SEATTLE (AP) — Mitch Garver hit a two-run game-ending home run in the ninth inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.
A game that was dominated by spectacular pitching from Atlanta starter Max Fried and Seattle starter Bryce Miller ended with Garver tossing his bat in front of home plate to celebrate the first walk-off home run of his career.
Jorge Polanco led off the ninth inning with a single on the first pitch from A.J. Minter. Garver worked the count to 3-2 and hit a cutter left in the middle of the plate by Minter (5-2) out to left field for his third homer of the season.
The late dramatics for Seattle took some of the spotlight away from the pitching efforts from Fried and Miler, both of whom pitched six no-hit innings.
The early-season leaders of their divisions played a game worthy of October with both starting pitchers turning in dominant performances. Fried ran his scoreless innings streak to 15 2/3 innings after shutting down Miami in his last start and carried it over to his effort against the Mariners.
Miller was the equal of Atlanta’s left-hander and a two-batter sequence ultimately led to two of the three hits by the Braves and their only run.
Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the seventh inning with a hard groundball that caromed off the glove of diving shortstop Dylan Moore for an infield hit — the first off Miller. Acuña stole second and third and jogged home when Albies doubled to right-center field.
Jarred Kelenic had the only other hit for the Braves when he led off the ninth inning with a single against reliver Austin Voth (1-0).
Fried was pulled after throwing 100 pitches thru six innings and the only two base runners he allowed were walks to Garver and Cal Raliegh. He struck out seven and followed up on the 92-pitch, three-hitter in his last outing, a 5-0 win over Miami.
Pierce Johnson kept the combined no-hitter going through the seventh inning striking out the side, but Seattle finally broke up the no-no in the eighth. Reliever Joe Jiménez immediately walked Ty France on four pitches and Josh Rojas pulled a ground ball through the right side of the infield for Seattle’s first hit.
Seattle eventually loaded the bases but Julio Rodríguez flew out to shallow left field and Mitch Haniger struck out chasing a slider off the plate to end the threat.
Miller had a perfect game going until issuing a one-out, four-pitch walk to Travis d’Arnaud in the sixth. Miller got Kelenic to ground into a double play to end the frame to keep the no-hitter alive before losing it in the seventh.
Miller, in just his second season, tied his career high with 10 strikeouts. He leaned heavily on his fastball that induced 15 swings and misses from Atlanta batters.
UP NEXT
Braves: RHP Reynaldo Lopez (2-0, 0.72) has allowed only two earned runs in 25 innings this season.
Mariners: RHP Luis Castillo (2-4, 4.15) goes for his third straight victory after starting the season 0-4.
