Major League Baseball
LA Angels 4, Seattle 2
When: 4:10 PM ET, Sunday, September 4, 2016
Where: Safeco Field, Seattle, Washington
Temperature: 61°
Umpires: Home - Ramon De Jesus, 1B - Larry Vanover, 2B - David Rackley, 3B - Alfonso Marquez
Attendance: 24033

SEATTLE -- Kyle Seager and his Seattle Mariners lost another baseball game on Sunday afternoon, but that was the least of the third baseman's concerns after as scary an incident as he's ever seen in a game.

The 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels seemed to have less of importance after Seager's line drive hit pitcher Matt Shoemaker in the side of the head during the second inning.

"It was terrifying," Seager said. "Probably the scariest thing I ever saw on a baseball field. Something like that is a lot bigger than baseball. That was real."

Shoemaker took a line drive off the side of his right head, causing him to fall to his knees while also opening a cut on the side of his head.

Shoemaker was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a hematoma and a small skull fracture. He was scheduled to stay overnight for observation and will meet with a neurologist in Seattle while the Angels continue their road trip in Oakland.

"Hopefully we'll just keep getting good news about his recovery," manager Mike Scioscia said.

The Angels (61-75) were able to compose themselves and pull out the win after the injury. Albert Pujols hit another home run and six Los Angeles relievers combined to pitch 7 2/3 innings as the Angels won for the seventh time in eight games.

"That was a tough situation," Scioscia said. "Something like that, if affects everybody. Those guys (in the bullpen) all went out there and did a great job to help us win the game."

The Los Angeles bullpen allowed seven hits but just two runs from the second inning on to win the series. Reliever Andrew Bailey, who had made his Angels' debut on Friday night after being claimed off waivers from Philadelphia, picked up the save after working a scoreless ninth. It was Bailey's 90th career save but his first since 2013.

Pujols hit his 29th home run of the season during another big first inning that saw the Angels take a 2-0 lead.

Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma recovered from two first-inning homers but still ended up taking the loss, his fourth defeat in as many starts. Iwakuma (14-11) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings.

"The first inning, both those pitches (to Pujols and C.J. Cron) were up in the zone," Iwakuma said. "Just being able to keep the ball down, that's what got me through seven innings."

Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz each homered for the Mariners, who have lost nine of 11 and missed an opportunity to pick up a game in the American League wild-card race. Seattle (69-67) trails Baltimore and Detroit by five games.

Pujols went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Angels, who have won six of their last seven. Catcher Jett Bandy added three hits for Los Angeles.

The Angels got off to another fast start when back-to-back home runs from Pujols and Cron gave Los Angeles a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. That gave the Angels six home runs and 12 runs in the first innings of the three-game series.

Seattle had a chance in the fourth inning when a Cano single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases with the bases loaded, but center fielder Leonys Martin flied out to right to end that threat, keeping the score 2-0.

Pujols added an RBI single in the top of the sixth, extending the Angels' lead to 3-0.

Seattle finally got on the board on Cano's solo home run, his 31st of the season, in the bottom of the sixth, pulling the Mariners within 3-1.

Seattle stranded a runner on third base in the bottom of the seventh, then Los Angeles tacked on a run on Andrelton Simmons' RBI single in the top of the eighth.

Simmons singled to left, scoring Mike Trout from third base for a 4-1 lead, but Pujols was thrown out after breaking for home when Cano mishandled the relay throw and eventually got Pujols at home plate.

Cruz's two-out solo homer in the bottom of the eighth closed the gap to 4-2. Cruz now has 35 home runs, five from his third consecutive 40-homer season.

Bailey pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to post the save. Los Angeles reliever Deolis Guerra, who took over for Shoemaker and pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, claimed the win to improve to 3-0 this season.

Los Angeles had double-digit hits in each of the three games in the series. Trout, Pujols and Kole Calhoun combined to go 15-for-36 with seven home runs and 13 RBIs in the series.

Sunday's game was delayed for several minutes after the scary second-inning incident that left Shoemaker under the care of team trainers while several teammates knelt nearby.

Shoemaker took a line drive off the bat of Seager to the right side of his head. Trainers used a towel to stop the bleeding, and Shoemaker was eventually able to walk off the field as a visibly shaken Seager looked on.

"It was kind of like: Screw baseball," said Seager, who sent a text message to Shoemaker after the loss. "Who cares about the game? When you see the trainers on the field like that, you don't care about a stupid game at that point. It's definitely scary for it to hit him square like that. ... I'm just hoping that he's OK."

The Angels' Scioscia was also shaken by the incident.

"That's awful," he said afterward. "You've kind of got to catch your breath for a second. Obviously, we're relieved to hear everything's under control with Matt; he'll be observed (Sunday night). But that just gives you a feeling in your stomach. It's tough."

NOTES: Angels 3B Yunel Escobar (bruised hand) was not in the lineup Sunday. He took the first pitch of Saturday's game to the back of his left hand. X-rays were negative, and Escobar should be available at some point in the upcoming Oakland series. ... The Angels tabbed RHP Alex Meyer to start Wednesday's game against the A's. Meyer was acquired along with RHP Ricky Nolasco in the trade that sent LHP Hector Santiago to Minnesota, and he joined the Angels after the Sept. 1 roster expansion. He will take the spot in the rotation previously held by LHP Brett Oberholtzer, who struggled in the opener of the Seattle series. ... Los Angeles is scheduled to face two starters in Oakland who will be making their major league debuts. The A's have RHP Raul Alcantara listed as Monday's starter and RHP Jharel Cotton as Wednesday's starter. ... The Mariners activated RHP Drew Storen from the 15-day disabled list and recalled LHP David Rollins before Sunday's game. ... Seattle will start RHP Felix Hernandez in Monday's game against Texas. Hernandez was initially scheduled to pitch Tuesday, but the team decided over the weekend to move Monday starter James Paxton back a day so that his torn fingernail could get an extra day to heal.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
LA Angels   Seattle
Matt Shoemaker Player Hisashi Iwakuma
No Decision W/L Loss
1.1 IP 7.0
2 Strikeouts 5
1 Hits 8
0.00 ERA 3.86
Hitting
LA Angels   Seattle
Albert Pujols Player Robinson Cano
3 Hits 2
2 RBI 1
1 HR 1
6 TB 5
.750 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
LA Angels 10 2 16 .312 13 7 4 2 1 0
Seattle 8 2 15 .242 12 5 2 2 1 0