Angels let the victory slip away in extras against the Mariners

Down to their final strike and having survived an appeal on a checked swing, the Angels dramatically rose Saturday.

Only to fall again. And dramatically, too.

Ryon Healy’s run-scoring single off reliever Eduardo Paredes in the 11th inning lifted Seattle to a 9-8 victory on a night when the Angels lost leads of 4-0, 7-6 and 8-7 and simply could not prevail.

“Give those guys credit,” manager Mike Scioscia said of the Mariners. “We just couldn’t make that big pitch when we were trying to hold the lead. … Great comebacks on both sides.”

The Angles’ road record fell to 12-3, and they now turn to rookie starter Shohei Ohtani on Sunday to try to win the three-game series.

The loss wasted the late highlights provided by Andrelton Simmons, Chris Young and Justin Upton.

Simmons’ two-out, two-strike infield single scored Mike Trout to put the Angels up 8-7 in the 11th.

Young, who was batting .125 at the time, had a two-out, RBI single in the 10th to give the Angels a7-6 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, the Mariners tied the score with an unearned run off Jim Johnson after a throwing error by Jefry Marte.

Upton first rescued the Angels with a homer with two outs in the ninth, a two-run drive that pulled the Angels even 6-6.

Before the home run, Upton was hitless in four at-bats, three of which ended in strikeouts.

He then fell behind Mariners reliever Edwin Diaz before successfully checking his swing and hammering a ball 400-plus feet over the wall in center.

The Angels saw something else sour: the perfect run by reliever Justin Anderson.

After six scoreless appearances to begin his career, Anderson allowed a lead-changing, eighth-inning two-run homer to Mike Zunino.

Anderson, who had not been on the 40-man roster until April 23, quickly emerged as one of the Angels’ best late-game options.

He succeeded in several tight situations and earned Scioscia’s trust in a way few rookie relievers have in Scioscia’s nearly two decades of managing.

But against the Mariners, Anderson failed to hold a 4-2 lead after entering with one out and a runner on second.

He surrendered a RBI single to Healy and then Zunino’s homer, halting his spotless string at 61/3 innings.

“That’s the life of a reliever,” Scioscia said. “Sometimes you make pitches and sometimes guys are going to hit them. … It’s not always what you don’t do.”

But there were encouraging signs along the way. Through four innings, the Angels had seven hits, including leadoff doubles in the second, third and fourth.

However, they only produced one run.

They had 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position and made outs in 10 of those opportunities.

After a 1-2-3 fifth, Marte came through in the sixth inning. Batting with runners at first and second, the reserve infielder lined a homer over the wall in left.

The Angels had a 4-0 lead and appeared to be comfortably on their way to another road victory.

But, like the weather here, baseball fortunes can change rapidly and with little warning.

Early in the game, it was raining at Safeco Field and the roof was open. So they closed it.

And the sun came out.

Eventually, things would end up going dark for the Angels, a pile of lost leads blotting out the positives.

jmiller2929@yahoo.com