Mariners win another wild one in extras on Cal Raleigh’s infield grounder
SEATTLE – Back home, and back to their chaotic ways.
Without the ball ever leaving the infield, the Mariners rallied to tie the score in the eighth inning and won the game in the 10th on Cal Raleigh’s walkoff dribbler for a 3-2 comeback victory over the Minnesota Twins Friday night to open a nine-game homestand.
Twins reliever Cole Sands threw a splitter that was low and well off the plate, but Raleigh managed to get a piece of it – just a piece – and chopped it at 61.9 mph between the mound and first base.
Sands fielded it, spun and tried to make an off-balance throw home, but free runner J.P. Crawford slid home safely as the throw sailed well wide.
It’s the Mariners’ sixth walkoff victory of the season and Raleigh’s sixth career walkoff RBI.
Logan Gilbert pitched his MLB-leading 14th quality start, and the Mariners (47-37) improved to 28-12 at home before a sold-out crowd of 44,924 at T-Mobile Park.
They also extended their lead in the AL West to 51/2 games after the Astros’ loss to the Mets.
Ryne Stanek stranded the Twins’ free runner at third base to end the top of the 10th. Andrés Muñoz pitched a perfect ninth inning.
The Mariners had a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth.
Ty France led off the ninth with a single off the Twins’ closer, Jhoan Duran.
Jorge Polanco, the former Twin, dropped down a bunt on a high 99-mph fastball from Duran, and Twins catcher Christian Vazquez could not field it cleanly. The bunt was ruled a hit, and pinch runner Victor Robles advanced to second.
Luke Raley followed with a sac bunt, moving both runners into scoring position with one out.
But Duran escaped when he struck out Josh Rojas on a curveball, and then got J.P. Crawford to ground out to end the inning.
Raley, pinch-running for Mitch Haniger, scored the tying run in the eighth inning on a throwing error by Twins third baseman Jose Miranda trying to throw out Julio Rodriguez on a soft ground ball.
Raley, running from second, had run in on the grass to avoid an attempted tag from Miranda, who then threw low to Twins first baseman Carlos Santana, the onetime Mariner.
The ball got away from Santana and allowed Raley to run home, tying the score 2-2.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli pleaded his case with third-base ump Junior Valentine – perhaps that Raley had run out of the baseline – but the play stood after umpires gathered to discuss it in the middle of the infield.
The usual chorus of boos rained down on Carlos Correa from the T-Mobile Park crowd when the old rival stepped to the plate for his first at-bat.
The boos poured in even louder after Correa drove a Logan Gilbert curveball over the wall in left field in the sixth inning.
It was the only damage the Twins managed against Gilbert, who continued his dominant June but again got minimal run support from the Mariners offense.
Gilbert had been mostly untouchable through five shutdown innings, stretching his scoreless innings streak to 21.
That streak ended in the top of the sixth inning after Correa turned on curveball low and in and sent it 385 feet out and into the Twins bullpen.
Correa has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters in June, coming into the game hitting .389 in the month.
The Mariners had finally broken through against Twins starter Bailey Ober with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Mitch Haniger worked a two-out walk and then scored from first – luckily – on Josh Rojas’ line-drive double down the right-field line.
Mariners third base coach Manny Acta didn’t hesitate to wave Haniger around third.
The relay throw home from Twins second baseman Willi Castro arrived well ahead of Haniger, but catcher Christian Vazquez could not handle the ball on a hop – the ball skipped away and Haniger scored standing up, giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead.