Josh Naylor hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the sixth inning to help the Seattle Mariners beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Monday night.
Naylor, who homered in his last two games, turned on a hanging curveball from Cardinals reliever Gordon Graceffo (3-1) for a two-run shot after Julio Rodríguez got Seattle on the board with an RBI single. After his double, Naylor made a heads-up play and stole third base, allowing him to score with ease on a sacrifice fly from Jorge Polanco.
The Mariners scored four runs in the sixth inning to erase St. Louis’ advantage. The Cardinals jumped out in front 2-0 on a two-run home run by Alec Burleson in the fourth inning, his 17th of the season.
That was all the offense St. Louis could muster against Mariners starter Bryan Woo (13-7) before three relievers combined to close out the win. Andrés Muñoz secured his 33rd save.
Key moment
Mariners second baseman Leo Rivas worked a nine-pitch walk off Mikolas to lead off the sixth inning, fouling off four pitches in the at-bat. Randy Arozarena followed with a single, and then Cal Raleigh walked on four pitches before Rodríguez and Naylor’s run-scoring hits.
Key stat
With the victory, the Mariners raised their record to 17-6 since the All-Star break. That's the best record in the MLB in the second half of the season.
Up next
Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore (7-11, 4.15 ERA) starts Tuesday night against Mariners right-hander George Kirby (8-7, 4.47) in the second game of the three-game set.