Haniger the hero! Veteran outfielder becomes Mariners' walk-off king
Daniel Kramer
@DKramer_SEATTLE -- Mitch Haniger has become synonymous with walk-off wins during his six seasons in Seattle, and on Thursday night, he moved into the record books with the franchise-best eighth of his career. Yet his latest was arguably his most improbable, and it came at a time in a late-summer swoon where the Mariners needed it, maybe more than ever.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Haniger ripped a 97.9 mph single in a 1-2 count that sliced into right field and was shallow enough to bait Detroit¡¯s Ryan Vilade to dive inward and attempt a game-sealing catch. Instead, the ball nicked the bottom padding of Vilade¡¯s glove, sailed past him into no man¡¯s land and bounced all the way to the wall, allowing pinch-runner Ryan Bliss to score the game-winning run from first base.
And one night after the Mariners were robbed of a potential victory on a miraculous outfield catch, luck steered their way in a 4-3 decision to avoid a sweep that would¡¯ve been equally agonizing and alarming.
¡°Nothing against them, but we know we're a better team than Detroit,¡± Haniger said. ¡°We haven't played that way. We needed to salvage a win tonight.¡±
The fan-favorite Haniger moved past Jim Presley for the most walk-offs in Mariners history, after tying the record with a walk-off walk last Saturday against the Phillies. The last Mariner with two walk-off plate appearances within a six-day span was Ichiro Suzuki, who had them on consecutive days on Sept. 17-18, 2009.
Moreover, since Haniger¡¯s first career walk-off -- a 13th-inning homer vs. Tampa Bay on June 1, 2018 -- he is tied for the MLB lead for walk-offs.
¡°I don't remember the first one,¡± Haniger said. ¡°I remember a lot of them, but it's pretty cool. I mean, any time you're on an all-time list is awesome. I'm really blessed and grateful to play this game and to be on the list.¡±
Haniger, who was making his 256th career start in right field at T-Mobile Park, knows better than anyone how challenging a slicer like his can be to track down.
¡°That's a really tricky play, because once you commit, you've got to go dive for it,¡± he said. ¡°It's a really tough play to make.¡±
Haniger¡¯s heroics were set up by a swinging bunt from Raley and an opposite-field single from Randy Arozarena to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, then a two-out walk from Jorge Polanco, who was pinch-run for by Bliss.
Raley¡¯s chopper came in an 0-2 count and on a 91.3 mph fastball way up-and-in, with contact made off the handle of his bat. The ball ¨C which had an exit velocity of 44.2 mph ¨C rolled all the way down the third-base line with enough momentum to carom off the bag, and spark the rally.
Of note, Raley was in a left-on-left sequence vs. Tyler Holton. That¡¯s a matchup that the Mariners have mostly avoided, including Wednesday¡¯s loss, when he was pinch-hit for by Mitch Garver, who struck out on three pitches to end the game.
Earlier in the game, Raley put the Mariners on the board with a home run off lefty Bryan Sammons, just his second homer against a southpaw this season.
Raley reaching set up Arozarena, who lined an opposite-field single on a full count, and Polanco, who drew a free pass by laying off a few borderline pitches.
¡°I'm glad he dove for it, for our sake,¡± Raley said. ¡°I think if I, if I'm out there in that situation, I'm not diving for the ball -- not because I don't want to make the play, but you let one run, maybe two runs, score.¡±
Thursday¡¯s victory capped a complete turnaround from what was shaping up to be one of the Mariners¡¯ most deflating defeats of the season, one where they only had three hits entering the ninth despite Detroit deploying a bullpen game. They were completely stymied by lefty Sammons, a 10-year Minor League journeyman who was making just his third career appearance after his contract was selected by the Tigers from Triple-A Toledo on July 29.
A loss would¡¯ve also spoiled another strong start from Bryan Woo, who was perfect through the first four innings before a three-run hiccup in the fifth. He wound up finishing one out shy of matching a career-high seven innings, achieved in his most recent start, last Friday vs. the Phillies.
And with the Astros idle, the Mariners moved back into a tie with Houston atop the American League West.