SEATTLE (AP) — J.P. Crawford hit a grand slam, Bryce Miller struck out nine in six smooth innings and the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-0 on Saturday.

Seattle Mariners 9, Los Angeles Angels 0: Box Score

Miller (5-5) allowed just three hits for the Mariners, who lead the AL West on June 1 for the first time since 2003. They have won seven straight home series and six of their last seven games overall. Seattle (33-27) is a season-high six games over .500.

“That was a fun ballgame, it really was,” manager Scott Servais said.

Seattle got nine hits, including three from Julio Rodríguez, and two home runs — a day after firing bench coach and offensive coordinator Brant Brown.

“I think we’re just freeing things up,” Servais said, “and I know that it’s been a point of emphasis over the last couple of days. Let’s free these players up, let’s talk about and really focus on what they do well and playing to their strengths.”

Miller gave up leadoff singles in the first and second, but after switching up his strategy to throw more four-seam fastballs and breaking pitches, he allowed just one more hit and never permitted a runner past second base.

“Yeah, like, the second inning, I don’t know where the fastball went, but I lost it,” Miller said.

“I guess it fell out of my pocket or something, but we found it between innings.”

It was the second-year right-hander’s 11th career game with six or more innings and three or fewer hits allowed, and the ninth time this season he’s held an opponent to two or fewer earned runs. His eight quality starts bring the Mariners’ major league-leading total to 36.

Angels starter Reid Detmers (3-6) set up Crawford’s fourth-inning slam, a line drive to right field, with a pair of walks that loaded the bases. He yielded four hits and five earned runs with three strikeouts and four walks in 3 2/3 innings.

Video: Seattle Mariners SS J.P Crawford belts grand slam vs Angels

After the game, Detmers was demoted to Triple-A Salt Lake.

While not known for his power, Crawford is known for his confidence, and the shortstop had little doubt he would produce runs in his fourth-inning at-bat. He’s batting .650 with three grand slams and 34 RBIs with the bases loaded since the start of 2023.

“I was just trying to be quick to the ball and not do too much,” Crawford said. “He threw me (a curveball) on the previous at-bat before and I got a feel for it, then just reacted and it went over. Thankfully, the roof was closed.”

Cal Raleigh hit a two-run double to cap a four-run sixth. Luke Raley had a solo homer and Rodríguez added his second RBI single of the game. The star center fielder has reached base safely in eight straight games after a slow start.

Raley rakes 💪 #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/ma6XYaXcU3

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 2, 2024

PURE BLISS

The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is investigating two separate shootings that took place early Saturday. In the first, two juveniles were injured in a drive-by shooting in Downtown Seattle. Several hours later, a male and female were shot during a gunfight in the city’s Yesler Terrace neighborhood.

Seattle shootings: 2 juvenile males injured in drive-by incident

In the first of two Seattle shootings, SPD said it is investigating after two boys were injured in a drive-by incident downtown early Saturday, according to a blog post on the department’s SPD Blotter.

At 1:11 a.m., officers responded to 911 call in the 300 block of Pike Street reporting multiple shots fired and people running.

The officers on the scene found discovered two “juvenile males” suffering from gunshot wounds, the SPD Blotter states. The Seattle Fire Department (SFD) then arrived and provided medical aid to the shooting victims.

Both of the young victims were then transported to Harborview Medical Center to receive additional treatment. One was in serious condition while the other was in serious condition.

The circumstances leading up to the shooting remain under investigation and no suspects have been taken into custody, the department wrote in its post.

More from the crime blotter: Man killed, another injured after Queen Anne park stabbing incident

Man, woman shot during Yesler Terrace gunfight

SPD also is conducting an investigation after a man and a woman were shot during a gunfight in the city’s Yesler Terrace neighborhood Saturday morning, a separate blog post on the department’s SPD Blotter explains.

Officers responded to multiple 911 calls at 5:01 a.m. reporting that shots fired and vehicles speeding away near 12th Avenue South and South Main Street.

The officers who arrived at the scene found evidence of a shootout including various calibers of shell casings, blood, multiple vehicles and a building struck by gunshots, the SPD Blotter post states.

While investigating, two victims, a man and a woman both in their 20s, were brought to the emergency room at Harborview Medical Center suffering from gunshot wounds.

According to the the SPD Blotter post, members of the department went on to determine that two groups of people were shooting at each other with rifles and handguns on South Main Street from Borren Avenue South to the east side of the Yesler Terrace Hillclimb.

What led to the shooting remains under investigation and no suspects have yet been taken into custody, SPD reported. The department did say a vehicle was seized as evidence.

If anyone has information about either incident and the crimes committed, they are asked to call the SPD Violent Crime Tip Line at (206) 233-5000, or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.

Seattle – After enjoying a beautiful sunny, warm day around Western Washington this afternoon, look for clouds to increase overnight with lows in the low 50s. 

A weak front will swing through early tomorrow morning with some light rain around.  Saturday is likely to be more dry than wet, but keep your umbrella handy in case you encounter a brief shower. 

A late-season atmospheric river is forecast to set up beginning Sunday.  Rounds of rain will move through Western Washington through Wednesday morning.  

Monday will also bring breezy wind and a chance of thunderstorms ahead of the cold front. Sunday through Tuesday, high temperatures will struggle to get to 60 degrees. There is a chance the Puget Sound Convergence Zone will keep lingering showers for some through Wednesday, but most spots should be much drier by midweek.

The average rainfall in Seattle for the entire month of June is 1.63″. We could see well over half of that over the course of 48 hours. Late spring rain is often a welcome sight for firefighters, as it can delay the start of fire season in the mountains and west of the Cascades.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for potential flooding due to the excessive rainfall and runoff into area creeks, rivers and streams. 

After a few water-logged days, we flip the weather once again and see drier, sunnier skies and warmer temperatures into the mid 70s by next Friday.