Randy Arozarena hits a 3-run homer against his former team as the Mariners top the Rays 5-1

SEATTLE (AP) — Randy Arozarena smacked a three-run homer against his former team, Bryce Miller allowed two hits and tied a career high with 10 strikeouts over seven innings, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 on Monday night.

Jorge Polanco added a solo home run, his 13th longball of the season, and backup infielder Leo Rivas added a two-out RBI single as the Mariners improved to 3-1 under new manager Dan Wilson.

Miller’s 10 strikeouts matched the mark he’s reached four times in his career, the last coming in April against the Braves. Miller (10-7) retired the side in order in five of his seven innings.

“I love the fact he just throws strikes," Wilson said. "He gets ahead, he dominates the zone. We talk about that a lot. He seems like he's always in control of the at-bat.”

Josh Lowe had the only success against Miller with a solo homer in the second inning and a single in the fifth.

It was Miller's sixth outing this season pitching seven complete innings. In those six starts, he's thrown 42 innings, allowed two runs and struck out 49. Miller wasn't thrilled with his fastball command, but his other pitches were working.

“All the secondaries felt really good,” he said. “So I was able to on the counts where I got ahead put them away.”

Arozarena was acquired from the Rays in late July ahead of the trade deadline with the hope of adding length to Seattle’s batting order. After a solid start, he had struggled lately and was in a 4-for-39 slump with just one extra-base hit and one RBI in his previous 11 games entering Monday.

Perhaps seeing old friends helped. Arozarena spent some time in the Rays clubhouse before the game catching up with former teammates and Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash.

Then he delivered the blow that broke open the game.

With two outs in the third, Julio Rodríguez's routine grounder bounded under the glove of former Mariner Jose Caballero at third base. Cal Raleigh followed with a cue shot off the end of his bat that hit third base for an infield single.

“(Caballero), the defensive run he's been on is just amazing. Not that it was bound to happen that a ball gets by him, but he's played elite defense,” Cash said. “Unfortunate in the moment. And then probably the wrong guy in Randy coming up.”

Fans were still chuckling at Raleigh’s hit when Rays starter Ryan Pepiot (7-6) left a cutter on the outer half of the plate and Arozarena drove it out to right field. It was just his second home run since being traded to Seattle and his first since July 29 — his third game with the Mariners.

“Something I'm not going to ever do is lose my confidence, but when something like that happens it just boosts your confidence a little more,” Arozarena said through an interpreter.

Pepiot pitched six innings and only two of the five runs he allowed were earned.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: RHP Shane Baz, scratched from Sunday’s scheduled start due to flu-like symptoms, returned to the Tampa area. The Rays hope he’ll be able to start later this week when the team returns home.

Mariners: SS J.P. Crawford (broken finger) went through a simulated game and full pregame workout and is expected to do the same Tuesday. There’s a chance he could be activated from the injured list midweek. … RHPs Yimi García (elbow) and Gregory Santos (biceps) are both throwing in Arizona, but there is no timeline on when either could return.

UP NEXT

Rays: LHP Jeffrey Springs (1-2, 4.50 ERA) will make his sixth start of the season. He lasted only 3 1/3 innings last time out against Oakland.

Mariners: RHP Logan Gilbert (7-10, 3.21) was knocked around for six earned runs over 4 2/3 innings in his last start against the Dodgers.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot throws against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller throws against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Tampa Bay Rays' Josh Lowe rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Jorge Polanco hits a solo home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the second inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena is hit by a pitch from Tampa Bay Rays starter Ryan Pepiot during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena looks up as he holds a trident to celebrate hitting a three-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the third inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena celebrates with Julio Rodríguez, left, after hitting a three-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the third inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Nebraska’s Republican attorney general said Friday that supporters of two measures to legalize medical marijuana could have submitted at least “several thousand” invalid signatures to get them on the ballot, suggesting that the issue ultimately could keep the proposals from becoming law.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers made the statement during a Zoom news conference with a local prosecutor to announce a felony charge against a petition circulator from Grand Island over fraudulent signatures on 38 pages for the two separate initiatives.

While Hilgers and the local prosecutor said the alleged fraud was “localized,” the attorney general added that an investigation of the pro-marijuana petitions uncovered other irregularities implicating many other signatures. Hilger said his office’s investigation is still open and if it finds enough invalid signatures, the courts could remove them from the ballot, block the counting of votes for them or, if the measures pass, invalidate the new laws.

The attorney general's announcement came on the last day for the secretary of state's office to certify the initiatives for the November ballot. A spokesperson for Secretary of State Bob Evnen said he would respond later Friday.

“The election is around the corner, and the integrity of our elections is of critical importance,” Hilgers told reporters.

Crista Eggers, campaign manager for Nebraskans for Medical Marijuna, the group pushing the measures, expressed confidence that “the people’s voice on this issue will finally be heard.” She said in a statement that the group provides extensive training to its circulators.

“Circulators are held to an extremely high standard and are required to strictly follow all legal requirements for collecting signatures,” she said. “Any circulators caught violating the law should be held accountable for their actions.”

Dozens of states have legalized marijuana for either medical or recreational use, most recently in Ohio last November. This fall, voters will weigh in on legalizing recreational marijuana in North Dakota, South Dakota and Florida. In May, the federal government began a process to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

The Nebraska initiatives are part of broader efforts by left-leaning groups and state lawmakers to force public votes on measures opposed by GOP lawmakers when partisan gerrymandering locks Democrats out of power in legislatures. It's been a successful tactic for backers of legalizing marijuana but also for abortion rights advocates.

Opponents of such measures have filed lawsuits to keep them off the ballot, and Republican-leaning states also have tried to restrict citizens' ability to bypass lawmakers through ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments.

Hilgers' news conference came a day after a former Republican lawmaker in Nebraska filed a lawsuit seeking to block certification of the marijuana initiatives. Ex-state Sen. John Kuehn, a Republican, said he believes he can show that too many signatures are invalid but the secretary of state's office improperly stymied his efforts to build his case before the certification deadline.

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana gathered more than 114,000 signatures — far more than the approximately 86,000 needed — for each of two petitions. One would allow marijuana for medical use and the other to regulate the medical marijuana industry in the state.

It’s the third effort by the group to get the issue on the ballot. In 2020, opponents successfully sued to keep a measure off the ballot, and in 2022, supporters had only months to collect signatures and failed to get enough.

The criminal case in Nebraska came after officials in Florida and Kansas accused two petition circulators of forging voter signatures during campaigns to put an abortion rights measure to a vote in Florida and to allow the No Labels party to put candidates on the Kansas ballot. Neither successful petition drive appears to have depended on the signatures the two submitted.

The local prosecutor pursuing the Nebraska criminal case, Hall County Attorney Martin Klein, said the circulator who has been charged worked mostly in a neighboring county and did not work outside Nebraska. It was not clear whether he was paid, something allowed by Nebraska law and typical for groups because of a requirement that signatures come from at least 38 of the state's 93 counties.

The man faces a single charge of falsely swearing to a circulator's affidavit on a petition, which can be punished by up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. A phone call to a number listed for him would not go through and he did not immediately return a Facebook message.

Hilgers immediately faced questions about having his news conference on the last day for certifying the initiatives because he and other conservative Republicans oppose the measures. Hilgers said it took that long to uncover the problems and petitions for any initiatives receive similar scrutiny.

“We will have more to say,” Hilgers said. “Today is the deadline for the secretary of state, but it is not our deadline in order to complete our work.”

FILE - Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers speaks with members of the media outside the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill, Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)