With a 2-1 win over the Mariners in Seattle, the Angels have now won five straight, with only three road games left in Seattle for the season.
The Mariners got on board first with one in the third, but Vlad tied it up in the fourth with a solo homerun, he ended up 3 for 4 on the night. Jeff Mathis then singled in the seventh and scored the go-ahead run on Reggie Willits’ single, aided by a fielding error. Howie Kendrick was also back in the lineup for the first time since August 27, going 0 for 2 before being lifted for Sean Rodriguez.
Ervin Santana pitched eight innings with one run for his team-tying 16th win. He gave up five hits, one an RBI-single in the third, and totaled nine K’s. K-Rod then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 61st save.
With six games remaining, the Angels need three wins to get to the 100-win mark, which would be a franchise-high. Joe Saunders will miss his scheduled start on Tuesday due to kidney stones, and his start will be pushed back to the season finale on September 28th against the Rangers. Jered Weaver will be moved up and make the start tomorrow. He is 6-2 lifetime against the Mariners, with two of those wins coming this year. He will face rookie lefty Ryan Feierabend, who is 1-4 with a 7.49 ERA.
