First base was open if the Blue Jays wanted to intentionally walk him.
With two outs and backup catcher Tom Murphy on deck, it seemed like a logical strategy.
Instead, his former team opted to pitch to him with the game on the line.
It was a mistake.
Teoscar Hernandez was ready for the first-pitch slider from Toronto closer Jordan Romano. He stayed on the pitch away, sending a line drive over the head of right fielder George Springer for a game-winning “single” in the Mariners’ 3-2 walk-off victory over the Blue Jays.
Hernandez never left the batter’s box after making contact, watching Springer furiously retreat on the ball, hoping to save his team from defeat. The ball was simply hit too hard. Hernandez then remembered he had to run to first base to make it official as Jose Caballero trotted home with the winning run.
Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi, a former prized free agent signing for the Mariners, delivered one of his better outings this season, albeit somewhat truncated.
Kikuchi pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up five hits — four of which never left the infield — with a walk and eight strikeouts.
The Mariners never really made Kikuchi feel any sort of pressure on the bases or in their at-bats, which in the past would make him wilt. They never even put a runner in scoring position against him.
On May 16 of 2022, Kikuchi delivered one of his few good performances in an otherwise forgettable season. Pitching at the Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays actual home stadium, Kikuchi tossed six shutout innings, allowing just one hit — a double to Jesse Winker in the fifth inning — while walking three batters and striking out six.
Seattle got an almost equally good outing from rookie Bryce Miller, who was making his second start after coming off the injured list.
Miller pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
With the velocity on his fastball dropping 2-3 mph from the first pitch of the game, a trend that has increased this season, the Mariners pulled Miller after 75 pitches. Manager Scott Servais said before the game they wouldn’t push hm too far due to his overall usage as well as the blister issue that put him on the injured list before the All-Star break.
Miller’s lone mistake came in the fifth inning when Danny Jansen ambushed a first-pitch fastball that was only 93 mph and on the inner half of the plate, sending a solo homer into Edgar’s Cantina.
The Blue Jays pushed the lead to 2-0 in the seventh inning. Daulton Varsho led off with a soft infield single off Gabe Speier. Varsho stole second, advanced to third and then later scored when rookie reliever Prelander Berroa, who was making his MLB debut, uncorked a slider in the dirt that Tom Murphy didn’t glove or block for a wild pitch.
Seattle answered with a run in the bottom of the inning.
Ty France worked a leadoff walk and advanced to third on AJ Pollock’s double into the left field corner. Mike Ford followed with a bloop single to left that allowed France to score and Pollock to move up to third. However, the Mariners wouldn’t get another run. Pollock was thrown out at home on Jose Caballero’s soft ground ball to first. Later with two outs and the bases loaded, former Mariner Erik Swanson struck out Eugenio Suarez to end the inning.
Seattle tied the game in the eighth. Tom Murphy, who had struck out in his three previous at-bats, dropped in a single to left to start the inning. France followed with a double into the left field corner that rolled around just enough to allow Murphy to score all the way from first base and tie the game.
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