M’S COME BACK FOR 2ND STRAIGHT GAME, HEADED TO PLAYOFFS
Despite 6 BBs, Seattle Staff Stifles Jays Bats
SEATTLE, Sept. 30 (AP) – For the second straight game, the Seattle Mariners overcame an early deficit and went on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 in the final American League play-in contest, securing the circuit’s second wildcard slot following an unprecedented four-team end-of-season tie. The Mariners will now head to Anaheim, California to take on the Los Angeles Angels in the AL Wildcard game. The winner of that contest will face the Baltimore Orioles in a best-of-five AL Division Series. The Kansas City Royals will take on the Oakland Athletics in the other ALDS.
Mariners pitchers struggled with control—the team issued a total of six bases on balls—but otherwise stymied the offense of the second-most prolific run-scoring team in the major leagues, surrendering just four hits to the Blue Jays, while striking out eight.
Still, it was Toronto that got the scoring started. Seattle starter Taijuan Walker—making only his sixth start of the season—surrendered two of the four safeties the Blue Jays would accrue to the first two hitters he faced in the game. Jose Reyes and Jose Bautista rapped out consecutive singles to open the contest, putting runners on first and second. But Walker rose to the occasion, retiring Edwin Encarnacion on a shallow fly to center and fanning both Adam Lind and Dioner Navarro to escape damage.
The game was still scoreless in the top of the third when Walker’s control deserted him. He walked Munenori Kawasaki to open the frame, then retired Reyes on a fly to center. But Bautista and Encarnacion drew free passes, loading the bases with one out. That brought Lind to the plate and he roped a double to right-center, scoring Kawasaki and Bautista and chasing Encarnacion to third. The bullpen was in action for the Mariners, but it wasn’t ready. Fortunately for Seattle, Walker again rallied, striking out Navarro and retiring Juan Francisco on a grounder to first. The Jays led 2-0, but it could have been much worse.
Walker didn’t allow another runner past first base through the top of the fifth.
Meanwhile, Toronto starter Drew Hutchison, working on three days rest, allowed only a walk to Kendrys Morales, who was immediately eliminated on a double play, to reach base through three. In the fourth, an error charged to first baseman Lind put Dustin Ackley on first base with one out, but Hutchison retired Robinson Cano on a fly to left and Morales on strikes to keep the Mariners off the scoreboard.
With Hutchison on short rest, Jays manager John Gibbons had his bullpen on constant alert and in the fifth, he faced what he feared. Kyle Seager led off the inning with Seattle’s first hit of the game, a single to right. Logan Morrison forced Seager at second for the first out, but Michael Saunders doubled to left-center, with Morrison stopping at third. All of a sudden, the tying runs were in scoring position. Gibbons elected to let Hutchison face Mike Zunino, but the Mariners catcher foiled him, grounding a double down the left field line, scoring both Morrison and Saunders to tie the game, to the delight of the sellout crowd. Gibbons removed Hutchison, but the horse was already out of the barn. Aaron Loup came on and struck out pinch hitter Chris Taylor and retired Austin Jackson on a line drive to right, but the Mariners had knotted the score at two.
Joe Biemel came on for Seattle in the top of the sixth and set down Toronto in order. Loup retired Ackley on a grounder to third to open the bottom of the sixth, but Cano cracked a triple to right-center, putting the lead run on third with one out. Aaron Sanchez replaced Loup on the mound, but he walked Morales. With runners on first and third, Seager grounded to second, and while Morales was forced out, a hustling Seager narrowly beat the relay to first. Staying out of the double play allowed Cano to score the lead run, and Seattle led for the first time, 3-2.
Yoervis Medina came on for the Mariners in the seventh and, with one out, walked Anthony Gose. Gibbons sent John Thole up to pinch hit for Kawasaki and, on a 3-2 pitch, sent Gose from first. Medina struck out Thole and Zunino cut down Gose at second to complete the strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play.
Sanchez set down the Mariners in the bottom of the seventh and Tom Wilhelmsen came on to pitch the top of the eighth. After retiring Reyes and Bautista, he surrendered a base hit to Encarnacion and then walked Danny Valencia. With the tying run on second, Navarro popped to second to end the threat.
Dustin McGowan walked Cano with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but fanned Morales to keep the one-run deficit in place. But Wilhelmsen didn’t give the Jays much of a chance in the top of the ninth. With closer Fernando Rodney unavailable, having been used heavily each of the previous two days, Wilhelmsen rose to the occasion, fanning pinch hitter Dalton Pompey and retiring Kevin Pillar and Gose on routine ground balls to end the game.
The Mariners, who had seemed a postseason lock for much of the year, then seemed nearly completely out of it after slumping badly in late August, punched their ticket in the end.
9/30/2014, Tor14-Sea14, Safeco Field
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2014 Blue Jays 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 6 1
2014 Mariners 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 x 3 4 0 4 2
Blue Jays AB R H BI AVG Mariners AB R H BI AVG
Reyes ss 3 0 1 0 .256 Jackson,A cf 4 0 0 0 .255
Bautista rf 3 1 1 0 .245 Ackley lf 4 0 0 0 .241
Encarnacion 1b 3 0 1 0 .257 Cano 2b 3 1 1 0 .313
Mayberry pr 0 0 0 0 .224 Morales,K dh 2 0 0 0 .215
Lind dh 2 0 1 2 .366 Seager 3b 3 0 1 1 .256
Valencia ph 1 0 0 0 .273 Morrison 1b 3 1 0 0 .229
Navarro,D c 4 0 0 0 .268 Saunders,M rf 3 1 1 0 .316
Francisco,J 3b 2 0 0 0 .242 Zunino c 3 0 1 2 .194
Tolleson,St ph 1 0 0 0 .279 Miller,B ss 1 0 0 0 .197
Pompey ph 1 0 0 0 .143 Taylor,C ph 2 0 0 0 .267
Rasmus,Col cf 2 0 0 0 .266 28 3 4 3
Pillar ph 2 0 0 0 .267
Gose lf 3 0 0 0 .246
Kawasaki 2b 1 1 0 0 .240
Thole ph 1 0 0 0 .307
Goins 2b 0 0 0 0 .209
29 2 4 2
Blue Jays INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Hutchison 4.1 3 2 2 1 4 66 40 4.27
Loup L 3-3 1.0 1 1 1 0 1 17 13 1.53
Sanchez,Aa 1.2 0 0 0 1 0 23 14 1.24
McGowan 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 21 11 2.24
8.0 4 3 3 3 7 127 78
Mariners INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Walker,T 5.0 3 2 2 4 6 88 46 2.85
Beimel W 6-2 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 7 5 2.58
Medina H 16 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 12 5 3.21
Wilhelmsen S 2 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 32 16 4.13
9.0 4 2 2 6 8 139 72
Tor: Valencia batted for Lind in the 6th
Tolleson,St batted for Francisco,J in the 6th
Tolleson,St moved to 3b in the 6th
Pillar batted for Rasmus,Col in the 7th
Thole batted for Kawasaki in the 7th
Pillar moved to lf in the 7th
Gose moved to cf in the 7th
Goins inserted at 2b in the 7th
Mayberry ran for Encarnacion in the 8th
Mayberry moved to 1b in the 8th
Pompey batted for Tolleson,St in the 9th
Sea: Taylor,C batted for Miller,B in the 5th
Taylor,C moved to ss in the 6th
E-Encarnacion. 2B-Lind(30), Saunders,M(19), Zunino(25). 3B-Cano(4).
RBI-Lind 2(41), Seager(87), Zunino 2(56). CS-Gose. K-Bautista, Lind,
Navarro,D 2, Rasmus,Col, Gose, Thole, Pompey, Jackson,A, Ackley, Morales,K 2,
Zunino, Miller,B, Taylor,C. BB-Reyes, Bautista, Encarnacion, Gose, Kawasaki,
Valencia, Cano, Morales,K 2.
GWRBI: Seager
Temperature: 73, Sky: clear, Wind: none.
Attendance: 47,728
Game Time: 2:57