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Major League Baseball
Seattle 6, Minnesota 5
When: 10:10 PM ET, Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Where: Safeco Field, Seattle, Washington
Temperature: 78°
Umpires: Home - Dan Iassogna, 1B - Brian Gorman, 2B - Nic Lentz, 3B - Tripp Gibson III
Attendance: 15732

SEATTLE -- A month ago, Mike Zunino was demoted to the minor leagues, batting .167 with no home runs and two RBIs.

That suddenly seems like a long time ago.

Zunino hit two home runs Wednesday night, including a two-run shot with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Seattle Mariners rallied for a 6-5 victory against the Minnesota Twins at Safeco Field.

Zunino's ninth-inning blast to right-center field off Brandon Kintzler (2-1) gave the Mariners their season-high fifth consecutive win.

Kyle Seager and Carlos Ruiz also hit home runs for the Mariners, who have won nine of the past 10 games, outscoring opponents 75-30. Seattle (30-30) reached the .500 mark for only the second time this season.

Seattle closer Edwin Diaz (2-2) got the victory after pitching a scoreless ninth.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Mariners' Ben Gamel singled to center field, extending his hitting streak to 10 games.

Zunino then hit a 2-1 pitch from Kintzler over the right field wall to win the game.

"I didn't know he could go the other way like that," Kintzler said. "I left a pitch out over the plate, and he did what he was supposed to do there."

A month ago, Zunino couldn't have hit a pitch like that. He was sent down to work on his swing. Since returning May 22, he has batted .302 (15-for-46) with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 13 games.

"That was the exact swing that I've been trying to build over the last month, against a guy that got a good sinker away," Zunino said. "That's not a guy that you want to pull. I just tried to elevate. That comes from learning the swing and trusting it."

Yovani Gallardo pitched a season-high seven innings and yielded five runs, including a three-run homer to Miguel Sano in the fifth inning. The home run, Sano's 15th of the season, tied him with Seattle's Nelson Cruz for the AL lead with 46 RBIs.

"Whatever happens with one pitch, you can't do anything about it," Gallardo said. "You've just got to keep putting up zeros."

Gallardo yielded six hits and two walks while striking out six.

Sano's blast gave the Twins a 5-2 lead, but they got just one hit over the final four innings.

"Miguel hit a hanging curveball to put us ahead, but we just couldn't find a way to add on," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "They kind of pecked away one at a time until they got the big one at the end."

Zunino and Ruiz, the Nos. 8-9 batters in the order, hit back-to-back homers leading off the third inning to give Seattle a 2-1 lead. Ruiz, who entered the game batting .189, was serving as the Mariners' designated hitter. It was his first home run of the season.

"We talked to (manager Scott Servais) about how it could be dangerous to put two catchers in there," Zunino said. "It was great to see Chooch have that swing."

Joe Mauer's single tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth, preceding Sano's home run.

The Mariners got one run back without the benefit of a hit in the fifth inning. Zunino led off with a walk and Ruiz was hit by a pitch. Zunino went to third on a flyout, and Tyler Smith's sacrifice fly made it 5-3.

Seager hit a solo homer off the facade of the second deck in right field against Twins reliever Tyler Duffey in the sixth to pull Seattle within 5-4. It was Seager's seventh home run of the season.

Twins rookie left-hander Adalberto Mejia allowed three runs on two hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out five.

NOTES: Seattle 1B Danny Valencia was ejected in the bottom of the eighth inning by plate umpire Dan Iassogna. Valencia grounded out to third, then was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. ... Mariners DH Nelson Cruz missed the game due to right calf tightness. ... The Mariners announced a five-year contract extension with injured SS Jean Segura. The deal is reportedly worth $70 million and includes a no-trade clause. ... The Twins made several roster moves, placing LHP Hector Santiago (shoulder soreness) on the 10-day disabled list and SS Jorge Polanco on the bereavement list. They recalled 1B Kennys Vargas from Triple-A Rochester and claimed RHP Chris Heston off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... The Twins are scheduled to start RHP Kyle Gibson (2-4, 7.23 ERA) in the series finale Thursday against Mariners RHP Christian Bergman (3-2, 4.36).
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Minnesota   Seattle
Adalberto Mejia Player Yovani Gallardo
No Decision W/L No Decision
5.0 IP 7.0
5 Strikeouts 6
2 Hits 6
5.40 ERA 6.43
Hitting
Minnesota   Seattle
Ehire Adrianza Player Mike Zunino
1 Hits 2
0 RBI 3
0 HR 2
2 TB 8
.500 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Minnesota 7 1 11 .219 7 7 5 2 0 0
Seattle 5 4 17 .167 7 7 6 3 0 0