Montes magic! Mariners get glimpse into trident-filled potential in prospect's debut

BOSTON -- The Mariners’ celebratory home run trident was wielded regularly on Tuesday night.

And that included a first-time participant who -- by all forecasts, based on what he accomplished in the Minors -- could become a regular.

Lazaro Montes, arguably Seattle’s most prominent power-hitting prospect of this era, crushed the first home run of what will likely be many in the big leagues upon making his MLB debut at Fenway Park. And it was as emphatic as the club and its fans could’ve hoped for after he joined the 28-man roster as a September callup earlier in the day.

The tape-measure shot beyond straightaway center traveled a Statcast-projected 407 feet and was easily the highlight of a 9-6 win over the Red Sox -- one that was plastered with Montes’ emotion throughout the dugout then in the postgame clubhouse.

“Amazing, man,” Montes said. “I'm trying to be me, be myself -- like they told me, and like I learned. I give it my 100 percent, no matter what happens. ... And I helped the team win. That's the most important thing for me.”

Randy Arozarena also continued his monster series, demolishing his second homer in as many days over the Green Monster in the second inning, and Dominic Canzone kickstarted things with a massive blast way beyond the bullpens in the first.

The deep flies were among the Mariners’ 14 hits that helped wash away the sting of a weekend sweep in Toronto -- followed by one of their most demoralizing losses of the year on Monday at Fenway.

The totality of the production was contagious, and it was impossible not to draw a correlation of it all to Montes, Seattle's No. 5 prospect and MLB's No. 56 overall prospect who arrived Tuesday with the boisterous attitude that’s been as advertised to his ascent as his bat, which ranks second in the Minors with 38 homers this season.

For a team that’s floundered all summer, his energy might be precisely what it needs.

“Certainly,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “I mean, it's been tough. It's been a tough stretch, but certainly that energy has been a big lift.”​

“For sure,” added Bryan Woo, who turned in his third straight solid start on the road, surrendering two runs over six innings. “I think anything that can kickstart something, we're open to anything.”

So excited was Montes after clearing the fence that, as he high-fived third-base coach Carlos Cardoza, he nearly tumbled over himself. It led to a hearty laugh upon returning to the dugout, where he was greeted with the trident by Julio Rodríguez, who he’s become close with through their years together at Spring Training.

The same goes for Arozarena, who actually gave Montes an early run with the prop after his own homer. The 2026 All-Star has made it his trademark to strum the trident like a guitar, so when Montes went yard, the rookie took the act even further by strumming the trident’s entirety, beginning all the way near its spikes -- with a dance in unison.

“Everybody knows I have the power,” Montes said. “But at the same time, I'm like a hitter with power. You know what I'm saying? Like, I can hit the ball. I can hit a double, I can hit a base hit, with RBIs. I can do everything.”

From a baseball standpoint, the 21-year-old had quality at-bats throughout the night while batting seventh as the designated hitter.

Montes walked in his first plate appearance after working into a 3-1 count and laying off a few close pitches from Boston’s fill-in starter, Jedixson Paez, who was recalled from Triple-A after the Red Sox opted to rest Sonny Gray. Montes then scored on Arozarena’s homer, which capped a five-spot in the second inning and opened things up for Woo. ​

His next time up in the third, Montes got his first career hit out of the way with a single through the right-side hole that also plated his first career RBI, yanking an 0-2 curveball from Paez.

The homer leading off the fifth came on a slider that was low, but hung over the plate from reliever Wyatt Olds. Essentially, he didn’t miss a mistake to do damage with despite being in a 1-2 count.

“Honestly, I think I was most impressed with the fact that he walked in his first at-bat,” Woo said. “Somebody with that type of power and that type of energy, and somebody that young that can just come in and you know swing like crazy. And I think that was probably, for me, the most impressive part tonight.”

Montes basically did all that the Mariners could’ve hoped for, at a time that they needed both a reinforcement -- and an injection.