DENVER -- Lazaro Montes delivered the ultimate Coors Field special on Friday night.
And it saved the Mariners from letting another winnable game slip away.
The massive rookie slugger demolished a solo homer into the second deck beyond right field that put Seattle back in front and led to a 5-4 win over the Rockies. And it could not have come at a more opportune time, as Montes stepped in as the first batter in the top of the ninth inning.
Montes dug out a low-and-in breaking ball from reliever Jordan Romano -- into the lefty loop zone -- and yanked it a Statcast-projected 426 feet, with a bat speed of 84.8 mph and exit velocity of 107.6 mph. And it quite literally left the bleachers, chopping into the tunnel leading to the concourse.
It was his fourth homer since joining the Mariners as a September callup, and none of them have been cheapies.
Yes, its sky-high trajectory was probably aided by altitude. But there’s little doubt that this one big swing would’ve yielded the same result in any of the sport’s 30 ballparks.
With a 72-82 record, the Mariners’ season is on life support -- and they entered this weekend’s series with a legitimate possibility of elimination as soon as Sunday. But with Houston’s loss in Atlanta, Seattle is now five games back of first place in the American League West with eight to play.