Valencia, Miranda lift Mariners past Angels 11-3

SEATTLE -- Ariel Miranda settled in after taking a liner off his leg during a shaky second inning, and the Mariners offense took over after that.

Danny Valencia homered and had four hits, Miranda pitched seven strong innings and Seattle beat the Los Angeles Angels 11-3 on Thursday night.

Miranda (3-2) allowed two runs -- both in the second inning -- seven hits and a walk while striking out five. He was struck by a shot from Yunel Escobar, then made a throwing error, but escaped the second inning and cruised from there.

"Great job by Ariel Miranda, can't say enough," said Mariners manager Scott Servais. "Obviously, he took the shot off the calf there early in the game, and he hung in there. To get through seven innings when the pitch count was up after the first two was really nice to see."

Valencia hit a solo shot in the seventh and had three RBI as Seattle matched its season high with 16 hits.

Ben Gamel had three hits and two walks, scored three times and drove in two runs for Seattle, which built a 6-2 lead in four innings against Alex Meyer (0-1).

Meyer, called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Salt Lake, was tagged for six runs, eight hits, three walks and a hit batter.

"You'd like to go out there and go more than four innings," Meyer said. "But, it's just a matter of being better for the next one."

Seattle took the lead with a three-run third. Gamel walked to open the inning and came around on two-out singles by Kyle Seager and Valencia. Guillermo Heredia followed with a blooped two-run double down the right field line.

The Mariners added two more in the fourth on a single by Jean Segura, an RBI double by Gamel and a single by Nelson Cruz.

Juan Graterol's two-run single put the Angels up 2-1 in the second after the Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the first when Cruz extending his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI double.

Valencia, who got off to a horrid start, is batting .316 with three homers, a double and seven runs scored in his last seven games.

"If it's the middle of the season, you can kind of weather it a little bit," said Valencia, who hit .287 with 17 homers last season with Oakland. "But, obviously being at the very beginning of the year, all you see is the numbers. But it's a long season and hopefully I can just contribute to the team winning games."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Angels: CF Mike Trout, who had played in all 29 games so far, was not in the lineup. Manager Mike Scioscia said Trout's hamstring has been a little tight. "If it was a playoff game, he'd be playing," said Scioscia, adding that Trout was available to pinch-hit. ... RHP Ricky Nolasco, who had some cramping in his calf during a 73-pitch start on Wednesday, is not expected to miss his rotation turn.

Mariners: RHP Hisashi Iwakuma is expected to make his next scheduled start after being struck in the left knee with a liner Wednesday. ... RHP Felix Hernandez (right shoulder inflammation) and OF Mitch Haniger (strained right oblique) both are making progress, but there is no definite return date for either.

ANGELS ROSTER MOVE

RHP Brooks Pounders was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake to make room for Meyer

CRUZ STAYS HOT

Over his 13-game hitting streak, Cruz is batting .458 (22 for 48) with five doubles, five homers and 19 RBI, along with 10 runs scored.

UP NEXT

Angels: After six games on the road, the Angels return home for a three-game weekend series against AL West-leading Houston. RHP Jesse Chavez (2-4, 4.50) starts for Los Angeles, opposed by LHP Dallas Keuchel (5-0, 1.21). Chavez is making his second start of the season against Houston. He took the loss on April 17, despite allowing just two runs -- one earned -- in seven innings as the Angels were blanked 3-0.

Mariners: RHP Yovani Gallardo (1-3, 5.08) opens the three-game series at Safeco Field on Friday against Texas, for whom he pitched in 2015. He has lasted at least five innings in each of his five starts. Yu Darvish (3-2, 3.03) starts for Texas.

---

More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball