Colt Emerson homers for first MLB hit as Seattle Mariners beat White Sox
A win was paramount.
The Mariners had been swept over the weekend and looked really, well, awful in the process. They knew it, and felt it as much as any angry fan.
For seven innings, they seemed en route to that cleansing victory. They played with the energy and joy of a team on a winning streak. Still, nothing was guaranteed as they held just a two-run lead over a White Sox team that already proven to be capable of comebacks.
A run or two in the bottom of the eighth for some insurance would be ideal.
Colt Emerson gave them three, while producing a highlight that will be played for the entirety of what is expected to be a very long and productive career in a Mariners uniform.
Playing in his second MLB game Monday, and his first with his parents, girlfriend and extended family members in the stands at T-Mobile Park watching him as a big-leaguer in person, Emerson made his first big-league hit unforgettable for everyone involved, pulling a low liner over the wall in right field for a three-run homer and punctuating the Mariners' 6-1 victory.
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Obviously, Colt, what a great story," manager Dan Wilson said. "Glad that his parents were here to see that."
Because the Mariners made a last-second decision to call him up a few hours before Sunday's loss to the Padres, Emerson's parents, Jamie and Stacie, couldn't get to Seattle from their home in Ohio in time to see his debut. Emerson went 0 for 2 with a walk and tried to make light of their absence after the game.
"I joked with them yesterday about it," he said. "I was like, 'Ah, I just saved the first hit until you're here.'"
Emerson hadn't made good on that promise when he came to the plate in the eighth with two outs and Josh Naylor on second and Dom Canzone on first. He'd stung a ball in his first at-bat for a lineout to third, struck out on a foul tip in his second plate appearance and popped out into shallow left with two runners on his previous at-bat.
Facing right-hander Trevor Richards, Emerson fell behind immediately on a pair of change-ups. But similar to his previous at-bats, he wouldn't give in with two strikes. He refused to chase two pitches out of the zone, fouled off two more pitches and then made a lunging swing on a changeup below the zone.
It was going to be his first MLB hit off the bat, but it carried over the wall for something even better as the crowd of 31,409, and a few hundred dogs, erupted into a joyous and cheering/barking frenzy.
"I can't believe it happened when they were here," Emerson said. "It's special, it really is. Honestly, I'm speechless. I'm really just happy that they were here, and so grateful that this is the way it happened."
Television showed his mom tearing up while his dad played it tough … for now. Emerson had little doubt his dad would tear up eventually.
"Oh, 100 percent," he said, fighting back his own emotions. "How can you not get emotional about that? Gosh, just the stuff that they went through to get me to this point. They just went through a lot, and to finally see it put in into life, it's just incredible."
He's the 11th player in Mariners history to hit a homer for his first MLB hit.
With the crowd giving him a long standing ovation, J.P. Crawford and others shoved him out of the dugout for his first curtain call. He was already tired from carrying the trident around.
"They were saying, 'They want it,' " Emerson said. "I was like, 'I don't know what to do.' "
Emerson appeared briefly and raised his hand to the crowd in appreciation. It won't be the last time he'll do it.
Seattle got a stellar start from Bryan Woo.
Though, his outing didn't start off like a shutdown performance. He battled his way through a forgettable first inning that required 25 pitches and a little help from the White Sox.
Sam Antonacci led off with a single on the second pitch of the game.
When Woo walked Munetaka Murakami after getting up 0-2, it seemed as if he'd created a major issue two batters into the game.
But Antonacci helped the Mariners out. As he jogged to second, he noticed that Emerson had his back to the field and was looking out at toward the outfield.
About 10 steps from second, Antonacci decided to sprint, round second and go to third, believing he would beat Emerson and a throw from Woo to the base.
He misread the situation badly.
Emerson, who has 20-year-old legs and shortstop speed, raced to third, caught the throw from Woo and tagged out Antonacci easily for the first out.
After being gifted an out, Woo got Miguel Vargas to ground into a force out for the second out.
But a walk to Colson Montgomery left Woo irritated at allowing another free base runner.
In nine previous starts this season, Woo had never walked more than two batters. And now he'd walked two in the first four batters he faced.
Would it come back to haunt him?
Nope, Woo coolly struck out veteran DH Andrew Benintendi for the third out of the inning. He walked off the mound shaking his head in disgust.
Instead of letting more of the same continue, Woo reeled in his outing and pitch count. He worked a 1-2-3 second inning on eight pitches.
"The first inning I was trying to do too much, but I just felt a little bit off, mechanically and mentally," he said. "I always talk about just the simpler I am, and the simpler my thought process is, the better I am."
He would allow only two more base runners the rest of the way. With one out in the second, Antonacci singled to right and Murakami followed with a ground ball through the right side to put runners on the corners. Unfazed, Woo came back to strike out Vargas and Montgomery to end the inning. It was the start of 12 consecutive batters retired to finish his outing.
His final line: six scoreless innings, three hits allowed, two walks and nine strikeouts.
The Mariners provided him with adequate early run support, which isn't something that happens often against left-handed starting pitchers.
Julio Rodríguez gave Seattle a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, smashing a solo homer to deep right-center off Sox lefty starter Noah Schultz.
Perhaps most impressive was his path to the homer. Rodríguez fell behind 0-2 but never gave in to Schultz, refusing to chase pitches out of the zone and fouling off three borderline pitches before hammering a 3-2 fastball on the eighth pitch of the battle.
"I thought his at-bat set the tone," Wilson said.
Seattle made it 2-0 with the help of Antonacci again. With two outs and Jhonny Pereda on first base, Randy Arozarena laced a line drive into the left-field corner.
As Pereda rounded second, Antonacci, who was playing second base, had moved over into the area by shortstop as a backup to the cutoff man. He was standing in the baseline, watching left fielder Tristan Peters try and corral the ball.
Seeing Antonacci had his back to him, Pereda didn't try to avoid him as he raced for third base. Second-base umpire Mike Muchlinski signaled for obstruction of the base runner immediately.
Seeing that signal, third base coach Carlos Cardoza waved Pereda home even though he had little chance of scoring. It was a calculated risk of hoping to get the run on the obstruction call. The relay throw to the plate beat Pereda by 10 steps, but home-plate umpire Tripp Gibson ruled that the run scored.
White Sox manager Will Venable immediately argued the call, and the umpire crew met for a few minutes. They came back and ruled that Pereda would've scored, and Arozarena was awarded third base.
A highly displeased Venable let Gibson and Muchlinski know what he thought of the call and was ejected.
"There was obstruction there, and you get some protection," Venable said. "But when you are thrown out by 30 feet, it's not supposed to protect you like that.
Seattle tacked on a third run in the sixth inning when Josh Naylor ripped a single to right to score Arozarena to make it 3-0. Naylor, Rodríguez and Arozarena combined for six hits on the night.
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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 11:42 PM.