As good as anyone anywhere with the bases loaded, J.P. Crawford again showed why in a big spot for the Mariners.
The veteran shortstop finished off the Mariners' thrilling rally from an early five-run deficit with a bases-loaded single off the Astros' Bryan Abreu in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday night, driving in Cole Young from third base to deliver an 8-7 victory.
It's the second walkoff win of the young season for the Mariners and the eighth walkoff winner of Crawford's career in Seattle, tying Mitch Haniger for the franchise record.
He’s got the bases loaded with less than two outs — all the pressure’s on (the pitcher),” Crawford said. “I knew he was going to be aggressive right there. I was just trying to be on time for the fastball.”
After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Crawford lined a 96.9-mph fastball the other way for the game-winner.
Crawford delivered twice with the bases loaded Saturday — driving in two runs in the fifth inning to help jumpstart the M's rally — and his game-ending heroics prompted a hearty “J.P.! J.P.!” chant from the 43,294 fans inside T-Mobile Park.
"It's one of those moments where you dream of as a kid in the batting cages and, honestly, it's a dream come true," Crawford said. " ... Just confidence and believing in myself goes a long way."
For his career, Crawford has 30 hits in 77 at-bats with the bases loaded, hitting .390 with (whoa) 88 RBI and a 1.162 OPS.
"Definitely a guy you want in the box in those big moments and he continues to deliver," catcher Cal Raleigh said. "He's been a catalyst for us."
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Young, Brendan Donovan and Leo Rivas all worked walks against Abreu to load the bases for Crawford.
Julio Rodríguez busted out of an early-season malaise with his first home run of the season, a majestic blast to straightaway center field that completed the Mariners’ comeback from an early five-run hole.
In the first inning, Raleigh ambushed the first pitch he saw from Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr., a hanging curveball, for a two-run home run to right field, his second homer of the season and first at T-Mobile Park. Crawford had led off the bottom of the first with a six-pitch walk.
It marked the 32nd time that Raleigh and Rodríguez have homered in the same game over the past five seasons. The Mariners are 25-7 in those games.
It's an encouraging sign for an offense that came into the series ranked as the worst in MLB. The M's have scored 17 runs the past two nights against the Astros' depleted pitching staff.
"This is one of those feel-good wins," M's manager Dan Wilson said. "It's a confidence builder.
Yordan Alvarez and the Astros vaunted offense had rocked Mariners starter Luis Castillo to take a 7-2 lead in the fourth inning, a second straight shaky start from the Mariners veteran right-hander.
The Mariners bullpen threw 5.2 scoreless innings, with Casey Legumina, Jose A. Ferrer, Eduard Bazardo and Matt Brash shutting down an Astros offense that leads the American League in several offensive categories.
Andrés Muñoz, after throwing a season-high 25 pitches to earn the save in the Mariners’ 9-6 victory Friday night, managed to escape a bases-loaded jam in the top of the ninth inning by getting (gulp) Alvarez to pop out to Randy Arozarena in shallow left field for the final out.
Alvarez, the longtime Mariners killer and MLB’s home run leader early in the season, popped out on a 2-0 slider from Muñoz that was below the zone. Muñoz had thrown eight consecutive balls before that slider to walk the bases loaded.
Rodríguez recorded his first extra-base hit in his first at-bat, a double down the left-field line.
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In the fifth inning, Rodríguez launched a slider from Astros lefty Steven Okert 426 feet out to center field, scoring Crawford to tie the score at 7-7.
Crawford had helped spark the rally with a bases-loaded, two-run single off McCullers Jr., who had retired 12 in a row into the fifth inning.
Raleigh, batting right handed, followed with a broken-bat sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Rivas, cutting the Astros lead to 7-5.
Rodríguez struck five pitches later with his well-timed first homer.
Alvarez hit a leadoff homer in the third inning, his second in as many nights in the series and his MLB-best sixth of the season. In 18 career at-bats up to that point, Alvarez had nine hits against Castillo, including three homers.
Cam Smith, after falling behind 0-2 in the count, won an impressive 13-pitch battle vs. Castillo later in the third inning, driving in two runs on a slider.
Houston’s Taylor Trammell, the ex-Mariners outfielder recalled from Triple-A on Friday, had given the Astros the lead in the second inning when he laced a double off the top of the wall in left-center field to clear the bases with two outs.
The Astros outhit the Mariners 17-7. It's the first time since May 15, 1991 that Houston has lost a nine-inning game in which they had 17 hits or more, according to MLB.com.
Donovan was out of the starting lineup Saturday for the second game in a row as he recovers from an illness.
The Mariners' leadoff hitter was feeling well enough to go through a light workout on the field Saturday afternoon, catching flyballs and fielding groundballs with infield coach Perry Hill.
In an unexpected move, Donovan came on to pinch hit with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, his first appearance since Wednesday in Texas. He worked a four-pitch walk against Abreu.
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