in the 12th before the Indians added another hit and two more runs in a 6-3 win over the Mariners.
Cleveland (24-26) finished with a season-high 18 hits and rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to win the series by way of its third victory in four games against the Mariners.
Indians reliever Zach McAllister (1-2) earned his first win of the season after pitching a scoreless 11th, while Austin Adams earned his first career save as Cleveland’s seventh, and final, pitcher used in the game. Cleveland won despite leaving 17 runners on base.
The Indians won for the first time this season after trailing through seven innings. They were 0-21 heading into Sunday.
The four-hour, 36-minute game also included a Cleveland protest in the top of the 12th, as manager Terry Francona believed that the final out was actually a foul ball.
Seattle (24-26) was out-hit 18-5 in the game but never trailed until the top of the 12th inning.
Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis closed out an historic month with a pair of doubles and a sacrifice fly that tied the score 3-3 in the eighth inning. Kipnis had 51 total hits the month, the most ever by an Indians player in May, and his 15 doubles were the franchise’s highest total since 1942.
Kipnis led all American League players with a .429 batting average in May.
The Mariners took advantage of a throwing error on Cleveland third baseman Mike Aviles to break a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Seattle first baseman Logan Morrison led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a walk, No. 9 hitter Dustin Ackley dropped a nice bunt down the third-base line. Aviles fielded the bunt cleanly but threw wide of first base, allowing Morrison to come around from second base to score and give Seattle a 1-0 lead.
One batter later, Mariners center fielder Austin Jackson singled to score Brad Miller from third base, then second baseman Robinson Cano added a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 advantage. A diving catch by Cleveland rightfielder Ryan Raburn prevented any further damage in a messy inning that included three hits, a walk, a wild pitch, a balk and the throwing error.
Raburn then led off the sixth with a home run, closing the Mariners’ lead to 3-1. That sparked a two-run inning that included four hits as the Indians pulled within a run and chased Seattle starter J.A. Happ. The Mariners’ Morrison got Seattle out of the jam when he turned a sharp grounder to first base into a double play from first to home plate.
Kipnis then tied the score with a one-out sacrifice fly, scoring pinch hitter Lonnie Chisenhall from third base to make it 3-3.
Seattle’s Happ allowed two earned runs off eight hits over five-plus innings.
Cleveland starter Danny Salazar allowed three earned runs off four hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings. The Mariners did almost all their damage against Salazar in the fifth, as he retired the first eight Seattle batters of the game and didn’t give up a hit until two outs into the fourth.
The two teams combined to use 15 pitchers, with Seattle going to its bullpen seven times and using all seven of its available relievers. Regular catcher Mike Zunino was the only Seattle player, not including starting pitchers, not to play in the game.
Cleveland was in danger of becoming the first team in more than three decades to collect 16 or more hits in a game without scoring more than three runs. The last time a team had 16 hits without scoring more than three runs in a game was on July 16, 1979, when the Milwaukee Brewers had 16 hits in a 4-3 loss.
But the Indians finally broke through in the top of the 12th, when Leone (0-4) walked the leadoff batter, then gave up a one-out double off the glove of Morrison at first base before intentionally walking Kipnis to load the bases. Cleveland designated hitter Carlos Santana then popped out before leftfielder Michael Brantley drew the bases-loaded walk to send Lonnie Chisenhall in from third base with the go-ahead run.
Outfielder David Murphy, who had come on to pinch hit in the seventh inning, then drilled a two-run single to right field to give the Indians a 6-3 lead.
NOTES: OF Jerry Sands, who hit his first home run as an Indian on Saturday, was designated for assignment before Sunday’s game. The move cleared a roster spot for the return of 1B/DH Carlos Santana, who spent three days on the paternity list. Santana’s wife gave birth to a daughter Thursday. Sands went 1-for-2 with a walk in his lone game with Cleveland during his second major league stint this season. … Mariners 3B Kyle Seager went 0-for-3 with two walks, a rare hitless game for him against Cleveland. He began the day hitting .385 in 28 games against the Indians.