Teoscar Hernandez, Mariners rally for thrilling 9-8 victory over Blue Jays

SEATTLE – There was an air of familiarity to the way the Mariners beat the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon before an emotionally charged crowd of 44,921 at T-Mobile Park.

Familiar, yes, because they simply beat the Blue Jays again, for 10th time their past 12 meetings, counting their playoff series sweep in Toronto last October.

More significant for Scott Servais, though, was the familiar fashion in which his team rallied for a 9-8 victory to stay within striking distance in the American League wild-card chase.

Trailing by three runs late, and then needing a gutsy performance from his bullpen to close out a dramatic comeback, Servais said he had flashback to 2022, when the Mariners ended their two-decade playoff drought on the backs on so many of these taut and fraught performances.

“Huge win,” the Mariners manger said. “That’s how we played a lot of games last year, just a never-quit attitude. And to do that, everybody has to chip in and everybody has to get out of themselves and just be focused on ‘team.’ “

Cal Raleigh hit two home runs, Teoscar Hernandez, for the second night in a row, delivered the winning hit against his former team, and Justin Topa stranded the tying run at third base to earn the second save of his career.

This might have been the best and most thrilling victory of the season for the Mariners (50-48), who have won three in a row to close within 3½ games of the Blue Jays (54-45) for the third and final wild-card spot.

Is it sustainable?

Can the Mariners build some real momentum, complete a series sweep Sunday and convince the front office to add a significant piece or two before the Aug. 1 trade deadline?

That, obviously, is the goal, to carry over some level of consistency on a team that has been anything but this season.

“It’s just been hard,” first baseman Ty France said. “You’ve seen us all year – we’ll have two or three good games and then two or three bad ones.

“Talking to the guys and being in the locker room here, you know, we’re not really too focused on that (the trade deadline). Obviously, it’s in the back of our heads, but they’re going to do what they’re going to do (in the front office) regardless. We’ve just got to go play our game, and hopefully we can continue to play like this.”

A game like Saturday’s could tilt the thinking – and the overall direction – of the organization over the next 10 days.

Down 7-4 in the seventh inning, the M’s sent nine batters to the plate and scored five runs off Toronto’s bullpen.

France was hit by the first pitch thrown by reliever Nate Pearson, Dylan Moore followed with a one-out double, and Kolten Wong came through with a solid RBI single.

J.P. Crawford hit a two-run double down the right-field line, just past the diving attempt from Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., scoring Moore and Wong to tie the score at 7.

Julio Rodriguez was then hit by the first pitch thrown by new reliever Yimi Garcia. Hernandez, who had the walkoff hit off the right-field wall on Friday night, then delivered a two-strike, two-out double to left field. Crawford scored easily and Rodriguez slid home, feet-first, just ahead of the relay throw to give the Mariners a 9-7 lead.

Raleigh, Moore and Rodriguez each homered in the third – all solo shots – to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead against Toronto ace Kevin Gausman.

It wouldn’t last.

The Blue Jays answered with one run in a fourth and four runs in a fifth inning in which they hit three homers of their own (from Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Belt and Guerrero) off the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert.

It’s just the sixth MLB game since 1961 in which both teams hit three homers in an inning, and the first since 2018.

Gilbert was sharp early but faded fast, allowing five runs over five innings.

The Blue Jays scored two more runs off in the seventh to take a 7-4 lead, one of those coming on a fielding error by Hernandez in right field.

Rookie reliever Isaiah Campbell, recalled from Class AA Arkansas earlier in the day, got George Springer to ground out for the final out of the seventh inning to leave the bases loaded and, ultimately, pick up his first career victory.

Andres Munoz pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and with closer Paul Sewald unavailable – he’d pitched the previous two nights – the Mariners turned to Topa to close it out.

The Blue Jays scored one run off Topa, on Cavan Biggio’s soft single to center field, cutting the Mariners’ lead to 9-8. That put runners on the corners with one out.

“You’re just trying to make it the same game, right?” Topa said. “You’re trying to calm things down. It was obviously a hostile crowd – more Jays fans than Mariners fans out there today. But I was just trying to keep it simple and trying to attack guys.”

The crowd on its feet, Topa got Kiermaier to fly out for the second out and then ended it on a Springer groundball up the middle to Wong behind second base.

The stadium DJ immediately played Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” with Swift’s sold-out show next door at Lumen Field set to start a few hours later.

The Mariners have won six straight over the Blue Jays in Seattle. They’ll try to make it seven in a row Sunday.

“Can you imagine if you had tickets to Taylor Swift and you just watched that game?” Servais said. “What a day, right? Doesn’t get any better.”