DETROIT -- The Mariners were firing on all cylinders heading into the series opener against the Tigers and enjoying a first-place seat atop the American League West to boot.
It seemed for a moment -- particularly following Seattle’s recent eight-game win streak -- that the club’s maddening early-season struggles were finally behind it.
The good vibes at Comerica Park lasted all of two innings on Friday night.
The Mariners’ dugout held its collective breath in the top of the third inning, when J.P. Crawford was hit on the right hand by a 95.6 mph fastball from Tigers starter Framber Valdez. Crawford’s teammates watched their leadoff hitter double over in pain, and he admitted how similar it felt to the HBP that fractured his right pinkie finger in July 2024.
The relief in the clubhouse afterward was palpable when Crawford’s X-rays were negative. Following Seattle’s 7-3 loss, he said he expects to avoid a lengthy absence.
“It looked bad,” manager Dan Wilson said. “There was a lot of swelling right away. There was some black and blue, and the strength wasn't quite there. So it was an opportunity where we thought, ‘Let's go get this looked at.’ We're just really glad that nothing's too serious at this point.”
Crawford battled Valdez to a 3-2 count before the payoff pitch struck him. He spun away from the field, flinging his bat and taking several hopping steps toward the visitors' dugout while grabbing the injured hand.
Crawford took a knee near the on-deck circle as Wilson and a team trainer came to his side. Crawford eventually got up and walked to first, then he remained in the game to run the bases.
Still, after replays showed Crawford gingerly gripping the hand of a team trainer to test the severity of the injury, it was no surprise when he was removed to start the bottom of the frame.
“It was the same thing that happened the last time I broke my hand,” Crawford said. “But as time went by, it still hurt, but not as bad as the time when I broke it, so I knew we were all good.”
Patrick Wisdom entered the game to take Crawford’s spot in the batting order. Starting third baseman Colt Emerson slid over into Crawford’s spot at shortstop, while Wisdom took over at the hot corner.
Losing Crawford even temporarily is a blow to a team that has found ways to keep the offense afloat despite losing its star to a right oblique strain on May 14. While Cal Raleigh is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment on Sunday, Crawford has been crucial in his absence, batting .393 (11-for-28) with four RBIs, three home runs and a 1.250 OPS across his past eight games.
For at least one game, though, Seattle found a way to patch the hole in the lineup.
Emerson slugged his fourth career home run to bring the Mariners to within one, 3-2, in the seventh inning. The rookie couldn’t quite replicate Crawford’s flair at short, though, just missing on a diving attempt to cut down a Zach McKinstry chopper in the hole that put two on with one out during Detroit’s two-run seventh.
The sequence served as a reminder of how important Crawford has become during Raleigh's absence.
“Right now, [Crawford is] a guy that a lot of guys will come to, especially me,” Emerson said. “So, seeing him go down like that, it's never good when you have a guy like that go down. We're praying for him. I'm glad everything was negative, and hope to see him back in the field in the next few days.”
Crawford had been presented with a similar play nearly five innings earlier, ranging and diving to the hole to bat down a Spencer Torkelson drive with one on and no outs in the second. Crawford slid on his right knee before spinning toward second base and firing the ball between his outstretched legs as he rolled onto his back. Second-base umpire Laz Diaz initially ruled that Riley Greene had reached second base ahead of the ball, but the call was overturned after a Seattle challenge.
Crawford’s jaw-dropping diving play cut short a Tigers rally before it began to preserve the Mariners’ 1-0 lead.
A few hours later, Seattle was relieved to learn it won’t have to replace him for long.