Barnes leads Dodgers past Mariners 2-1 for 7th straight win

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Austin Barnes stood by first base and watched the Seattle Mariners' infield move back, leaving him to take whatever lead he desired.

This apparent disregard for an able-bodied catcher would not stand, Barnes thought to himself — and he promptly stole second with a daring that decided yet another win for the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers.

“When they played behind me, I was confused, because I can run a little bit,” Barnes said. “I’m not super slow.”

Corey Seager singled home Barnes with the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning and the Dodgers beat Seattle 2-1 on Tuesday for their seventh consecutive victory.

Barnes went 2 for 2 with a walk and scored both runs for the Dodgers, who improved to an NL-best 18-7 and sent the Mariners to their seventh straight defeat.

He also seized the moment to get in position for the winner. After drawing a walk, Barnes stole his first base of the season before Seager brought him in with a two-out drive through the shift in right.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called Barnes' 13th career stolen base “just a heads-up baseball play.”

And Mariners manager Scott Servais confirmed no disrespect was intended: "He’s a really good athlete. We were focused on trying to make a pitch there, and he took off on us.”

Barnes' swipe set up the latest big hit by Seager, who connected off Dan Altavilla (1-2). Seager had homered in each of the Dodgers' two previous games.

With the temperature at 102 degrees in Chavez Ravine for the opening pitch, Tony Gonsolin threw six scoreless innings of two-hit ball for the Dodgers. He had an impressive duel with Marco Gonzales, who struck out nine in seven innings of five-hit ball for the Mariners.

“Two really good pitching performances,” Roberts said. “I thought Marco...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Barnes-leads-Dodgers-past-Mariners-2-1-for-7th-15493980.php