SEATTLE (AP) — Coming off a challenging stretch of games mostly filled with setbacks and one unimaginable defeat, the Philadelphia Phillies needed a relaxed evening at the ballpark.
Jean Segura and Rhys Hoskins hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning, Ranger Suárez tossed six strong innings and the Phillies cruised to a 9-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.
“To come out here and kind of make the first punch is something. We’ll try and ride that momentum into the next couple of days,” Hoskins said.
The Phillies had dropped five of six before opening their West Coast swing with a victory on their first visit to Seattle since 2017. Philadelphia had a season-high 17 hits.
Segura’s fourth homer of the season was a line drive out to left-center field against the team he played for in 2017 and 2018. Hoskins followed by golfing a shot down the left-field line off starter Chris Flexen for his third long ball.
Nick Castellanos finished with three hits, including two doubles. Castellanos’ RBI double in the fourth was the start of a three-run inning off Flexen.
The Phillies added three more runs off reliever Diego Castillo in the seventh, with Castellanos, Segura and Hoskins all driving in runs. Castillo has allowed nine earned runs in his past three appearances.
The Mariners snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over Tampa Bay on Sunday, but the offense remains underwhelming. Seattle has scored three runs or fewer in 10 of its past 13 games.
Rookie Julio Rodríguez was the lone bright spot for Seattle with the second three-hit game of his young career. Aside from Rodríguez, the only other Seattle hit off Suárez was an infield single from Jesse Winker.
Suárez (3-1) struck out a season-high seven in his best performance of the season.
“When you have a…
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