Mariners rally for comeback win behind Santana’s walk-off sac fly
When Carlos Santana lifted a shallow fly ball to left center field in the bottom of the ninth inning, winning-run Cal Raleigh sprinted home, narrowly avoiding the tag from Rangers catcher Jonah Heim. Some 25,837 in attendance at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday night, most of whom were on their feet, erupted in cheer.
But there were no fireworks, and no flashing lights to signal a Mariners win. The stadium’s sound system — blaring Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” after any normal win — was silent.
As seconds ticked by, the crowd grew quieter. Seattle’s entire roster, out of the dugout to celebrate with both Santana and Raleigh, stood in confusion.
The umpiring crew gathered before crew chief Jerry Layne announced that Texas had challenged; manager Chris Woodward and the Rangers wanted a second look to see if Raleigh left third base early on Santana’s walk-off sacrifice fly.
“It’s the last play of the game, and they have a challenge left,” Raleigh said. “Might as well use it, see if they can find something. It made sense.”
The crowd erupted with boos. Then came “Safe!” chants until Layne announced that the original call stood. The Mariners had won, 5-4, securing a series win over the visiting Rangers.
“Not the cleanest or prettiest win, but it’s a win, and they all count,” manager Scott Servais said. “Sometimes, it is an adventure. And it certainly was.
“In typical fashion, our guys find a way. They don’t give up.”
Seattle took a 3-1 lead into the eighth inning before perhaps the oddest play of the game — a cue-shot double from Texas’ Adolis Garcia, hit off reliever Paul Sewald. With two outs and two runners on following a pair of walks, Garcia’s double was destined for foul territory — until it wasn’t.
The 54.5 mph dribbler down the first base line somehow spun back into play, out of first baseman Ty France’s reach. Dylan Moore, in right field, had no play. And two Ranger base runners scampered home to tie the game, leaving much of T-Mobile Park stunned.
The corkscrew shot was the sixth-weakest extra-base hit in the major leagues this season. It nullified a brilliant outing from Seattle rookie starter George Kirby on the stat sheet, who wound up with a no-decision, and completely shifted momentum before Seattle took it back.
“Baseball, a game of inches. You need breaks. You need things to go your way,” Servais said. “We gave them an opportunity with the walks, and all of a sudden, something bad like that can happen.
“But, our guys don’t quit.”
Julio Rodriguez crushed a leadoff homer in the first, and Kirby fired five scoreless innings on the day he was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.
Before Rodriguez could round first base after his solo shot to left field, the 21-year-old flashed a smile and shrugged. Thousands more in attendance at T-Mobile Park rose to their feet in jubilation, and likely in awe of the rookie season very few have accomplished.
Then, home run fireworks erupted from the left field light tower. Rodriguez had crushed his team-high 17th home run, and to lead off the game in his first at-bat since the All-Star break.
“It’s amazing what that guy’s doing,” Raleigh said of Rodriguez. “When he hit it, I was just shaking my head in amazement.
“I almost expect it at this point. It’s crazy.”
Rodriguez had already received a superstar welcome upon his return from a four-game absence due to left wrist soreness, though his 374-foot blast near Edgar’s Cantina increased the noise.
Jesse Winker also returned after a scary collision with Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena on Sunday, causing Seattle’s left fielder to miss, roughly, a game and a half.
Rangers hitters mustered only two hits throughout Kirby’s outing. He threw only 51 pitches during a shortened start to help manage the rookie’s innings.
Kirby generated five whiffs on his trusty four-seam fastball, used on more than half of his pitches Tuesday night. He mixed in curveball, sinker, slider, and added a two-seamer with the help of teammate Robbie Ray, who also developed the pitch earlier this season.
“I started throwing it a lot more,” Kirby said. “I’ve tried (the two-seamer) before. Never did much, but now I’ve got a good feel for it.”
His final line — two hits, no runs, one walk, and four strikeouts.
Rodriguez’s leadoff homer in the first inning put Seattle in front, and the Mariners wasted no time adding on. With two outs, Eugenio Suarez and Winker walked, and Kyle Lewis poked a run-scoring single through the left infield that gave Seattle a 2-0 lead.
Shortstop J.P. Crawford singled an at-bat later, loading the bases, but Raleigh grounded out to end the first inning threat.
“It’s a nice cushion, but you can’t take your foot off the pedal,” Kirby said. “You’ve just gotta keep attacking the guys and try to execute.
“Hit the spots, hit the corners, and try to limit the mistakes down the middle. That’s what I’m really trying to focus on.”
When Kirby trotted back to the dugout after a perfect fifth frame — one that took six pitches to complete — the Mariners still led, 2-0.
“Every bone in my body says, ‘Let (Kirby) go,’ ” Servais said, in reference to Kirby’s pitch management. “But, we have a lot of baseball ahead of us. … We’ve got to be smart there.”
The Mariners’ lead shrunk in the seventh: Matt Festa twirled a perfect sixth inning, but allowed a one-out double to Garcia in the seventh. Servais turned to left-hander Ryan Borucki for damage control, and Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe dumped a run-scoring single beyond the reach of Crawford.
Garcia coasted home. Texas was within one.
Penn Murfee finished the inning, inducing a flyout to maintain the lead, and Raleigh lifted his 14th homer of the season into Seattle’s bullpen in the bottom of the frame. The 400-foot blast grabbed a run right back and put the Mariners ahead again by a pair.
Then came Garcia’s double, tying the game. In the ninth, Duran’s run-scoring single gave the Rangers a 4-3 lead.
Needing a run to tie or two to win, Crawford led off the bottom of the ninth with an opposite-field single. Raleigh followed and doubled to the right-center gap, scoring Crawford, and Adam Frazier’s sacrifice bunt moved Seattle’s catcher to third.
Woodward intentionally walked both Rodriguez and France before Santana stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded.
“No panic,” Servais said. “When you’ve had as many at-bats as he’s had in his career, there shouldn’t be any panic. He’s been in that spot before. It’s a great teacher to some of our young guys in those spots. You don’t have to hit it too hard, you (just have) to have a good at-bat.”
It was Seattle’s 23rd one-run win this season, leading the majors. It was the club’s 10th win over the Rangers in 12 games, and gave the Mariners sole possession of the second wild card spot in the American League.
PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Julio Rodriguez became the second player in Mariners history to homer in his first game after participating in the Home Run Derby, per Mariners PR.
Ken Griffey Jr. accomplished the feat after winning the derby in 1998, though it took him four at-bats to homer in his first game — Rodriguez led off with a homer Tuesday night.
NOTES
▪ Seattle optioned starter-turned-reliever Matt Brash back to Tacoma on Tuesday morning, but not exactly by choice.
If not for a rule requiring teams to roster 13 pitchers and 13 position players, Brash wouldn’t have been the odd man out when Tuesday starter George Kirby rejoined the team.
“It is a horrible rule. It’s one that I will never be in favor of,” Servais said. “I think most (managers) are in the same boat I am. Teams should be allowed to put rosters together the way they want. If that was the case, Matt Brash would still be here today.
“Matt Brash will be back. I promise. He will be back sooner than you probably anticipate.”
▪ First-round draft pick Cole Young, selected at No. 21 overall by the Mariners in last week’s draft, signed his contract with Seattle earlier Tuesday for an estimated $3.3 million.
The 18-year-old shortstop took part in infield warmups with Crawford and Dylan Moore, and took batting practice with the team as Servais and general manager Jerry Dipoto looked on.
“It’s definitely a dream come true to come out here and hit with big leaguers,” he told reporters. “It’s really cool.”
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 12:19 AM with the headline "Mariners rally for comeback win behind Santana’s walk-off sac fly."
