MINNEAPOLIS -- It’s still way too early to talk about All-Star bids, but if Cole Young keeps this pace, there’s a chance he’ll be one of the American League’s most surprising selections.
The Mariners’ 22-year-old second baseman delivered again on Wednesday afternoon -- and twice in clutch moments.
Young punched a game-tying RBI double over Byron Buxton’s head in the seventh inning. Then, he went for a curtain call in the ninth, punching a dribbling single off the pitcher’s mound, between both middle infielders and into No Man’s Land in shallow center, to plate the tying and go-ahead runs.
When the dust settled, Seattle eked out a 5-3 victory over Minnesota at Target Field -- to win the series, cap a 5-1 road trip and get back to .500 (16-16) for the first time since April 3.
After Young’s go-ahead knock, Cal Raleigh ripped a 398-foot sacrifice fly that Buxton made a remarkable catch on. That gave Andrés Muñoz more breathing room to lock down his sixth save. And in between Young’s big moments, leverage reliever Matt Brash exited with an apparent injury.
Young now has an RBI in six straight games, which brought him to 19 for the season and moved him ahead of Raleigh (18) for the team lead.