Mariners stun the Diamondbacks in magical 4-3 win

Wow.  In what was personally my first Mariners game in a ballpark other than Safeco Field, the hometown M’s rallied in the 9th and 10th innings to clinch a series in Arizona.

Wade Leblanc started the game for the Mariners and faced the Diamondback’s Robbie Ray. Both pitchers had ERAs near 4 and looked to add onto solid season campaigns.

Both teams hit their opposing pitchers early on. Mitch Haniger jumped on the second pitch of the game to launch his 22nd home run into the deepest part of Chase Field. Arizona’s Eduardo Escobar matched Haniger with a home run of his own to tie the game at 1-1.

From the second inning on, both pitchers settled down. The Mariners left a staggering 13 men on base to end innings, and a slumping offense looked to cause another “what-if” loss.

Leblanc threw 6 impressive innings of 1-run baseball, and Nick Vincent took the mound. Vincent, or “Hubba Hubba” during Player’s weekend, did not find similar success.

After letting the first two men aboard and into scoring position after a sacrifice bunt, Vincent was pulled. Zach Duke came in to pitch, but his appearance was short lived after he pegged Jon Jay to load the bases.

AJ Pollock did not waste Arizona’s chances to blow the game open. He drove a ball into left field off of new reliever Adam Warren to score 2 and give the D-Backs a 3-1 lead.

Personally, I wanted to see Colome or Diaz  pitch the seventh. With Pollock at the top of the order, allow your best pitcher to face their best hitters and try to win the battle. But, as the game would go on, Diaz and Colome would be critical to the Mariner’s incredible comeback.

The Mariners left two men on base to end the eighth and would have to score 2 runs off of closer Brad Boxberger.

They did just that.

With runners on the corners and two outs, Kyle Seager doubled into the right field corner to score two and tie the game.

Colome held the Diamondbacks in the ninth inning, and Seattle looked to win their 13th extra-inning game of the season.

As a fan in attendance of the game, the game was nothing short of magical. Denard Span homered into the right field swimming pool and Chase Field fell silent (except for the handful of Mariner fans along the first base line). Heading into the bottom of the 10th, the Mariners led 4-3.

In what looked like a lost cause in the 7th, the Mariners were able to send Edwin Diaz to the mound in the 10th, looking to earn his 50th save of the season. He would become the first Mariner to earn 50 saves in a single season after breaking the franchise record (49) in Friday night’s 6-3 victory.

Diaz would have to face 3-4-5 in Arizona’s lineup. And boy, does Edwin like to make it interesting. 

Arizona pounced on Diaz for back-to-back singles. With no outs, the Diamondbacks had the winning run on first base.

Luckily, the next batter hit a line drive directly to Kyle Seager, and he tagged out the tying run between third base and home. Despite the great defensive play, Arizona still had 2 runners on with 1 out.

A pop out to center brought the Mariners one out away from securing a series victory. With 2 outs, former Mariner Ketel Marte stepped in to face his former team and make a statement.

In what could possibly be the best defensive play of the game, Mitch Haniger tracked down a deep fly ball on the left field warning track to win the game. Trust me – from right field, the ball looked gone.

Edwin Diaz earned his 50th save. FYI – it’s still August.

Better yet, manager Scott Servais must now cut his hair to match Edwin’s. The two made a bet before the season that would require Servais to cut his hair if Diaz were to reach 50 saves.

In what was a magical Mariner win, they secured the series in the desert and will look to sweep the D-backs tomorrow. Mike Leake will take the mound for the Mariners in a 1:10 PT start.