Mariners Lose In Walk-Off Fashion

The Seattle Mariners were clinging to a one-run lead going into the bottom of the 9^th inning.  Matt Magill came in to see if he could nail down another save but it wasn’t meant to be.

Having a lead 2-1 going into the 9^th inning the Mariners were not able to score in the top half of the ninth though they had the opportunity. In the bottom of the 9^th with runners on first and third, the Rangers were able to tie the score though Magill was able to get the batter to hit the ball to shortstop Dylan Moore. The ball was thrown home to catcher Austin Nola who applied the tag. The umpire called the runner out but when the Rangers appealed the decision it was overturned to make the score 2-2. The Rangers were able to get another hit to make it a walk-off for the Rangers.

Austin Nola made his first start at catcher on the season. He had played a lot of first base and second base for the Mariners. When he was promoted from Tacoma he had played a lot of catcher for the Rainiers but the Mariners already had two other catchers. Tom Murphy considered the backup catcher was at DH on Saturday. Omar Narvaez would have been available if needed.

Now the calendar has turned over to September the rosters will expand. So we should see several players come up today from Tacoma. We may see more of Nola behind the plate in September. The Mariners may look at trading either Narvaez or Murphy during the off-season so Nola could be the backup catcher next season.

Tommy Milone started the game for the Mariners going five innings giving up three hits, one run, one walk and striking out four. This was his best outing for a while in a Mariner uniform. Matt Wisler, Taylor Guilbeau, and Anthony Bass all pitched one perfect inning each before Magill came in the ninth inning. Guilbeau has done an outstanding job as the left-hander out of the bullpen since being promoted from Tacoma on August 15. He was acquired by the Mariners at the trading deadline July 31 from the Washington Nationals and was assigned to Tacoma. He is showing he should have a place in the Mariner bullpen next season.

Yusei Kikuchi will start Sunday afternoon against the Rangers. He is hoping to bounce back from a poor performance in his last outing. The Mariners will then go to Chicago to take on the Cubs in interleague play for two games before going to Houston to take on the Astros for four games. So far the Mariners haven’t done well against the Astros, to say the least with winning only one game so far. A win today would split the four games between the Mariners and the Rangers. Go M’s.