Here's What Happened Last Time ESPN Was in Seattle For Sunday Night Baseball
The Seattle Mariners will conclude its nine-game homestead against the New York Mets at 4:10 p.m. PT on Sunday at T-Mobile Park.
The Mariners will have a chance to end their homestead with a 6-3 record and build key momentum. Seattle will follow the homestead with a nine-game road trip against the Detroit Tigers (who just beat the Mariners in a series), the tough Pittsburgh Pirates and the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sunday will also be the first time in more than 20 years Sunday Night Baseball has been in Seattle.
The last time the ESPN was in SoDo — it was June 6, 2004, and Seattle took on the Chicago White Sox. T-Mobile Park was still known as Safeco Field and the Mariners roster featured some team legends like Ichiro Suzuki, Dan Wilson, Edgar Martinez and Jamie Moyer. The Mariners ended up winning the game 5-4.
But — as is typically the case when a Seattle team gets a prime time spot — there was a fair share of late-game dramatics.
The White Sox built a 3-0 lead through the top of the fourth after Joe Crede had an RBI double and Miguel Olivo had an RBI single.
Suzuki was the first player to get the Mariners on the board. He scored on a RBI groundout hit by John Olerud in the bottom of the fifth. Randy Winn hit a home run to deep right field in the bottom of the seventh to get Seattle within one of Chicago.
When the bottom of the ninth rolled around — the Mariners were down 4-2 and working against White Sox reliever Billy Koch.
Winn put another run on the board with an RBI double to score Suzuki. Bret Boone tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI single. Then, two at-bats later, Jolbert Cabrera was walked with the bases loaded to give Seattle the walk-off 5-4 win.
Bom dia. ☀️
— Seattle Mariners BR (@CastMarinheiro) August 11, 2024
Última vez que o Mariners jogou em casa no Sunday Night Baseball foi em 2004. Mariners de virada venceu por 5-4 o White Sox.
Hoje será retorno á casa dos Mariners. #TridentsUp | 📽: @MarinersVintage pic.twitter.com/KSuEjdycXU
The Mariners' win in 2004 ultimately didn't matter much to the playoff standings. The win improved Seattle's record to 21-34. The team ultimately finished the season 63-99 in dead last in the American League West.
Sunday's game will have a lot more at stake in the way of postseason implications. The Mariners were tied with first place in the AL West with the Houston Astros as of Sunday.
But with Julio Rodriguez back in the lineup and the Mets no doubt looking to take at least one game after getting shut out the last two — Sunday will likely have its own share of dramatics for fans to grit their teeth to.
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MARINERS MANAGER COMMENTS ON GROWTH OF HIS BULLPEN: Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais talked before Saturday's game against the New York Mets about the growth of the bullpen this season. CLICK HERE
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