SEATTLE (AP) — After the way the Atlanta Braves handled their eight-game trip to the West Coast, they have to believe the comforts of home will provide improvement.
At this point, almost anything is an improvement.
The Seattle Mariners handed Atlanta its eighth straight loss, beating the Braves 7-3 Wednesday.
Atlanta left Turner Field last week after a win over the Padres, aiming to stay close in the NL East race. Instead, the Braves went winless on their visits to Dodger Stadium, San Diego and Safeco Field.
“I don’t think you can ever imagine going winless on a road trip, but we are not too far out of it and we have a chance to get back into it this weekend,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said.
This was the first time since May 2012 that Atlanta had lost eight in a row and only the second time in club history that a Braves team had dropped each contest of a road trip that spanned at least eight games.
The Braves scored all three runs in the third, with Freeman driving in two with a bases-loaded double, but Tommy La Stella was thrown out trying to score from first on the play.
Atlanta had runners on base in five of the last six innings, but were unable to break through again off Seattle starter Chris Young (10-6) and five Mariners relievers.
“Well, you know we got 10 hits today,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “Problem is, you don’t want that number in that column, you want it in (the run) column.”
Young allowed seven of those hits in five innings. He struck out six and reached double-digit wins for the first time since 2006.
The Mariners erupted in the third as Dustin Ackley led off with a home run and Logan Morrison added a three-run shot off Julio Teheran (10-8) for a 5-3 lead.
Teheran was wildly inconsistent in six innings, yielding six runs in three frames, while allowing just one baserunner in the other three innings.
Even after allowing Ackley’s homer, Teheran appeared to have settled down with two quick outs and a 3-2 advantage. Kyle Seager and Chris Taylor hit back-to-back singles, though, and Morrison followed with no-doubter into the right-field seats.
“I think when you can answer some runs with a run or two runs,” Ackley said, “I think it always helps to chip away.”
Seager drove in Seattle’s first run with a single in the first, and Taylor and Kendrys Morales later added RBI singles.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: SS Andrelton Simmons, who sprained his left ankle during Tuesday’s game, was wearing an air cast and using crutches on Wednesday morning. He still hopes to avoid time on the disabled list.
UP NEXT
Braves: Atlanta returns home to start a 10-game homestand against the division-leading Nationals on Friday. Ervin Santana (10-6) lost his only career start against Washington.
HOME VS. AWAY
Teheran did nothing to help boost his road stats. The right-hander entered the game 6-6 with a 3.91 ERA away from Turner Field. At home, Teheran is 4-1 with a 1.48 ERA, which is tied for the major league lead in that category.
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