Domingo Santana hit two homers and drive in five runs, and Marco Gonzales pitched 6 2/3 strong innings as the Seattle Mariners defeated the visiting Kansas City Royals 8-2 Wednesday afternoon.
Daniel Vogelbach also homered for Seattle, which salvaged the finale of the three-game series. The Royals had been riding a three-game winning streak, which matched their season high.
Gonzales (8-6) won his third straight start after dropping six consecutive decisions. The left-hander allowed two runs on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
Royals right-hander Brad Keller (3-9) lasted a season-low four innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out five.
The Mariners jumped on Keller early, scoring four runs in the first inning before making an out.
Mallex Smith led off with a double to right field, and J.P. Crawford drew a walk. Santana hit the next pitch over the wall in left-center field for a three-run homer. Vogelbach followed by hitting a 1-2 pitch just inside the foul pole in right field and off the windows of the Hit it Here Cafe on T-Mobile Park's second deck.
The Royals got a run back in the third. Billy Hamilton led off with a walk, advanced to third on a one-out double by Cheslor Cuthbert and scored on a groundout by Alex Gordon.
The Mariners extended the lead to 7-1 with three more runs in the fourth.
Dylan Moore led off by lining a single to left, and Smith was hit by a pitch. Crawford lined a single to right, scoring Moore and sending Smith to third. Santana followed with a line-drive single to center to plate Smith. Vogelbach's sacrifice fly to center brought home the final run of the inning.
Santana hit a solo shot to right-center field off Royals left-hander Brian Flynn with two outs in the sixth to make it 8-1. It was Santana's 15th home run of the season.
The Royals scored their second run in the seventh. Jorge Bonifacio led off with an infield single and advanced to second on a groundout. With two outs, Cam Gallagher hit an RBI ground-rule double down the right field line.
--Field Level Media
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