Dodgers (SS) 8, Mariners (SS) 4: Blown chance in ninth proves costly Mariners (SS) 5, Reds 2: O’Neill’s three-run homer fuels four-run eighth

PEORIA, Ariz. — The Mariners settled for a split Saturday night in the split-squad doubleheader after blowing a chance for a sweep.

Rob Segedin’s two-run homer in the 10th inning lifted a Los Angeles Dodgers split squad to a 8-4 victory at Peoria Stadium. That came after the Mariners squandered a bases-loaded chance with one out in the ninth.

Segedin crushed a 2-2 fastball from Rafael Pineda, who spent most of last season at Hi-A Bakersfield. The Dodgers added two more runs before Pineda finished the inning

In Goodyear, Tyler O’Neill’s three-run homer highlighted a four-run eighth inning that produced a 5-2 victory over Cincinnati. Lefty starter Mike Montgomery pitched three scoreless innings in his spring debut.

The split left the Mariners with a 7-5 record.

The chance for a sweep slipped away when, with the bases loaded, Drew Jackson chased a 1-2 breaking ball for a strikeout, and Tim Lopes flied out to center.

There were some positives.

Lefty James Paxton became the first Mariners pitcher to work four innings when he limited the Dodgers to three hits and one unearned run.

"I feel good," he said. "I didn’t get tired at all. I felt really good. I feel like I’m ready."

The Mariners and Reds were scoreless until the fifth. After Shawn O’Malley led off with a triple to left, Luis Sardinas delivered a one-out RBI single to center.

Cincinnati answered with two runs later in the inning on Jay Bruce’s triple against Vidal Nuno. The Reds held their 2-1 lead until the eighth.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Third baseman Kyle Seager went to his knees for a stop on an A.J. Ellis grounder in the second inning against the Dodgers. His throw to first was slightly off-line, but Adam Lind kept his foot on the base as he stretched for the throw.

PLUS: Utility candidate Shawn O’Malley had a single and a triple against the Reds. He is 8-for-17 in 10 games…Tyler O’Neill is 3-for-3 with five RBIs in three games as a call-up from minor-league camp…James Paxton displayed the quickness of his leaner physique in outracing Ellis to first to complete a first-short-pitcher (3-6-1) double play in the fourth...Robinson Cano hit his second homer of the spring in the loss to the Dodgers. He is 6-for-19 (.316).

MINUS: Third-base coach Manny Acta threw up a late stop sign for Franklin Gutierrez on Steve Clevenger’s double in the third inning against the Dodgers. Gutierrez ran through the stop sign and scored…shortstop Ketel Marte made a sloppy two-out throw on a routine grounder in the Dodgers’ fourth that pulled Lind off first. A run scored on the play…Shortstop Drew Jackson, who replaced Marte, had a throwing error in the seventh that led to an unearned run…Justin De Fratus threw just 12 strikes in 27 pitches against the Dodgers but made it through a scoreless inning.

STAT PACK: The attendance of 10,066 at Peoria Stadium was the Mariners’ largest home crowd of the spring. The game in Goodyear drew 6,907.

QUOTABLE: "How do you like that?" pitcher James Paxton responded when asked about his break from the mound to complete a double play at first. "The agility is coming in right there.

"That’s what I’ve been working for, trying to get a little more athletic off the mound. And it showed right there."

SHORT HOPS: Catcher Rob Brantly, acquired earlier Saturday on waivers from the White Sox, batted as a pinch-hitter in the eighth against the Dodgers. He was hit by a pitch…The Mariners called up 30 minor-league players for the split-squad doubleheader: 14 against the Dodgers, and 16 against the Reds…the Mariners didn’t have sufficient Northwest green jerseys for two split-squad teams. Some of the minor-league players in Goodyear wore blue tops.

UP NEXT: The Mariners have a single game Sunday before playing another split-squad doubleheader on Monday. Nathan Karns will make his third start in a 1:10 p.m. game against Cincinnati at Peoria Stadium.

Note the time: Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time. Effectively that means the state is on Pacific time until the clocks change again in autumn.

Cincinnati lists right-hander Anthony DeSclafini as its starter. The game is on Root Sports and 710 ESPN.

Bob Dutton: @TNT_Mariners

This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 10:07 PM with the headline "Dodgers (SS) 8, Mariners (SS) 4: Blown chance in ninth proves costly Mariners (SS) 5, Reds 2: O’Neill’s three-run homer fuels four-run eighth."