Improbable comeback shows that anything is possible with these Mariners

You saw it or you’ve heard about it by now: the Mariners beat the Padres 16-13 Thursday night, rallying from 10 runs down for the biggest comeback in franchise history.

It’s one of those games you’ll always remember where you were when it happened. I wish I’d been among the smattering of Mariner fans at Petco Park that ROOT Sports kept showing us during the seventh inning when Scott Servais’ team scored nine runs to take the lead. You could see their excitement building, and it no doubt felt the same way wherever you were watching the game.

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For what it’s worth – likely not much – I was standing in anticipation during Nelson Cruz’s entire at-bat in the seventh inning, expecting a grand slam. It was a great at-bat with Cruz fouling off one pitch after another, leading to a full count. When he struck out on a pitch that would have been ball four, I figured the rally would fizzle. It would be a nice little comeback from a 12-2 deficit, but one that would not overtake the Padres.

But then seven consecutive singles followed, the best of which were delivered by two players, Stefen Romero and Shawn O’Malley, who were Tacoma Rainiers as recently as two weeks ago. Romero’s RBI single tied the game, and O’Malley’s put the Mariners in front.

Besides being an unforgettable night, it’s one of those games we’ll look back on if the Mariners make the playoffs as one of the best illustrations of how this team is different from the same-old M’s of the past.

Those teams from the past would have called it a night after falling behind 12-2 in the fifth inning. How bad was it at that point? When Shannon Drayer tweeted that Martin was warming up in the bullpen, I literally thought for a split second that it was Leonys Martin because the Mariners didn’t want to wear out any more of their relievers in a hopeless game.

But then I thought: “Wait a minute, you idiot, Martin’s on the disabled list and can’t play until June 10. And didn’t you just see him smiling with a sweatshirt on in the dugout?”

And then it occurred to me: “Oh, it’s Martin, not Mar-TEEN, the new reliever from Tacoma, Cody Martin, the guy called up to replace Joel Peralta, who was cut earlier in the day.”

FanGraphs said the Padres had a 99.9 percent chance of winning after the fifth inning. If you bet on the Padres on some gambling sites at that moment, you would have had to wager $750 to win $1.

The next two innings were a combination of improbable and unbelievable, the seventh inning especially, with the Padres throwing 66 pitches, and it lasted more than 40 minutes. The Mariners scored all nine runs with two outs.

Out of all of the crazy stats from the game, the most amazing: the Mariners went 11 for 12 with runners in scoring position.

Later this season when the Mariners trail by six or seven runs, they can look back to this night and know it’s still possible to come back and win. I have no idea what a win like this can do for the morale of a team, but I’m guessing it’s an intangible that’s huge in the clubhouse and hopefully comes into play during the pennant race in September.

I pictured Padres fans leaving after the fifth inning, figuring the game was in the bag. I also pictured Mariners fans turning off the ROOT Sports broadcast, and I would have liked to see their reaction later when they found out that the Mariners won on Steven Hauschka’s third field goal of the game.

Now it sets up beautifully for a three-game series in Texas, a battle of first-place teams in the American League West with identical 31-22 records. The Mariners are 19-8 on the road and have not lost a series away from Safeco Field all season. Can they keep it going and take two of three from the Rangers?

One more question: Who’s going to doubt them now?

The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com, KitsapSun.com and JimMooreGoCougs.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.