Mariners rally late, walk off in season opener against Giants with fans in stands for first time in 550 days
The crowd roared when the decisive run crossed the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning Thursday night.
It wasn’t a home run. It wasn’t an extra-base hit. It wasn’t a hit at all. It was a walk-off win on a walk, but it resonated with fans nonetheless as the Mariners opened the 2021 season with an 8-7 win over the Giants.
By rule, the Mariners opened the 10th with a runner — Evan White, who was the last out of the ninth inning — on second base, and Taylor Trammell, Dylan Moore and finally Jake Fraley drew three consecutive walks.
Fraley’s stroll to first sent White across the plate, the Mariners dugout emptied, fireworks erupted from left field, and fans, for the first time in 550 days, got to share in the moment at T-Mobile Park.
“We were so excited to have fans in the stands tonight, and you guys made a huge difference in that ballgame,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said during his postgame video call with media members, addressing the fans directly. “It’s not like turning up the crowd noise. It’s real.
“Our players felt it. The other team felt it. So I thank the (9,000 people) that were in the stadium. Thank you. It’s great to have you back.”
The elation echoed through the ballpark — and the resounding cheers that marked not only a Mariners win, but a return to live baseball that was so missed in Seattle last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sounded like they came from a much larger sold out crowd than the 8,174 permitted to attend by Washington state and King County health guidelines.
Baseball is finally back in Seattle, and the Mariners are 1-0.
“The name of the game is we got the W,” Trammell said. “That goes down in the record book. We’re in a good position right now.
“So, continue to do that every single day because people thought we were out, and we weren’t.”
But, it wasn’t until the eighth inning when the Mariners sent 11 batters to the plate and clawed back from what was once a 6-1 deficit.
J.P. Crawford drew a leadoff walk to open the inning, Mitch Haniger singled to left — his first hit since June 4, 2019, two days before the season-ending injury that cost him parts of two seasons, including the entirety of the 60-game 2020 season — and Ty France singled to center to drive in Crawford.
Kyle Seager than walked to load the bases, and two at-bats later, rookie Trammell worked a bases-loaded walk on a full count to push across Haniger.
The Giants swapped pitchers, but Moore jumped on the first pitch he saw from Tyler Rogers, doubling to right to score two more runs.
“Everyone was having good ABs one after another and it was just contagious and it was a lot of fun,” Moore said.
Fraley was hit by a pitch to load the bases again with Seattle trailing 6-5. Pinch hitter Jose Marmolejos then hit a grounder to first for what looked like a possible inning-ending double play, but Brandon Belt’s throw down to second leaked into center field, and both Trammell and Moore scored to suddenly give the Mariners a 7-6 lead.
The crowd erupted.
“I stepped on third and turned around and I heard the big roar — which is kind of cool to hear a big roar nowadays — and I saw the ball in the outfield and booked it home,” Moore said.
The cheers dulled some in the top of the ninth, when pinch hitter Alex Dickerson crushed a solo home run to right center off closer Rafael Montero to open the inning, tying the game at 7-7. But, Fraley’s walk-off walk an inning later ended any disappointment.
For seven innings it seemed this anticipated season opener would end with a whimper. The Mariners didn’t manage much against Giants starter Kevin Gausman, who held them hitless until Seager lined an opposite-field double to left with two outs in the fourth.
White’s leadoff double in the seventh was Seattle’s second hit. The Mariners finally ended Gausman’s shutout bid two batters later, when a broken bat sacrifice fly to center by Dylan Moore scratched White across.
San Francisco, meanwhile, jumped on Mariners ace Marco Gonzales, who was making his third consecutive Opening Day start for the club, early.
Evan Longoria and Buster Posey each launched solo home runs in the second to give the Giants a lead it didn’t seem they would lose. Wilmer Flores doubled in another run in the fourth. Austin Slater opened the fifth with another homer — which tied a career-high three given up by Gonzales in a single outing — and Brandon Belt singled in another run in the inning to make it 5-0.
Gonzales tossed the sixth without further damage, but his night ended after that. He allowed the five runs on eight hits, including the three homers, with an uncharacteristic three walks (one intentional) to two strikeouts. For comparison, Gonzales walked only seven batters in nearly 70 innings across 11 starts in 2020.
Casey Sadler pitched a scoreless seventh, Rule 5 Draft pick Will Vest was charged with a run in the eighth when Wilmer Flores scored on a throwing error by Crawford, and Montero allowed the homer in the ninth.
Anthony Misiewicz earned the win after tossing a scoreless 10th, which ended when Haniger ran down a long fly ball and made a sliding catch to save a run.
“I’m a strong believer this game is a game of momentum and a game of vibes as well,” Trammell said. “The momentum and the vibes were in our favor, and there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win that game.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 11:20 PM.
