Jorge Polanco and Mitch Haniger homer, power Mariners to a 9-3 win over the Reds

SEATTLE (AP) — Jorge Polanco and Mitch Haniger homered, and Seattle’s slumping offense produced a season high in runs as the Mariners beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-3 Monday night.

The Mariners had their highest scoring game since August 26, 2023, when they scored 13 times against the Kansas City Royals. Seattle entered Monday’s game batting .204.

“We put the bat on the ball, took our walks, we hit a couple of homers,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “Did everything you’re looking for this offseason to do.”

George Kirby (2-2) returned to form for Seattle, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks in six innings. The 26-year-old right-hander had yielded 13 runs over his last 7 1/3 innings pitched.

“It’s a good step in the right direction,” Kirby said.

Polanco, acquired from the Minnesota Twins in the offseason, hit his second home run in two days. J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodríguez reached on walks by Frankie Montas, and Polanco followed with a shot that capped a three-run first inning for Seattle.

Montas (2-2) lasted only two innings, surrendering five runs on two homers with five walks. He struggled with command, throwing 34 strikes out of 66 pitches.

Haniger chased Montas, belting a two-run homer in the third that gave Seattle a 5-1 lead. Montas was replaced in the bottom of the third by Nick Martinez.

“Goal is always getting the bullpen -- especially early in the series -- getting the bullpen as fast as you can,” Haniger said.

In his first MLB game after being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma, Jonatan Clase, the Mariners’ No. 10 prospect, recorded his first MLB hit and RBI in the sixth with a single to left. He nearly had his first big league hit in the fourth, but was robbed by Elly De La Cruz, who made a fantastic sliding catch in shallow left field.

Jeimer Candelario and Jake Fraley added solo homers for the Reds. Fraley also added a check swing RBI double in the fourth, going 2 for 4 with the two RBIs.

Along with an early homer in the third, Haniger added an RBI double down the left field line that extended Seattle’s lead in the seventh. It was followed by a sacrifice fly from Ty France and an RBI triple by Luke Raley.

“I’ve watched them enough, we’ve scouted them enough to know that this is a really good team,” Reds manager David Bell said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cincinnati: LHP Sam Moll (left shoulder) continues his rehab and plans to pitch Wednesday and Saturday. ... RHP Ian Gibaut (right forearm) is scheduled to pitch Tuesday and Wednesday.

Seattle: OF Dominic Canzone had an MRI on Monday and was diagnosed with a left shoulder strain. There is no timeline for his return, but he is expected to be out for a couple of weeks.

UP NEXT

Reds RHP Hunter Greene (0-1, 4.86) will face Seattle RHP Logan Gilbert (0-0, 2.66) on Tuesday.

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

Cincinnati Reds' Christian Encarnacion-Strand slides home to score against the Seattle Mariners on a double by Jake Fraley during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Jonatan Clase points to the dugout after hitting an RBI single for his first major league hit against the Cincinnati Reds during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodríguez hits a single against the Cincinnati Reds during the seventh inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jake Fraley collides with the wall after being unable to catch the double by Seattle Mariners' Josh Rojas during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Jonatan Clase follows through on an RBI single for his first major league hit as Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson, left, looks on during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Mitch Haniger points a trident in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the third inning of a baseball game Monday, April 15, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia and North Carolina's refusal to cover certain health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance is discriminatory, a federal appeals court ruled Monday in a case likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-6 in the case involving coverage of gender-affirming care by North Carolina’s state employee health plan and the coverage of gender-affirming surgery by West Virginia Medicaid.

“The coverage exclusions facially discriminate on the basis of sex and gender identity, and are not substantially related to an important government interest,” Judge Roger Gregory, first appointed by former President Bill Clinton and re-appointed by former President George W. Bush, wrote in the majority opinion.

The ruling follows a decision earlier this month by 4th Circuit judges that West Virginia's transgender sports ban violates the rights of a teen athlete under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools.

Like with the transgender sports law ruling, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said his office planned to appeal Monday's health care case decision.

“Decisions like this one, from a court dominated by Obama- and Biden-appointees, cannot stand: we’ll take this up to the Supreme Court and win,” Morrisey said in a statement.

After the ruling, West Virginia plaintiff Shauntae Anderson, a Black transgender woman and West Virginia Medicaid participant, called her state's refusal to cover her care “deeply dehumanizing.”

“I am so relieved that this court ruling puts us one step closer to the day when Medicaid can no longer deny transgender West Virginians access to the essential healthcare that our doctors say is necessary for us,” Anderson said in a statement.

A spokesperson for North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell, whose department oversees the state's health plan, said the agency was still reviewing the decision Monday but would have a response later.

During oral arguments in September, at least two judges said it’s likely the case will eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court. Both states appealed separate lower court rulings that found the denial of gender-affirming care to be discriminatory and unconstitutional. Two panels of three Fourth Circuit judges heard arguments in both cases last year before deciding to intertwine the two cases and see them presented before the full court.

In June 2022, a North Carolina trial court demanded the state plan pay for “medically necessary services,” including hormone therapy and some surgeries, for transgender employees and their children. The judge had ruled in favor of the employees and their dependents, who said in a 2019 lawsuit that they were denied coverage for gender-affirming care under the plan.

The North Carolina state insurance plan provides medical coverage for more than 750,000 teachers, state employees, retirees, lawmakers and their dependents. While it provides counseling for gender dysphoria and other diagnosed mental health conditions, it does not cover treatment “in connection with sex changes or modifications and related care.”

In August 2022, a federal judge ruled West Virginia’s Medicaid program must provide coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender residents.

An original lawsuit filed in 2020 also named state employee health plans. A settlement with The Health Plan of West Virginia Inc. in 2022 led to the removal of the exclusion on gender-affirming care in that company’s Public Employees Insurance Agency plans.

During September’s oral arguments, attorneys for the state of North Carolina said the state-sponsored plan is not required to cover gender-affirming hormone therapy or surgery because being transgender is not an illness. They claimed only a subset of transgender people suffer from gender dysphoria, a diagnosis of distress over gender identity that does not match a person’s assigned sex.

Before offering pharmaceutical or surgical intervention, medical guidelines call for thorough psychological assessments to confirm gender dysphoria before starting any treatment.

West Virginia attorneys said the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has declined to issue a national coverage decision on gender-affirming surgery.

State lawyers said West Virginia's policy is not a case of discrimination, either, but of a state trying to best utilize limited resources. West Virginia has a $128 million deficit in Medicaid for the next year, projected to expand to $256 million in 2025.

Unlike North Carolina, the state has covered hormone therapy and other pharmaceutical treatments for transgender people since 2017.

FILE - Connor Thonen-Fleck addresses reporters while his parents stand by his side, March 11, 2019, in Durham, N.C. West Virginia and North Carolina's refusal to cover certain health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance is discriminatory, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, April 29, 2024 in a case likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. (AP Photo/ Jonathan Drew, FIle)