Fresh and fiery, the bullpen saved the Mariners from a frustrating setback Tuesday night.
Julio Rodriguez delivered the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning and Matt Brash closed the door in the Mariners’ 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
The Mariners (41-37) improved in 4-1 on this 10-game road trip thanks in large part to four dominant innings from their four best relievers after Luis Castillo coughed up a 5-0 lead.
Gabe Speier, Carlos Vargas, Andrés Muñoz and Brash were all relatively rested and ready after the Mariners’ back-to-back blowout wins the previous two days, and they allowed just two base runners over four scoreless innings Tuesday.
“The bullpen was outstanding tonight,” manager Dan Wilson said. “… It all ties together. You look at (Monday’s 11-2 win) and getting a big offensive night and being able to let your higher-leverage guys get a little bit of a rest. These things, they all stack up on each other.”
Vargas had a notable uptick in his velocity, touching 100.2 mph, and he relieved Speier with two outs in the sixth inning and got Ryan Jeffers to fly out weakly to strand the go-ahead run at third base.
Vargas then worked around a two-out walk to pitch a scoreless seventh. For the first time this season, Muñoz pitched at the start of the eighth inning and worked a 1-2-3 frame against the middle of the Minnesota lineup, getting former teammate Ty France to ground out weakly to J.P. Crawford, who made a nifty one-handed pick and throw for the third out.
It was just the fifth appearance this month for Muñoz, who hadn’t pitched in seven days. Wilson wanted to make sure Muñoz got into Tuesday’s game, which is the main reason he pitched in the eighth. He had pitched almost exclusively in the ninth inning or later this season.
For one night, the ninth went to Brash, who picked up his first save of the season. He has not allowed a run in his first 15 appearances since returning in early May from major elbow surgery.
“We are attacking everybody,” said Muñoz, who earned some redemption after blowing two saves in the Mariners’ last series vs. the Twins in Seattle. “I think that is a key for us — go and attack everybody. Don't be afraid that something bad could happen.”
A lot of good things continue to happen for the Mariners offense, which has scored 47 runs in the first five games of this trip.
They won for just the fifth time this season without the benefit of a home run.
Cal Raleigh did not homer Tuesday, but he did have a first-inning double off the wall in left field — the Mariners’ only extra-base hit — and reached base three times.
Rodriguez came through twice with a runner at third and less than two outs, driving in the Mariners’ first run in a five-run third inning off Twins starter Chris Paddack.
His game-winning sequence in the ninth inning was even more impressive.
Rodriguez fell behind Twins closer Jhoan Duran 0-2 before getting a 100.7-mph fastball near the middle of the plate and sending it to the warning track in right field. That easily drove in Dylan Moore from third base to give the Mariners a 6-5 lead.
“Oftentimes it's the little things that help you to win the big games, and tonight was a big one for us,” Wilson said.
With one out in the top of the ninth, pinch-hitter Jorge Polanco reached on a hit-by-pitch on a Duran curveball with two strikes.
Rookie Cole Young followed with a ground-ball single up the middle, advancing pinch-runner Moore to third.
Duran then hit Crawford in the foot with a first-pitch curveball, loading the bases for Rodriguez with one out.
For the second night in a row, the Mariners broke through in the third inning, sending 10 batters to the plate and breaking through with five runs off Paddack.
After back-to-back singles from rookies Ben Williamson and Young, Paddack threw away Crawford’s sac bunt to load the bases with no outs.
Rodriguez hit a sac fly to right field to drive in the game’s first run, and Raleigh followed with a single to right to drive in another.
Randy Arozarena walked to load the bases again and Luke Raley was hit by a pitch to bring in another run and make it 3-0.
Donovan Solano found another barrel, hitting a line drive up the middle to drive in two more runs and extend the M’s lead to 5-0.
It didn’t last.
Castillo allowed a leadoff homer to the Twins’ Kody Clemens — son of Roger Clemens — on well-located 96-mph fastball up and in. Clemens turned on it and sent it 353 feet out to right field.
The Twins complete their comeback with four runs in the fourth inning off Castillo to tie the score at 5-5.
Castillo struggled with his fastball command, which led to him falling behind early in counts.
“That inning was a little devastating,” Castillo said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. “That situation, I felt like that's what happens when a pitcher falls behind on the count, instead of the other way around. All I can do is just go out there and battle.”
© 2025 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
