Mariners are making history with last at-bat magic
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
On the day Felix Hernandez returned to the hill, the Seattle Mariners offense stole the spotlight again with another dramatic walkoff victory.
With the game tied in the 11th inning, Leonys Martin connected for his second home run of the game to give Seattle a much-needed 6-5 victory against the Chicago White Sox.
The walkoff home run was the third of Martin’s career and his second this season. As for Seattle, that’s two walk-off home runs in their last three games and six already this season, which ties the franchise record.
.@Mariners lead MLB with 6 walk-off HR. Their 6 ties franchise record set in 1986
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 20, 2016
Truth be told, if not for the last at-bat magic, Seattle’s up and down season may already be a lost cause. The Mariners improved to 48-47 with this win, but remain on the fringe of playoff contention at 5 1/2 games back in the wild-card standings. Without those six swings, an uphill climb might be impossibly steep.
As it is, Seattle’s trek will be a difficult one. We wouldn’t say they’ve fully accepted their position as impossible, but they did make an interesting trade on Wednesday, sending reliever Mike Montgomery to the Cubs for first baseman/designated hitter Dan Vogelbach. That could be a sign of things to come should Seattle fall a little further.
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As for King Felix, his return was mixed. In 6 2/3 innings, he allowed five runs on 10 hits. He looked healthy though and pitched efficiently given the traffic, throwing just 94 pitches.
TOP PERFORMERS
Jedd Gyorko: The St. Louis Cardinals swept a unique doubleheader on Wednesday in which every run both teams scored came courtesy of a home run. St. Louis won the opener, 4-2, behind a two-run shot from Gyorko and solo homers from Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina. In the nightcap, Gyorko did all of the damage, hitting a solo shot in the third and another two-run homer in the fifth. St. Louis held on to win 3-2.
Anthony Rizzo: After going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in Tuesday’s loss, Rizzo bounced back with two monstrous home runs in the Cubs 6-2 win against the Mets. Rizzo’s first homer was a solo shot in the third that Statcast measured at 451 feet. In the sixth inning, he added a two-run blast that essentially cemented Chicago’s win. Rizzo now has 24 homers on the season to go with 71 RBIs.
Tyler Naquin: The Indians rookie outfielder had a career day in their 11-4 blowout of the Royals. Naquin finished with three hits, including a pair of home runs, while driving in a career-best six runs. Overall, Cleveland hit five homers, with four coming against Kansas City starter Ian Kennedy. Naquin hit a solo shot in the third and a three-run blast in the fifth, to go along with a two-run double. Cleveland’s other homers were hit by Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli.
Michael Pineda: Should the Yankees decide to sell, Pineda did wonders for his trade value in their 5-0 win against the Orioles. The veteran right-hander tossed six scoreless innings, limiting Baltimore’s dangerous offense to five hits. The dilemma though is that New York has now won three straight against Baltimore and four straight overall. At 48-46 and six games back in the division, any chance Brian Cashman will consider selling is likely back on hold.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
We’re not worthy, Bryce Harper. His first-inning home run during Washington’s 8-1 win against the Dodgers on Wednesday was measured at 451 feet, though we can’t help but wonder if they underestimated by 50-100. That baseball was absolutely smoked and may still be traveling had it not contacted seats in the third deck at Nationals Park.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Red Sox 11, Giants 7: A memorable night for Hanley Ramirez, who launched three homers and recreated one of the Red Sox most iconic moments.
Reds 6, Braves 3: Atlanta padded its lead for the No. 1 draft pick by losing two of three in Cincinnati.
Twins 4, Tigers 1: Minnesota scored three in the ninth on a Max Kepler solo home run and Eddie Rosario two-run homer. Both were hit against Francisco Rodriguez.
Rays 11, Rockies 3: A nice outing for Chris Archer, who struck out 11. He got help from Tim Beckham, who was a perfect 5-for-5 with four singles and one double.
Astros 7, A’s 0: Veteran Doug Fister tossed seven scoreless innings as Houston avoided a sweep in Oakland.
Angels 7, Rangers 4: Meanwhile, the Rangers could not avoid a sweep. They fall to the Angels again thanks to a four-run first inning and two more hits from Albert Pujols.
Blue Jays 10, Diamondbacks 4: Toronto completes a quick two-game sweep behind home runs from Josh Donaldson and and a 471-footer from Edwin Encarnacion.
Phillies 4, Marlins 1: Jeremy Hellickson tossed eight innings of one-run ball to earn his seventh win.
Brewers 9, Pirates 5: Rumors surrounding a Jonathan Lucroy trade picked up steam on Wednesday, but he remained in the Brewers lineup and knocked in three more runs as they spoiled a big game for Pittsburgh.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
