ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jake Fraley went from seeing double to hitting his first major league homer.
The Seattle Mariners designated hitter got something in his right eye one pitch into his fourth inning at-bat Thursday night against Los Angeles Angels starter Griffin Canning. Fraley said he saw two of Canning for a couple pitches before calling time and getting eye drops.
The drops definitely worked as Fraley hit a three-run shot to right-center. That gave the Mariners the lead en route to a 6-2 victory.
“I never had something like that happen, where the trainer had to bring out eye drops. I wanted to get it fixed quick because I was seeing double,” said Fraley, who homered on a 2-2 count and the sixth pitch of the at-bat to give the Mariners a 4-2 lead. “You’re in the moment, have adrenaline and try to make something happen. Having composure was the easy part, getting something out of my eye was the hard part.”
Kyle Seager also went deep and J.P. Crawford had three hits for the Mariners, who have won eight of 11 to get back to .500 on the season at 29-29.
Fraley missed 49 games due to a left hamstring strain, but is 3 for 10 since being activated off the injured list on May 31. Manager Scott Servais said he has noticed the improvement in Fraley’s swing since his return, and that he does a nice job of being patient.
“He has created some length in his swing. I am happy to see he got that first home run out of the way,” Servais said. “He is not in a hurry or jumpy at the plate. He is just staying in the moment.”
Seattle left-hander Justus Sheffield (5-4) struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings. He allowed two runs and six hits while improving to 3-1 in his last four starts.
Sheffield was pleased with how he threw his slider after he struggled with it the past couple outings….
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