Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Carlos Perez made his MLB debut one to remember.
Perez's walk-off home run in the ninth inning capped a three-run rally and lifted the LA Angels of Anaheim to a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners Tuesday in the second of a three-game set.
Perez, who finished with two hits, became the first player with a walk-off homer in his major-league debut since Miguel Cabrera with the Marlins in 2003.
"Carlos is ready for this challenge," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He had a great game tonight. He could be in this league for a long time."
Albert Pujols stroked a two-run homer and scored twice, while Erick Aybar and Johnny Giavotella each drove in a run for the Angels, who ended a four-game skid.
Huston Street (1-0) earned the win after tossing a flawless ninth. Starter Garrett Richards surrendered just one run on five hits with five strikeouts over seven strong innings in the no-decision.
Mike Zunino brought in two runs and Robinson Cano and Logan Morrison each had three hits for the Mariners. James Paxton gave up two runs on four hits and three walks in seven frames.
"It was unfortunate for us," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Any time you have the lead in the eighth inning you expect to win it."
Joe Smith relieved Richards to start the eighth and gave up a leadoff double to Cano, who moved to third on a groundout and tied the game on Kyle Seager's single to right. Morrison followed with a single, then Zunino's ground-rule double and Ackley's sacrifice fly made it a 4-2 game.
The Angels got the runs right back in the home half off Danny Farquhar. Aybar hit an RBI single to right to score Pujols, who led off with a single, and Giavotella followed with a run-scoring hit for a tie game.
After Street set the side down in order in the top of the ninth, Perez stepped up to the plate in the home half and clobbered an 0-1 slider from Dominic Leone (0-3) over the left-field wall for the deciding run.
The Angels wasted no time getting on the board as Kole Calhoun led off the home first with a single to center and came home two batters later after Pujols crushed a 3-0 fastball to left center for a 2-0 lead.
In the second, Morrison doubled on a line drive to right and raced home after Zunino singled to center to cut the deficit in half.
The Mariners threatened in the sixth. Cano singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Morrison was intentionally walked and Zunino was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. After falling behind in the count 3-0 to Ackley, Richards fired three straight strikes to escape the jam.
Game Notes
Pujols extended his hitting streak to eight games ... Richards has allowed just one earned run in last 28 1/3 innings pitched vs. Seattle ... The Angels went 2-for-5 with runners in scoring position, while the Mariners went 3- for-13 and left eight on base ... Angels fans set a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people wearing sombreros with over 20,000 participants.