J.P. Crawford comes through with the clutch hit and Logan Gilbert pitches a gem, to keep the Mariners within touch of a wild card spot.
The situation was looking desperate for the Mariners in the bottom of the ninth. Trailing 2-1 and down to their last out, they seemed set to lose and all but fall out of the playoff race.
However, for all their faults, this is a Mariners time which never gives up until the very end. It also helped that J.P. Crawford was coming up to the plate for the do-or-die at-bat.
Crawford has had a career-year offensively, setting a whole host of single-season bests including home runs, RBI and walks. He also leads the Mariners in OBP, while being second in OPS and WAR.
Crawford rocks T-Mobile Park
The 2013 16th overall draft pick subsequently came through, hitting a double which brought the two necessary runs home to win the game. Renowned for his leadership and ability to rally the team, he couldn’t have provided a better example.
Crawford gave some insight into his thought process ahead of the crucial at-bat. Speaking postgame, he said:
“Everyone is depending on me at that point. Two outs, bases loaded, bottom of the ninth. Shoot, you’ve got to just get it done. … There’s really nothing else to it. Keep it simple, do your job. End of story.”
Mariners manager Scott Servais undoubtedly appreciates his shortstop. He said:
“What J.P. brings every day and how he goes about it and how he’s turned into a leader on our ballclub, it shows up. Your best players got to play well in the big moments and he did tonight.”
Gilbert excels for Mariners
The Mariners had fallen behind 2-0 early, courtesy of two Rangers solo blasts in the third and fourth innings. In fairness though, Logan Gilbert overall had an effective night on the mound.
In total, Gilbert allowed just three hits and no walks in six innings of action. He also recorded 12 swings-and-misses on 97 pitches, on his way to five strikeouts.
If the Mariners don’t make the playoffs, Thursday night represented the righty’s final start of the season. Fans will hope there’s more to come, but if not, he’s had a strong year overall.
Gilbert finishes the regular season with a 13-7 record in 31 outings, which includes 18 quality starts. He produced a 3.75 ERA and 3.78 FIP, while also setting a new career-low with an excellent 1.094 WHIP.
The 26-year-old talked about how hard the Rangers lineup makes pitchers work. He said:
“They can cover a lot of pitches, especially in the middle of the order there, so it’s not easy. But (it) just comes down to execution.”
After Gilbert left, the bullpen came through and looked more like what they’re capable of, to keep the Mariners in the game. Isaiah Campbell, Gabe Speier and Andrés Muñoz combined to pitch three scoreless innings.
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J-Rod with a much-needed hit
Staring at a 2-0 deficit halfway through the fourth, Julio Rodríguez got the rally going in the bottom half of the inning. He hit his team-leading 32nd home run of the season, to pull the Mariners to within 2-1.
It was an important moment for Rodríguez, who didn’t record a single hit during the Astros series. As important as Crawford is, the two-time All-Star arguably has the biggest influence on the fortunes of the team.
Servais was delighted with the mental fortitude displayed by his players in a pressure-packed situation. He said:
“Tonight’s about fight. You play all season long, spring training, all the work that goes into it and kind of comes down to you need to win a game, you need to get a big hit. And our guys found a way.”
With the win, the Mariners are one game behind the Rangers and two back of the Blue Jays. They have the tie-breaker over both, but just three games left to make up the gap.
As such, all the Mariners can do at this point is focus on and win one game at a time. Then, let the cards fall where they may.
Bryan Woo will take the ball on Friday night, in what will be a tough task against the Rangers. In two previous outings versus them, he’s allowed a combined 12 hits, three walks and 12 earned runs in just 5.1 innings.
Does Thursday night’s win give you confidence the Mariners will qualify? Or are you concerned they’ve left themselves too much to do? Let us know in the comments section below.
