ANAHEIM -- Thanks to a solid outing from spot starter Roenis Elias and his bullpen buddies, the Mariners topped the Angels, 5-0, on Friday to pull off their first back-to-back victories in three weeks.
Elias and five relievers held the Halos to six hits, helped by center fielder Dee Gordon's home run-saving catch of a Mike Trout drive, as Seattle improved to 81-66 and stayed 8 1/2 games back of Oakland for the American League's final Wild Card berth.
That playoff race is all but over, given any combination of seven Oakland wins or Seattle losses over the final 15 games will mathematically eliminate the Mariners.