ANAHEIM (Interstat) — The Seattle Mariners rode an early lead, a decisive fifth inning and a steady bullpen to a 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, at Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, Calif.

Seattle improved to 71-82, while Los Angeles dropped to 58-94. The game drew 38,906 and took 3 hours, 9 minutes. Seattle scored two runs in the first, three in the fifth and two in the sixth. Los Angeles scored one in the first and one in the second.

The Mariners struck first. J.P. Crawford singled to left, Randy Arozarena singled to left, and Dominic Canzone walked to load the bases. Cal Raleigh lifted a sacrifice fly to left that scored Crawford. After Julio Rodríguez struck out swinging, Josh Naylor singled to right to score Arozarena. Taylor Ward was called out on strikes to end the inning, and Seattle led 2-0.

Los Angeles answered in the bottom of the first. Zach Neto singled to center, Mike Trout walked, and Wade Meckler walked to load the bases. Vaughn Grissom hit a sacrifice fly to left that scored Neto. Moisés Ballesteros then lined into an unassisted double play, with shortstop J.P. Crawford doubling Trout off second. The Angels tied it in the second. Denzer Guzman singled to left, Josh Lowe reached on a soft bunt single, and Christian Moore struck out swinging. Adam Frazier singled to left to score Guzman. Zach Neto struck out swinging, Mike Trout walked to load the bases, and Wade Meckler struck out swinging to leave them loaded.

Seattle threatened in the third but could not score. Cal Raleigh walked, Julio Rodríguez singled, and Josh Naylor grounded out. In the fourth, Taylor Ward reached on a fielding error by shortstop Zach Neto, but Cole Young struck out and Weston Wilson grounded into a double play. Los Angeles also threatened in the third when Ballesteros singled and Guzman reached on a force out, but Josh Lowe lined out to left. Seattle starter George Kirby then worked around a two-out walk to Neto in the fourth, getting Trout to ground softly to first.

The Mariners broke the 2-2 tie in the fifth. Crawford grounded out, Arozarena walked, and Canzone walked. Raleigh doubled sharply to left, scoring Arozarena. Los Angeles intentionally walked Rodríguez. Naylor then reached on a fielder’s choice, with Canzone and Raleigh scoring and Rodríguez advancing to second on a throwing error by first baseman Vaughn Grissom. Taylor Ward reached on a fielder’s choice, and Rodríguez was out at home on a tag play that was challenged and upheld. Cole Young lined out sharply to first. Seattle led 5-2.

The Angels had a chance to respond in the bottom half. Grissom reached on a throwing error by Crawford, Ballesteros walked, and Guzman singled to load the bases. But Josh Lowe and Christian Moore both struck out swinging, ending the threat. Vargas replaced Kirby in the fifth and escaped the bases-loaded jam.

Seattle added insurance in the sixth. Weston Wilson walked, Crawford reached on a force out, and Arozarena walked. Canzone singled to left to score Crawford, and Raleigh singled to left to score Arozarena. Rodríguez grounded into a double play to end the inning, but the Mariners had a 7-2 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Adam Frazier grounded out, Neto was hit by a pitch, Trout was called out on strikes and Meckler grounded out.

Los Angeles put runners on in the later innings but could not score. In the seventh, Ballesteros was hit by a pitch and Guzman singled, but Jose Siri and Christian Moore grounded out. Seattle put together more traffic in the top of the seventh. Naylor doubled to right, but Taylor Ward struck out. Cole Young was hit by a pitch, and Weston Wilson lined into a double play, with Neto throwing to third to double off Naylor. Neto singled in the eighth, but Trout lined out and Meckler struck out. Seattle went quietly in the eighth, with Crawford and Canzone grounding out around an Arozarena strikeout. In the ninth, Raleigh struck out, Rodríguez doubled to left, and Naylor lined out before Ward was called out on strikes after a review.

George Kirby started for Seattle and allowed two earned runs on five hits over 4 1/3 innings, striking out five. Carlos Vargas earned the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings, one hit and three strikeouts. Vargas is 1-0. Cooper Criswell pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with one strikeout. José A. Ferrer worked two-thirds of a scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout. Andrés Muñoz finished with a scoreless inning, two hits and one strikeout.

Yusei Kikuchi took the loss for Los Angeles. He worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing five hits, four earned runs and striking out four. Kikuchi is 1-6. Sammy Peralta pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing three hits, two earned runs and one strikeout. Mitch Farris was sharp in relief with two scoreless innings, one hit and three strikeouts.

Cal Raleigh went 2 for 3 with three RBIs for Seattle. Josh Naylor went 2 for 5 with two RBIs. Crawford, Arozarena and Canzone each helped set the table, while Rodríguez doubled in the ninth. Seattle finished with nine hits, and Los Angeles had 10. The Mariners grounded into two double plays. Seattle pitchers combined for 16 strikes, 58 balls and 16 balls in play, while Los Angeles pitchers combined for 19 strikes, 58 balls and 19 balls in play.

The victory came after Seattle had dropped the first two games of the series, including a 2-1 loss to the Angels on Tuesday and a 6-4 loss on Monday. The Mariners had also lost four of their previous six games. Los Angeles had won three of its previous five before the finale. Seattle next travels to Colorado for a three-game series beginning Friday. Los Angeles opens a home series against Minnesota on Thursday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Seattle 4, Los Angeles 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Seattle a 55.6 percent probability to win. Seattle was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 9 settled against an over-under line of 8.5.