Angels' mission against Mariners: Keep ball in the park

The Seattle Mariners likely will continue to aim for the fences when they play the Los Angeles Angels in the third game of their four-game series on Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif.

The Mariners hit four more homers on Friday night to account for all their runs in the 5-3 victory over the Angels. They lead the majors with 49 home runs.

Angels starter Trevor Cahill will try to keep the Mariners in the ballpark, something he accomplished when he pitched in Seattle on April 2, allowing one run and three hits in six innings.

Cahill left that game with the score tied at 1-1, but Daniel Vogelbach homered in the eighth to lift the Mariners to a 2-1 victory.

Cahill (1-1, 4.50) pitched exactly six innings in each of his first three outings before lasting just four innings on Sunday at the Texas Rangers, allowing four runs and five hits in the 12-7 loss.

Seattle rookie left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (0-1, 4.23) is scheduled to face the Angels for the first time.

Kikuchi has been consistent in recent starts, allowing three runs and five hits over six innings in each of his past two outings, but the 27-year-old hasn't been pleased with what he's accomplished in April.

"These last three starts I've been giving up runs at the early parts of the game," he said through an interpreter following his most recent outing. "I am going through scouting reports, and I am preparing myself for the game, but that's something I need to work on moving forward."

Nine of the 13 runs Kikuchi has allowed have scored in the first two innings.

"I've been watching a lot of videos two or three days before my start, and I am preparing myself and imagining what my pitches would look (like) against these hitters," Kikuchi said. "At the end of the day, I've got to go out there and execute."

Angels slugger Mike Trout returned to center field on Friday night after spending four games at designated hitter following his return from a three-game absence because of a groin strain. He hit a two-run homer in the eighth to tie the score before the Mariners hit two solo homers in the ninth for the win.

Second baseman David Fletcher's solo home run in the eighth inning on Thursday night capped an eight-run comeback for the Angels before they lost 11-10. Fletcher went 3-for-3 on Friday night.

Angels designated hitter/first baseman Justin Bour made what manager Brad Ausmus called an "extreme mental error" on Friday night, but it's unlikely it will affect his playing time moving forward.

Bour had two hits, but he didn't run out an infield popup with a runner on first and one out in the eighth inning. The Mariners let the ball intentionally fall to the ground and then turned the double play.

"You learn that early on in Little League," Ausmus said.

Ausmus said he had not talked to Bour about the play.

"It'll never happen again in his career," Ausmus said. "He's not the type of guy that would do that because he has some type of attitude problem. He was just frustrated and angry with himself and made a mistake."

--Field Level Media