Austin Riley hit a two-run triple and Chris Sale allowed one run over five innings as the Atlanta Braves salvaged the finale of a three-game interleague series in Seattle, defeating the host Mariners 5-2 on Wednesday afternoon.
Riley and Ronald Acuna Jr. each had two hits for the Braves, who snapped their first two-game losing streak of the season.
Julio Rodriguez had three hits, including a double, and Jorge Polanco had two RBIs for the Mariners, who lost for just the fourth time in their past 15 games.
Sale (4-1), a left-hander, gave up six hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine.
Braves closer Raisel Iglesias allowed the first two batters in the ninth to reach base, then retired three in a row for his eighth save of the season.
Mariners rookie right-hander Emerson Hancock (3-3) took the loss despite only one earned run of the five runs he allowed in 3 2/3 innings. The native of Cairo, Ga., who was the sixth overall pick out in the 2020 draft out of the University of Georgia, gave up five hits, walked four and fanned four.
The Braves opened the scoring in the third on Marcell Ozuna’s bases-loaded walk with two outs. That came after singles by Acuna and Riley, an errant pickoff throw to second base by Hancock that sailed into center field, and a walk to Matt Olson.
Atlanta added four runs in the fourth. Orlando Arcia reached on right fielder’s Mitch Haniger’s fielding error and Acuna grounded a run-scoring single into left with two outs. Ozzie Albies lined a single to right and Riley hit a drive just over Haniger’s glove, with the outfielder crashing into the wall and crumpling to the warning track as Riley reached third. Olson greeted reliever Trent Thornton with a line-drive single to center to make it 5-0.
The Mariners finally got on the board in the fifth as Seby Zavala led off with a double to left, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a blooper down the right-field line by Polanco.
Seattle tallied the final run in the seventh as Rodriguez doubled and scored on Polanco’s two-out single to left.
