3 Up, 3 Down: Unlikely Heroes Power Mariners to 7-6 Walk-Off Win Over Red Sox
Three of the Mariners' last five wins have required emotional ninth-inning comebacks, with the latest unfolding in front of 37,691 fans at T-Mobile Park on Saturday night.
The Mariners and Red Sox combined to score seven runs through the game's first two innings, resulting in the latter jumping out to an early 3-0 lead only for the former to drive in four unanswered in response. This proved to be the ongoing theme of the night, making for an entertaining back-and-forth between two talented ballclubs.
In the end, after multiple ties and lead changes, Seattle mounted one final push to defeat Boston by a score of 7-6 in walk-off fashion.
With that, the Mariners finally have their first win over the Red Sox in 2022, having entered the night 0-5 in the season series. Now, they'll get a chance to extend their streak of four consecutive series victories with a win in Sunday afternoon's rubber match.
More importantly, following its disappointing loss to Boston on Friday night, Seattle has kept the momentum it built on its recent road trip alive and well. The team is not out of the woods just yet, to be sure, but another defeat on Saturday would have gone a long way to erasing the work it's done over the past week-and-a-half.
In their efforts to stave off such a letdown, the Mariners received several contributions from some unlikely sources. Let's dive a bit deeper into the night's action and go over their three best and worst individual performances from the big win.
3 Up
SS J.P. Crawford
It was a big night for Crawford on both ends. He finished 3 for 4 at the plate, kicking off each of Seattle's late-inning rallies with a single and scoring a pair of game-tying runs in the seventh and ninth. He also made what is arguably his best defensive play of the year thus far, making a nice barehanded scoop while rolling to his right and throwing across his body—on the run—to get the out at first and send Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts back to the visitor's dugout. Everything that makes up the best of Crawford's game was on full display; the hit tool, the fancy glovework, the energy—it was all there, and the Mariners needed every drop of it.
— Follow @BarnHasSpoken2 (@Baseball8754021) June 12, 2022
OF Julio Rodríguez
Rodríguez did all of his damage in his first two at-bats. He began the night with a broken-bat, opposite-field single that scooted past the outstretched glove of Red Sox second baseman Trevor Story and later scored on an RBI single by Adam Frazier. Then he gave the Mariners their first lead of the game his next time through the order, following up a Ty France double by driving a 93.3 MPH fastball in the upper inside corner of the zone to deep left-center field for a 406-foot blast. Just a special kid doing special things.
A sight to behold. pic.twitter.com/8XTi0v5oQ7
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 12, 2022
DH Abraham Toro
Making his late-game heroics all the more impressive, Toro started the night 0 for 3. He most notably fumbled an opportunity with the bases loaded and just one away in the first inning, sending the first pitch he saw straight up into the air for a momentum-killing infield popout. But once the seventh inning rolled around, Toro put on his best Greg Jennings impression and strapped the Mariners firmly to his back. He knotted things up at 5-5 with an RBI double to the left field wall, which was just his ninth hit of the year from the right side of the plate. He did it again his next time through the lineup, with Seattle down to its final out, dropping a bloop single in between Story and centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to make it 6-6. One batter later, well...
Abraham Toro ties it with the Mariners down to their last strike! pic.twitter.com/nzeY0fObsa
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 12, 2022
Honorable Mention: RF Dylan Moore
With Red Sox left-handed reliever Matt Strahm getting the call in the seventh, Moore was subbed in for right fielder Taylor Trammell. This proved to be a game-defining decision, though not right away as the 29-year old utility man grounded out to end the frame his first time up. His big moment would instead come two innings later. The Mariners had already guaranteed extras after Toro balanced the scales in the ninth, but Moore had very little interest in extending his and everyone else's already long night. It initially looked as if he would be unsuccessful in that venture, falling into a quick 0-2 hole to start the at-bat. But on the third and final pitch of the battle, Hansel Robles made the grave mistake of leaving a slider right down the middle of the plate and Moore took advantage, ripping it into left-center field with an exit velocity of 99.8 MPH. Bradley tried to make an incredible diving catch, but the ball found just enough grass to bring Sam Haggerty home from third and walk things off for Seattle.
WYLAN WOORE pic.twitter.com/V4FOCwS16n
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 12, 2022
3 Down
RHP George Kirby
From his 29 percent called strike plus whiff rate to his solid recovery from a disastrous first inning, there were quite a few things to like about Kirby's start. But the 24-year old righty's propensity for dishing out the long ball continued on Saturday, resulting in him serving up a pair of two-run shots to Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers and designated hitter J.D. Martinez. With that, he's now running a 14.9 percent home run to flyball rate—the 26th-highest mark amongst starters with 30 or more innings pitched on the year. He'll need to clean that up, as well as his awareness of the run game. Both of these persistent issues hurt him in a significant way in this one.
RHP Paul Sewald
Sewald nearly got the Mariners to the bottom of the ninth tied at five runs apiece. But with two outs and two strikes on Red Sox first baseman Bobby Dalbec, the veteran reliever left a slider belt-high in the middle portion of the plate. Dalbec lofted it at a 38-degree launch angle, giving outfielder Jesse Winker a chance to rob it at the wall, but he failed to complete the catch. Fortunately for both Sewald and Winker, Boston's sudden 6-5 lead wouldn't last long.
OF Taylor Trammell
Trammell has cooled off a bit over the last nine days, recording just one hit and a walk in his last 17 plate appearances. This includes an 0 for 3 on Saturday night, highlighted by an inning-ending strikeout with the bases loaded in the first inning. He still doesn't appear to be in any danger of being sent down whenever—if ever—Justin Upton is activated, but the 24-year old outfielder will need to start hitting again soon.
