Cole Young, Mariners surging ahead of opener vs. Royals

The Seattle Mariners found their mojo on the road.

Now they'll try to bring it back home.

The Mariners just completed a 5-1 trip to St. Louis and Minnesota after losing eight of their first nine road contests and will host the Kansas City Royals on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series.

The Mariners scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning Wednesday in a 5-3 win over the Twins.

"A really good way to end the road trip," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. "A nice 5-1 road trip; we'll take that every time."

Cole Young's two-run single up the middle with the infield drawn in put Seattle ahead on Wednesday.

"That was a lucky, lucky hit," said Young, a second baseman in his first full major league season. "I'm just happy I got the job done."

Young, 22, has six go-ahead or game-tying RBIs in the seventh inning or later this season, the most in MLB.

"It's just calming myself down and not trying to be someone I'm not," Young said. "I'm not trying to be a hero in every, every situation. Just pass the baton. I'm just trying to get on base, and I feel like that's helped me out a ton."

Young went 11-for-22 on the trip, with two doubles, a home run and eight RBIs. He has driven in at least one run in six consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors. He is batting .286 this season, with three homers and 19 RBIs.

"He doesn't let the game speed up on him," Wilson said of Young. "He's got really good control of his emotion. The moment doesn't seem too big for him, which is huge. And then being able to see the pitch, let it get deep enough and not chase. He's not afraid to go the other way with it. He's done it several times for us, and almost every time he has used the middle of the field and opposite field."

The Royals, who are in the American League Central cellar, fell 6-3 to the Athletics on Thursday in West Sacramento, Calif. Kansas City left 12 runners on base and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

"We got to keep giving ourselves those opportunities and cash them in," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. "We didn't do that (Thursday)."

Kansas City is 3-12 on the road this season, averaging just 2.6 runs a game there.

"Move on, keep working. It's a long season," said Royals infielder Maikel Garcia, who homered Thursday. "We're going to get a lot more chances with men on base. Just keep believing in ourselves."

Friday's series opener is scheduled to feature Royals left-hander Cole Ragans (1-4, 5.00 ERA) against Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (1-2, 3.86).

Ragans is coming off his first victory of the season, 12-1 over the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. He allowed one run on five hits over six innings, with no walks and a season-high 11 strikeouts, one shy of his career-best.

Ragans is 0-0 with a 2.53 ERA in three career appearances against Seattle, including two starts.

Woo will try to bounce back from his worst start of the season, in which he gave up seven runs on nine hits in just three innings Saturday in St. Louis. He didn't receive a decision as the Mariners rallied to win 11-9.

Woo, who hadn't allowed a home run all season until that point, gave up four homers to the Cardinals on a windy afternoon at Busch Stadium. He is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in one previous start vs. Kansas City.