Dan Haren (14-8) worked in and out of trouble through six innings, allowing three runs and 10 hits while striking out three and walking none. The Angels capitalized on Texas’ 5-1 loss at Tampa Bay and moved a season-best 13 games over .500 (77-64).
Anthony Vasquez (1-2) gave up seven runs — six earned — and six hits in 52/3 innings for Seattle. The former USC left-hander has surrendered 18 earned runs, 22 hits and six home runs in 15 innings over his first three major league starts, including a 13-5 loss to the Angels last Tuesday at Seattle.
The Mariners are 15-22 since their franchise-record 17-game losing streak in July. The defeat ensured the Mariners of their sixth losing record during Ichiro Suzuki’s 11 years with the club. His first year was 2001, when they won 116 games under manager Lou Piniella and tied the major league record set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs.
Exactly one month after he robbed Torii Hunter of a two-run homer to left field in his major league debut at Angel Stadium, Los Angeles native Trayvon Robinson made his second career start in center in the majors because of a season-ending injury to Franklin Gutierrez. Robinson misjudged a two-out fly by Hunter that enabled the Angels to take a 3-1 lead in the first inning.
Hunter trotted to first base, thinking the ball would be caught, and didn’t turn on the jets until he rounded first and saw the ball hit the top of the fence. Peter Bourjos scored on Hunter’s third triple of the season and Trumbo followed with his 26th homer, the most among rookies and five shy of the Angels’ rookie record set by Tim Salmon in 1993.
Haren gave up three two-out singles in the first, including a run-scoring hit to Justin Smoak, who was hitless in his 10 previous career at-bats against the three-time All-Star. Mike Carp tried to go to third base on the play, but was thrown out by Hunter after Dustin Ackley crossed the plate. Hunter’s 14th outfield assist equaled his career high from 2001 with Minnesota.
The Mariners had Haren on the ropes again in the second after a leadoff double by Adam Kennedy and an RBI single by Josh Bard. Robinson’s double sent Bard to third, but both runners held on Suzuki’s broken-bat grounder to second and Brendan Ryan took a called third strike.
The first three batters for the Angels in the third reached base without benefit of a hit and all of them scored, increasing the lead to 6-2. Maicer Izturis, who missed the previous three games after getting hit by a pitch, was plunked again by Vasquez. Bourjos walked, and Izturis scored when third baseman Kyle Seager booted Howie Kendrick’s grounder. Hunter followed with a sacrifice fly and Kendrick scored on Trumbo’s double off the wall in right.
