Sox snap skid, beat Seattle 7-5 in 16
SEATTLE — Alejandro De Aza and Alex Rios each had an RBI single in the 16th inning, and the White Sox snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 7-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.
De Aza’s tiebreaking hit came after the teams combined to make baseball history when Chicago scored five times in the top of the 14th, only to have Seattle complete an improbable rally on Kyle Seager’s tying grand slam off Addison Reed (2-0) with two out.
According to the Mariners, with information from Elias Sports Bureau, Seager was the first player to hit a tying grand slam in extra innings and no team had ever scored five or more runs in the 14th inning or later to tie a game. It also was the first game in major league history when each team scored five or more runs in the game when it was scoreless through the ninth.
After 13 innings of offensive futility, the two sides combined for 10 runs and 10 hits in the 14th inning alone.
But all that became a footnote when the White Sox scored twice in the 16th against Hector Noesi (0-1), who gave up three runs and seven hits in three innings. De Aza drove in Gordon Beckham and eventually came around on an infield hit by Rios, who also singled home the first run of the game.
The two-run cushion proved to be enough for Reed this time. He struck out Brendan Ryan on three pitches, and then got Endy Chavez and Jason Bay swinging to end it 5 hours and 42 minutes after the first pitch.
Reed was charged with five runs and five hits over three innings, but got the victory. The White Sox avoided the first winless road trip of seven or more games in franchise history.
Seattle had a chance at its first sweep the season, but missed out on a bunch of opportunities to grab the lead. The Mariners left a runner at third in the first, second, fifth, sixth and 10th innings, and Seager was thrown out at home to end the fourth while trying to score on Nick Franklin’s fly ball.
The missed chances wasted another impressive outing from by Hisashi Iwakuma, who pitched eight innings and retired his final 16 batters.
Most of the action took place in the 14th.
De Aza had a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a perfectly executed hit-and-run single through the right side of the infield by Alexei Ramirez. Rios then singled in De Aza, and Chicago added another run on Casper Wells’ infield single. Jeff Keppinger had a two-run single and Hector Gimenez doubled home a run as the White Sox sent 10 batters to the plate.
And that seemed to be more than enough, especially with Reed taking over.
But the closer was shaky from the outset, giving up four straight hits after Franklin popped out. The last of the four hits came from Chavez and scored Michael Saunders to make it 5-1. Reed struck out Bay on a slider and had a 1-2 count on Seager when he left a fastball over the plate and third baseman drove it over the wall in right-center for his first career grand slam.
The Mariners’ dugout erupted and Seager wore a grin on his face as he rounded the bases. It was the first home run allowed this year by Reed.
NOTES: Chicago announced RHP Jake Peavy has a non-displaced rib fracture on the left side of his chest and will be sidelined for approximately four to six weeks. The fracture was revealed in an MRI exam on Wednesday morning in Seattle. ... Seattle plans on having Michael Morse (quad) back in the lineup on Thursday, although manager Eric Wedge has not decided if Morse will play first base or DH. ... Wednesday was the 13th game in Mariners history to be scoreless through nine innings.