ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Griffin Canning and Justin Dunn traded zeros for six splendid innings Sunday, two young starters fulfilling their potential in a duel that thrilled their managers.
The stalemate extended into extra innings, where Tim Lopes came through for the Mariners again in his hometown ballpark.
Lopes drove in Kyle Lewis with a tiebreaking pinch-hit single in the 10th inning, and Seattle rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Both starters dominated early at the Big A. Canning yielded four hits and a run over a career-best eight innings for the Angels, while Dunn allowed one hit and four walks in six scoreless innings for the Mariners.
“Not many hits, not many baserunners, not much offense today,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “But a lot of it attributed to the quality pitching and even the bullpen finishing it off the way we did.”
Lewis homered in the seventh for the Mariners, who had lost the first two games of this four-game series between AL West also-rans.
Lopes, who is from nearby Huntington Beach, came through in extra innings with a single off José Quijada (0-1).
“That’s what you’re thinking about when you’re on deck,” said Lopes, who homered at Angel Stadium last month. “You want to be in those situations, and I was just waiting for my name to be called.”
Angels star Albert Pujols hit his 666th career double in the seventh inning to pass George Brett for sixth place in baseball history.
Pujols also scored Los Angeles' only run on Andrelton Simmons’ single. But the Angels, who had won a season-high three in a row, stranded nine runners.
Taylor Williams (1-1) stranded an Angels runner on third by striking out Simmons in the ninth, and Yohan Ramirez pitched through the heart of the Angels' lineup in the 10th for his first save.
Canning opened with four hitless innings on just 39 pitches, improving markedly from his previous starts in an up-and-down season. Jose Marmolejos got the Mariners' first hit with one out in the fifth, but Canning kept rolling until Lewis' one-out homer to right, his eighth of the season.
“I’m really happy for him, because that’s what he’s capable of doing consistently,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said of Canning, who finished with seven strikeouts and just one walk.
Canning's effort followed similarly excellent starts by Andrew Heaney and Dylan Bundy in the Angels' rotation, which has been one of the worst in the majors.
“You don’t want to be the guy that goes out there and reverts back to whatever we’ve been doing," Canning said. "I think guys feed off that. You definitely pay attention to it and you definitely know these guys have thrown well.”
Canning was matched by Dunn, who also pitched six scoreless innings of one-hit ball against Texas last Sunday. He shut down the powerful Angels lineup that produced 16 runs Saturday night, and he got out of trouble to end the sixth, retiring Anthony Rendon and Brian Goodwin with two Angels on base.
“To go through that part of the lineup in that big of a situation was huge for me,” Dunn said.
Pujols connected leading off the seventh for his latest milestone double. Although the three-time NL MVP has been stuck right behind Willie Mays on 659 homers since Aug. 4, he passed Brett on the doubles chart and closed in on Craig Biggio, who's in fifth with 668.
Simmons' two-out single to right might not have been enough to drive in the slow-footed Pujols, but right fielder Jake Fraley bobbled the ball.
HONORING BOSEMAN
When Dunn pulled on the No. 42 jersey honoring Jackie Robinson, he said it meant “everything” to wear it in a game while thinking of Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played Jackie Robinson in the movie “42."
“Today being able to put the 42 on and honor Jackie and also honor Chadwick Boseman, it gave a little extra energy to help get through those big spots,” said Dunn, who is Black. “(It meant) everything. I’ve had the chance to wear it last year, Kyle and I, we shared it — I warmed up in it and then he played in it, but this was the first time I got to pitch in it.
"So to honor (Robinson), and then to honor Chadwick Boseman, he did an amazing job playing Jackie in ‘42,’ and then ‘Black Panther’ is one of my favorite movies, and my inner spirit animal, I guess you could say. So to go out there and do that for them was huge for me.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels second baseman David Fletcher sprained his left ankle while trying to beat out a grounder in the third inning, but he stayed in the game on defense for another inning before leaving in the fifth. The stellar infielder is batting .313 this season, and he hadn't missed an inning of any game so far.
Fletcher hopes the injury will sideline him “just a day or two. ... I think it'll be fine pretty quick. I know it's not that serious.”
TRADE BLOCK
Angels catcher Jason Castro was scratched shortly before the first pitch as a precaution while general manager Billy Eppler evaluated trade offers for the veteran, apparently closing in on a deal with San Diego. Los Angeles already traded Tommy La Stella to Oakland on Friday.
UP NEXT
Marco Gonzales (3-2, 3.63 ERA) takes the mound for Seattle in the series finale Monday afternoon, making his third start against Los Angeles already this season. The Angels will counter with Jaime Barria (0-0, 2.89 ERA), who gets his first start of the season after pitching in long relief in his only other two appearances.
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AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report.
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