SEATTLE – You can’t rely on a diminutive utility infielder to bail you out with a walk-off homer every night.
But apparently you can ask a rookie with only two Major League appearances to win you game and put you into a tie for the American League West.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th inning, Harrison Michael Ford stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter.
He was the Mariners last position player available and he needed to bat in a spot that was occupied by the pitcher.
He watched his teammates fail in similar situations all night. But with the Mariners needing the game to an end, Ford delivered in the clutch. He swung at the first pitch he saw from lefty Sammy Peralta, lifting a fly ball to right field. It wasn’t deep, and it wasn’t shallow. But it was enough for Jorge Polanco to tag up at third base and race home, diving into home plate with the game winning run.
The Mariners 7-6 victory in 12 innings moved them into a tie with the Astros atop the division at 79-68.
It’s the latest the Mariners have been in first place in the division since 2001.
The Mariners entered the bottom of the 12th down 6-5. After playing 12 innings the night before, another marathon was a test to their resolve and mental endurance.
After automatic runner Josh Naylor stole third on the first pitch of the inning, Polanco laced a double into the left field corner to tie the game at 6-6. The Angels intentionally walked Eugenio Suarez and pinch-hitter Victor Robles beat out a sac bunt to load the bases for Ford, who was coming into pinch hit for pitcher Jose Castillo.
It was Ford’s first plate appearance at T-Mobile Park.
Bryce Miller gave the Mariners an uneven start. They needed him to get at least six innings, and he was able to make it through 5 2/3 innings on 99 pitches. Given a 4-0 lead in the second inning, he was lifted with the game tied at 4-4. The four runs allowed came on six hits. He didn’t walk a batter while striking out a career-high 11 batters.
Down 1-2 in the count, Raley turned his right knee into the plate to allow a 98-mph sinker to hit him for a free base with one out. Impossibly tough and with an abnormally high pain threshold, Raley didn’t flinch when it struck him. Though he started to feel it as he tried to trot to first base. After a brief conversation with the athletic trainer, Raley remained in the game because, well, he doesn’t come out of games for something like that.
But it was just the first time where Raley getting hit with a baseball would play into the big inning. Leo Rivas hit a hard groundball to first baseman Logan Davidson, who fired to second to get Raley and possibly start a double play. However, as Raley was running right down the baseline, Davidson’s throw struck him in the left shoulder with the ball bouncing into left field. Raley raced to third on the play while Rivas was safe at first.
The extra outs paid off. J.P. Crawford lashed a 98-mph fastball to left field for a double that drove in both runners. The Mariners kept the inning alive with Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh drawing walks to the load the bases. After struggling in a similar situation on Wednesday night, striking out on three pitches, Julio Rodriguez came through with a double off the wall in left to score two more runs and make it 4-0.
After striking out the five of the first seven batters he faced, Miller left a 3-2 sinker in the middle of the plate to rookie Logan Davidson, who turned into to his first career home run. The solo blast traveled 422 feet over the wall in right-center to make it 4-1.
The Angels kept chipping away at Miller and the Mariners’ lead. Yoan Moncada led off the fourth inning with a screaming 109-mph linedrive up the middle that almost took Miller’s cap off. Taylor Ward followed with a double into the left field corner that put runners on second and third with no outs.
Veteran infielder and one-time Mariner Chris Taylor made it 4-2 with a sac fly to deep center. With the infield playing back, Luis Rengifo hit a groundball to shortstop that allowed Ward to score to reduce Seattle’s lead to one run.
The Angels tied the game when an old “friend” announced his presence with a reminder of how much he loves to hit against the Mariners and in T-Mobile Park.
Mike Trout moved closer to a major milestone in his career when he crushed a 3-2 fastball from Miller into the visiting bullpen. It was career homer No. 399 for Trout and, no, 300 of them haven’t come against the Mariners. It just feels that way.
But no opposing team has been more tormented by Trout. In 194 career games vs. Seattle, he’s now hit 56 homers. And of those 56 homers, 33 of them have come at T-Mobile Park.