SEATTLE -- Back in the lineup after missing two games with soreness in his side, Jorge Polanco broke through in a massive way on Monday night, ripping a go-ahead, two-run single off flamethrowing reliever Bryan Abreu to lift the Mariners to a much-needed, 4-3 victory over the Astros.
With two on and two out, and Abreu topping out at 99.3 mph, Polanco punched a 2-1 slider back up the middle, off the reliever and into center field, scorching 105 mph off his bat. It set up Andr¨¦s Mu?oz for his fourth save -- and the regular-season debut of his new kick-changeup -- and backed another gem from Logan Gilbert, who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
¡°I'm just ready for the fastball and adjust with the breaking ball, but if I can hit it, the timing is good,¡± Polanco said. ¡°I'm just trying to keep it simple. Don't let the moment get you wrong or make you feel a little bit like you have to do it.¡±
Polanco -- who made his first start at designated hitter after suffering what Mariners general manager Justin Hollander described as ¡°tenderness¡± in his side on Friday -- is now 10-for-24 this season with 10 RBIs, double more than anyone else on the team.
His early bounceback from an injury-plagued debut season in Seattle last year that led to offseason surgery on his left knee has been arguably the Mariners¡¯ most promising development.
¡°He works the at-bat, but he's able to get the barrel to it,¡± Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. ¡°We've seen so much barrel from him consistently.¡±
Polanco was set up in the eighth by walks from Dylan Moore and Miles Mastrobuoni, then a well-executed sacrifice bunt that moved them into scoring position by J.P. Crawford -- who also made a remarkable throw from his knees while slipping on the grass for the first out in the top of the ninth.
¡°I looked at it and I think his foot gave out,¡± said second baseman Ryan Bliss, who put the Mariners on the board with a two-run homer in the fifth. ¡°But the fact that he got it there on the line and Rowdy [Tellez] made a pretty good play there, too. That's a tough play.¡±
The comeback salvaged what was shaping up to be another stinging loss, especially after a pitching change that never took place in the top of the eighth.
Wilson opted to stick with Gregory Santos after he fell into a jam with two on and two outs, just as Gabe Speier was pacing down the ramp from the home bullpen, seemingly to enter and face Yordan Alvarez. But Wilson opted to intentionally walk Alvarez instead, then Santos gave up a 106.1 mph chopper to Christian Walker that one-hopped past third baseman Dylan Moore for an error and led to two runs and the Mariners¡¯ first deficit of the night.
Speier said in passing that he was told to ¡°be ready for Yordan,¡± while Wilson said that the decision wasn¡¯t fully made until a roughly 15-second mound visit with Santos, catcher Cal Raleigh and the entire infield.
¡°We were thinking about it, and when we went out there and thought about it a little bit more, I think the decision was pretty clear,¡± Wilson said. ¡°And [Santos] gets the ball on the ground, and that's what he does. And that's what we were hoping for.
"I think with Alvarez there, the thinking was we had first base open. Let's put him on and go after Walker. And again, Santos made a good pitch, got the ground ball and that's all you can ask in that situation. And unfortunately, we didn't get the out."
By that point, Gilbert was long gone from the game, but his outing was just as vital to the victory. With one of the best versions of his splitter, he racked up seven strikeouts with two walks and only one hit, a solo homer to Jose Altuve with one out in the sixth on his only real mistake pitch of the night.
¡°It seemed like we really needed one,¡± Gilbert said, on the heels of Seattle being swept this weekend in San Francisco. ¡°I just tried to give us a good chance out there. Any time it's against Houston, it's pretty competitive, and means a lot.¡±
Before Bliss¡¯ big homer in the fifth, Gilbert had received only one run of support in three starts this season, and it technically came after he threw his final pitch of his Opening Day start.