SEATTLE -- Lifeless for their first game-and-a-half out of the break, the Mariners finally found liftoff in the late innings of a 4-3, 10-inning thriller over the Giants on Saturday afternoon.
Cole Young clobbered a three-run, game-tying homer in the seventh inning off Logan Webb in the right-hander’s first appearance since being selected to Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Then in the 10th, Julio Rodríguez roped a sacrifice fly to left field that scored automatic runner Victor Robles, who advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt from Colt Emerson.
It was Rodríguez’s first game since July 2, having been sidelined with a concussion.
"We've been trying,” Rodríguez said. “I feel like the effort has always been there, and all the guys show up in the right way, play hard and we haven't been rewarded as much. So, to get a little glimpse and get the crack right there, it definitely made the whole dugout fired up."
Both moments offered a big breakthrough for an offense that badly needed something -- anything -- to jumpstart their second half, especially on the heels of a 1-5 road trip through Florida going into the break.
Up to the point of Young’s homer, Seattle had been held to just one hit -- after just two singles in a 7-0 loss Friday, a stretch of 15 innings.
“At least for a while, it feels like we can't get anything going,” Rodríguez said. “And I just feel like that definitely was a great spark for the team, and it was huge to keep us in the game.”
Then, they finally -- and rapidly -- clawed away at Webb in that turnaround seventh, as Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch, then Josh Naylor walked on four pitches to set up Young’s big blast, his 12th of the season.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson called it “a large home run on a lot of levels” and, given the trying spot Seattle (49-50) sits right now, “a big emotional lift at that point in the game.”
“It was a big difference,” Young said. “It was a big moment and it changed the momentum a ton. So that was great for the team.”
The long ball erased a three-run deficit against Bryan Woo, who surrendered two solo homers in the sixth -- a sky-high shot from Rafael Devers that barely cleared both the left-field wall and foul pole and an opposite-field pop from Willy Adames.
Woo also surrendered an unearned run in the third after a wide throw from Young and an error from Luke Raley -- who was playing center field while Rodríguez returned at designated hitter.
Young’s homer also shifted the bullpen construction with which Wilson operated the rest of the way, as the manager -- who had used Gabe Speier in the top of the seventh -- continued to deploy his high-leverage arms, going to Eduard Bazardo, Andrés Muñoz and José A. Ferrer to get to the finish line.
Each threw up zeros, with just one single and one intentional walk among the 14 batters they faced.
That came less than 24 hours after Wilson turned to lower-leverage options while Seattle was trailing by three on Friday.
“When a team is struggling to score runs a little bit, every run is important and every run you prevent is important,” Wilson said, “and keeping that game at a 3-3 game is huge.”
What also kept the game tied was the remarkable defensive play from Colt Emerson to lead off the 10th.
Shaded in a shift almost behind second base, the rookie shortstop dove to his right to corral a 92.6 mph chopper from Luis Arraez, then after a 1.47-second exchange, he fired a 74.2 mph seed directly to Naylor -- to record the out and keep automatic runner Christian Koss on second base.
“That was an unbelievable play,” said Young, who came up as a shortstop in the Minors. “The fact that he was able to get there and stop it, and not let the runner advance is one thing, and then to get up and throw him out is another thing.”
Since their eight-game win streak that ended on June 3, the Mariners have ranked last in batting average (.215) and OPS (.626).
But it’s been the dropoff in slugging (.334, also last) that’s been the most glaring -- which underlined the massive impact Young’s homer had, and really, what tapping into more power can do for an offense that’s been seeking consistency all season long.