The Mariners give reasons to miss them, win final series with an extra inning walk-off over Oakland
It was a close game that could have easily been a loss and means nothing in the grand scheme of the team legacy, but why did I still care?
I’m going to miss the Seattle Mariners.
More than anything, that is what I couldn’t help but think and feel when watching them on what was a roller-coaster game that ended in a tenth inning walk-off, with Seattle winning game two 7-6 over Oakland and taking the final series of the year for either club.
It would be easy to take the cynical approach and say I have been missing the Seattle Mariners most of the 2024 season, because you can easily argue and perhaps correctly that their absence from their expected performance or in other words them being a ghost of themselves is in fact why they are sitting on the outside looking in of the playoffs, in the final games of the season. There is a voice inside of me that wants to shout about that, a lot. Mostly, it sighs.
But tonight, strangely, that voice was quiet.
Because I am going to miss the Seattle Mariners. I am going to actually, genuinely, truly miss the 2024 Seattle Mariners. However sad the end may have been, there were many moments of joy along the way. And a lot of those reasons are also reasons why my missing the Seattle Mariners means I will also be longing for their return next season.
The Seattle Mariners elite rotation isn’t going anywhere, and while the pool of talent may not be the deepest when you consider their MLB-adjacent talent in the farm, the fact they had a competitive top six that held their own up to or above expectations throughout this season was a genuine highlight.
I’m going to miss Emerson Hancock, who seldom invoked his Gemerson Hancock identity this season, but instead was more stalwartly Perfectly Fine Hancock, much like his 5.1 inning line tonight three earned runs on five hits, four walks, and three strikeouts. Two outs away from a quality start! And all three runs on two home runs, so really, also just two bad pitches away from that Gemerson status, when you really think about it. Either way, I expect to see Hancock back in the mix next year, and am looking forward to it.
Hancock allowed those home runs in the fifth and sixth inning, to Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom, respectively, but it was the Mariners who put numbers on the board first, with a three-spot int the bottom of the fourth. The first run came from Cal Raleigh, who went deep on Joey Estes’ second pitch of the inning, for his 33rd home run on the season. That home run ties Cal with Mike Piazza for most home runs by a catcher in their first four season (with perchance an opportunity to pass that mark in tomorrow’s game?).
That was Cal’s one hit of the night on a 1-for-5 effort, but when Cal hits, he Raleigh does it. (Sorry, not sorry.)
And really, I’ll miss Raleigh.
The inning saw plenty of traffic after that before leading to the two more runs. Next Luke Raley hit by a pitch on a 2-2 count, and then Jorge Polanco hit a liner for a single moving Luke to second. Haniger made an appearance and popped out on the second pitch of his at bat, then Crawford hit into a force out at second erasing Polanco, but moving Raley to third and taking first for himself. Dylan Moore then worked it full and drew the walk to get them loaded up with the two outs. Nine hole batter Josh Rojas worked it 2-2 before crushing a high fastball 103.8 mph off the bat in a line drive single to center field that scored two.
The Mariners got on the board again in the seventh, breaking the 3-3 tie, but only put up a single run. Victor Robles started the inning with a single, and then Julio traded places with him at first on a fielder’s choice. Raleigh then popped out to make it two outs, but that was no problem for Luke Raley, who came through big for Seattle and not for the last time in the game. He only needed the first pitch sinker to send it into left field towards the corner, and Julio turned on the jets and went first-to-home on the play.
Of course I’ve already told you the game was resolved in extra innings, so you can probably guess that the Mariners lead did not hold. In fact, in the top of the ninth inning the lead instead fell in Oakland’s favor.
Collin Snider stepped in to work the potential save, and that possibility was, well, mathematically eliminated. Go figure. Max Schuemann singled to start the inning, but Snider recovered well enough with an eight pitch swinging strikeout of Lawrence Butler where Butler made plenty of contact but all of it seemingly half-hearted and then got Brent Rooker to fly out to Julio. Snider unraveled on the next two batters unfortunately. (I won’t miss the honestly too-often bullpen unravelings of 2024, for what it’s worth.) He left a fastball hanging to Bleday that turned into a single and runners on first and third, and even-more-hung another fastball to Shea Langeliers that turned into a three run home run, putting Oakland up 6-4 over the hometown Mariners. Snider got out of the inning by next striking out Tyler Soderstrom, but the damage was done.
As much as I was wistfully melancholy about what I would miss about the Mariners while watching today’s game, I still felt the cloud hanging over the bottom of the ninth inning. A fresh two run deficit, and lightning would have to strike twice for the Mariners to get back into the game.
Julio Rodríguez singled into left field to get the inning going (and on a 100.4 mph inside pitch from Oakland threat Mason Miller, no less), and Luke Raley didn’t let the Raleigh three pitch strikeout sandwiched in between ruin the vibes, and delivered the ball 109.8 mph and 382 feet to tie the game at 6 each, the one pitch he needed just under the century mark at 99.7 mph.
Eduard Bazardo worked a clean 1-2-3 top of the tenth inning, including a four pitch strikeout of Zack Gelof, opening the door for the Mariners to get to work on Oakland pitching change for Miller, Scott Alexander.
Crawford successfully failed as planned, grounding out to move pinch-runner Leo Rivas to third. Oakland then opted to walk Dylan Moore, and the Mariners pinch hit the next batter, subbing in Justin Turner to take Josh Rojas place. Justin Turner continued the theme of the inning, and failed successfully himself, in a way. Turner chased a pitch out for the zone for what might have been a potential double play ball, going right to the second baseman if a little slowly at 75 mph, but instead the A’s opted to try for the play at home where a rushing Rivas was fast approaching. Rivas slid well ahead of and around the tag, getting his running mitt down on home plate for the walk-off winning run.
I’m going to miss chaotic wins like the one tonight. I’m going to miss Luke Raley and his odd and oddly effective running. And Justin Turner will be missed too (hopefully just for the time being) thanks in large part to his calming presence of a competent veteran who long ago earned his stripes and is likely still in it purely for the love of the game. Most certainly I will miss Julio, who had a two hit night, but I would probably have fun watching play any sport not named golf. And I will even miss most of the other names on the roster, that occasionally scrappy bunch.
Perhaps what struck the largest chord with me today though were the comments from the players surrounding the game, largely focused on appreciation for one player’s presence and a hope for his return, but also what it more broadly represents.
The player the team was going to bat for was Justin Turner, and not just because of effective hitting like his winning at-bat. Widely regarded as one of the prominent team-leaders himself, Cal Raleigh couldn’t say enough about how much JT did for the team, Cal included. Raleigh praised Justin for being one of the better hitters on the team and producing at a high level, but stressed on how much more that presence had an effect in other ways, saying “...just having somebody like that around to talk to... He’s seen so much baseball. He’s been in every situation possible as far as what to expect for any kind of player in any kind of spot in their career.” And later adding, referring to Turner’s experience “They’ve been in your shoes, and it’s somebody that you can trust and really kind of look to for some guidance.
Luke Raley was also someone new to the club this year much like Turner, and didn’t hesitate to add his support for Justin. “There isn’t a single person that doesn’t want him back. He’s really changed mindsets. I would say he’s just so good at knowing what to say and taking pressure off...toning everything down.”, Raley said post-game, and grinning continued “I was just asking him this yesterday, as we were sitting there, and asked him if he wanted to play another year where he wanted to play. And when he said here, you know, obviously big smile. I want him back here too.” And Dan Wilson also heaped on the praise, making note of some big home runs and crucial moments of getting on base, as well as his leadership, which Dan called “off the charts”.
And there you have many more reasons both related to today’s game and not related to today’s game at all that I am going to miss the 2024 Seattle Mariners. I’m going to miss who they are, and of course, who they could have been. Games like today don’t make me mourn for missed playoffs, they make me mourn for how much I will soon miss baseball. How much I will miss a team of players that genuinely love playing the game, that seem to love playing with each other, for each other. They didn’t win the fight come season’s end, but I don’t think they ever really, truly stopped fighting. Today, they gave me reasons and reasons again to miss them. Maybe tomorrow, one last time this year, they will give us a few more reasons, too.