ANAHEIM, Calif. – Hisashi Iwakuma took a four-hitter into the eighth inning, John Jaso homered and the Seattle Mariners ended a five-game skid with a 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.
Angels rookie phenom Mike Trout robbed Miguel Olivo of a two-run homer in the eighth inning, timing his leap perfectly at the fence in straightaway center field and throwing to first base to double off Eric Thames. But all it did was prevent the Mariners from adding on to their 7-1 lead.
Iwakuma (3-3) allowed three runs and six hits in seven-plus innings and struck out four in his seventh major league start. The right-hander, staked to a 7-0 lead one night after teammate Felix Hernandez squandered a 5-0 cushion in Seattle's 6-5 loss, gave up his only runs on Vernon Wells' RBI single in the fifth and a two-run homer by Wells in the eighth on his 86th and final pitch.
Kendrys Morales homered in the ninth against closer Tom Wilhelmsen, who was pitching in a non-save situation.
Dan Haren (8-9) threw 63 pitches in 3 1-3 innings and was charged with seven runs — five earned — and five hits including Jaso's solo homer. It was the ninth consecutive start in which the three-time All-Star allowed a home run, the longest streak of Haren's 10-year career. It began when the Colorado Rockies hit four against him on June 9 at Coors Field — all solo shots in Haren's 11-5 victory.
The Mariners grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second. Olivo, who came in 0 for 15 against Haren, hit a bloop single to right to put runners at the corners after a walk to Mike Carp. Trayvon Robinson followed Olivo's hit with an RBI single, and another walk to No. 9 hitter Brendan Ryan loaded the bases before Dustin Ackley lined an 0-2 pitch to right-center for a two-run single.
Jaso made it 4-0 in the third with his seventh homer and second in two nights, a towering drive about a dozen rows back in the elevated right field seats. Haren's problems continued to snowball in the fourth after Olivo singled to deep shortstop and continued to second on Erick Aybar's throwing error.
A wild pitch sent Olivo to third, and Ryan drove him in with a single after a walk and a stolen base by Robinson. Ackley followed with a routine grounder to two-time Gold Glove first baseman Albert Pujols, who misplayed the ball for his second fielding error in two nights as Robinson scored to make it 6-0. At that point, Haren was relieved by Jerome Williams, who gave up an RBI single to Jaso three batters later.
Prior to his RBI single, the last time Wells drove in a run with a hit was May 16, when he had a two-run homer against Gavin Floyd of the White Sox at Anaheim. Wells tore a ligament in his right thumb four days later and underwent surgery, keeping him sidelined until July 28. He was hitless in his first 16 at-bats off the disabled list before singling in the third inning.
NOTES: Haren failed to record a strikeout for only the second time in his last 261 starts. The other time was May 8 at Minnesota, when he pitched 3 2-3 innings in a 5-0 loss. ... Haren gave up at least one homer in each of his first eight starts in 2006. ... Iwakuma has allowed one home run in each of his seven starts. He faced the Angels one other time, allowing one hit over three scoreless innings in relief on June 5 at the "Big A." ... The Angels purchased the contract of RHP Steven Geltz from Triple-A Salt Lake. A roster spot opened up for the first-time major leaguer when RHP David Carpenter was optioned to the Bees after Friday night's game. ... RHP Jordan Walden, who hasn't pitched for the Angels since July 8 because of a biceps strain, began a rehab assignment Saturday with Salt Lake
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.