SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Daniel Vogelbach belted a three-run home run in the 8th inning – his 7th homer of the spring – as the Mariners concluded their 42nd Spring Training with a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies before a sellout crowd of 13,835 on Tuesday afternoon at Salt River Fields.
Vogelbach concluded his outstanding spring today, going 2-for-4 with 2 runs, 1 home run and 3 RBI. He finished the spring leading all players in batting, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. In 22 Cactus League games, he hit .407 (22×54) with 13 runs, 7 doubles, 7 home runs, 15 RBI, 13 walks, a .529 on-base percentage and a .926 slugging mark.
The Rockies opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the 1st. The Mariners evened the score at 1-1 in the top of the 2nd as Vogelbach hit a one-out single, and Guillermo Heredia followed with a walk before Mike Marjama singled to left field to bring home Vogelbach. Colorado plated a run in the 5th to take a 2-1 lead. Once again, Seattle answered right back with a run in the next frame. Mitch Haniger led off the 6th with his 2nd double of the game before pinch-runner Billy Cooke advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch and scored on Ryon Healy’s sacrifice fly.
Vogelbach broke the game open with his three-run home run in the 8th, giving the Mariners their first lead of the ballgame, 5-2. The Rockies scored in a run in the bottom of the 8th for the final tally of 5-3.
Making his 7th Cactus League start of 2018, Gonzales worked 4.2 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3. Edwin Díaz retired the only batter he faced in the 5th inning. Dan Altavilla retired two batters in the 6th on a groundball out and a fly out. Minor league call-ups Michael Koval (1.1 IP), Matt Walker (1.0 IP) and Scott Kuzminsky combined for 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. Koval earned the win – his first of the spring – while Kuzminsky (Puyallup High School / Bellevue College) picked up his 2nd save in Cactus League action.
The Mariners wrapped up their 42nd Spring Training in club history with a record of 16-14-2, including a 10-2-1 mark in their final 13 games. Seattle will open the 2018 season Thursday, March 29 against the Cleveland Indians at 7:10 p.m. PT at Safeco Field. Right-hander Félix Hernández is scheduled to make his 11th Opening Day start (10th consecutive) against Indians right-hander Corey Kluber.
