SEATTLE -- For all that’s gone maddeningly wrong for the Mariners on this frustrating homestand, they escaped from a hold-your-breath ninth inning on Wednesday.
Backup catcher Jhonny Pereda blasted his first career homer during the seventh to push Seattle ahead, then Randy Arozarena upped the ante with a two-run insurance shot moments later -- lifting the club to a much-needed 5-4 victory over the White Sox at T-Mobile Park.
With the win, and in the immediate aftermath of a brutal defeat on Tuesday, the Mariners won the series against up-and-coming Chicago.
Yet, they had to stave off another late-inning scare when the White Sox clawed back with a run in both the eighth and ninth innings.
Essentially, the Mariners needed every run to reach the finish line, as Eduard Bazardo fell into an eighth-inning jam that ceded a run -- which would’ve tied the game without Arozarena’s big blast -- then José A. Ferrer gave up a leadoff homer to pinch-hitting Randal Grichuk in the ninth, which would’ve put them behind without Arozarena’s fifth of the season.
Ferrer, however, was able to zero back in to strike out Munetaka Murakami, Derek Hill and Colson Montgomery to send Seattle fans home happy -- albeit while still catching their breath.
Bazardo and Ferrer were among four relievers that the Mariners needed to close it out, capped by Ferrer locking down his third save. The club preferred to avoid using Andrés Muñoz after he gave up consecutive RBI singles in the ninth inning the night prior.
The bullpen’s efforts came after Emerson Hancock lasted just five innings. Hancock was on the hook for two Chicago runs, but things could’ve gotten much worse in a dicey first inning, when he walked the bases loaded with no outs but remarkably escaped unscathed.
Pitching aside, how bad did they need the long ball on Wednesday? The Mariners advanced to 21-13 when hitting a homer, compared to a 3-14 record when they haven’t cleared the fence.