Mariners mash past Halos to take series

ANAHEIM — Kyle Seager, Leonys Martin and Seth Smith each homered and the Mariners’ offense knocked Angels starter Matt Shoemaker out of the game before he could even record an out in the fourth inning, leading Seattle to a 9-4 victory in Southern California on Sunday afternoon.

The Mariners (9-9) took two of three from the division-rival Angels, who are 8-11 and haven’t scored more than four runs in 16 of their first 19 games. Wade Miley, given a four-run lead before he threw his first pitch, gave up three first-inning runs but held the Angels to three baserunners from the start of the second to the end of the seventh.

The Mariners’ early lead came thanks to a throwing error from shortstop Andrelton Simmons, an RBI single by Nelson Cruz and a three-run homer from Seager. They tacked on three more in the fourth, on Martin’s two-run homer and Smith’s run-scoring, double-play groundout.

The Angels got a two-run homer from Albert Pujols and an RBI double from Geovany Soto in the first. Yunel Escobar then cut their deficit to three with a one-out solo homer in the eighth, prompting Miley’s exit, but Smith delivered a two-run homer off Cory Rasmus in the ninth to put the game out of reach.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDSlump buster: Seager has been struggling this season, but the Mariners third baseman broke out with a three-run bomb in the first inning off Shoemaker to give Seattle a quick, 4-0 lead. The 2014 All-Star came into the game at 3-for-30 on this nine-game road trip and batting just .127, and manager Scott Servais bumped him down a spot to No. 6 in the lineup this weekend. He lined out to short in his second at-bat and finished the day 1-for-4, but it was his big blast that got Seattle on the right foot as they wrapped up a 6-3 trip.

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