Shed Long Jr., Kyle Seager lift Mariners to 6-5 walkoff win over Rays

Jun 17, 2021, 11:12 PM | Updated: Jun 20, 2021, 6:40 pm

Seattle Mariners' Kyle Seager, center, is covered in powder by teammates after after he drove in the winning run with a single in the ninth inning of the team's baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Seattle. Rays' Brandon Lowe, foreground left, heads off the field. The Mariners won 6-5. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Seattle Mariners' Kyle Seager hits a single to drive in the winning run in the ninth inning of the team's baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Seattle. The Mariners won 6-5. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe walks off the field as the Seattle Mariners celebrate after Kyle Seager drove in the winning run with a single in the ninth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Seattle. The Mariners won 6-5. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais, left, greets Luis Torrens after Torrens hit a solo home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Luis Torrens #22 of the Seattle Mariners runs to first base during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: JT Chargois #84 of the Seattle Mariners pitches the ball during the third inning of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Dylan Moore #25 of the Seattle Mariners breaks his bat during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Justin Dunn #35 of the Seattle Mariners walks off the field during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Kevin Kiermaier #39 of the Tampa Bay Rays swings at a pitch during the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Tom Murphy #2 of the Seattle Mariners points during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Justin Dunn #35 of the Seattle Mariners pitches the ball during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Ty France #23 of the Seattle Mariners hits the ball during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Mitch Haniger #17 of the Seattle Mariners waits for a pitch during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Rich Hill #14 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches the ball during the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: J.P. Crawford #3 of the Seattle Mariners runs off the field during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Taylor Trammell #20 of the Seattle Mariners runs off the field during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Randy Arozarena #56 of the Tampa Bay Rays waits for a pitch during the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: J.P. Crawford #3 of the Seattle Mariners makes a catch as Randy Arozarena #56 of the Tampa Bay Rays steals second base during the game at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Justin Dunn #35 of the Seattle Mariners stands on the mound during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Brandon Lowe #8 of the Tampa Bay Rays watches the ball during the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Justin Dunn #35 of the Seattle Mariners warms up before the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 17: Scott Servais #9 of the Seattle Mariners sits in the dugout before the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at T-Mobile Park on June 17, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — Shed Long Jr. hit a tying double in the bottom of the ninth inning and pinch-hitter Kyle Seager singled home the winning run to rally the Seattle Mariners past the Tampa Bay Rays 6-5 on Thursday night.

Mariners 6, Rays 5: Box score

Seattle lost starter Justin Dunn to a sore right shoulder after two innings, but came from behind with the help of a two-run homer by Ty France and a solo shot from Luis Torrens.

Dylan Moore drew a four-pitch walk from reliever Pete Fairbanks (1-2) to start the ninth. Jake Bauers singled and Long tied it 5-all with his second double of the game.

Seager batted for Taylor Trammell and singled through the right side of a drawn-in infield to score Bauers from third.

Shed ties it, Kyle wins it! #Walkoff pic.twitter.com/u0DIbfaDLu

— MLB (@MLB) June 18, 2021

“I wasn’t prepared for it,” Seager joked about his chance to hit. “I was watching the game.”

Seattle manager Scott Servais said Seager, the team’s regular third baseman, was supposed to be shut down for the day. But he told him to be ready with the Mariners trailing 5-4 in the top of the ninth inning.

“When it gets to that point in the game and you’ve only got one bullet to shoot, you might as well shoot it,” Servais said.

Hector Santiago (1-1) struck out three in a hitless inning for the win.

Seattle has won four of five. The Rays are 24-8 in their last 32 games, with the eight losses coming by a total of 12 runs. Five were by one run.

Ty sends one to Edgar's 💣 pic.twitter.com/vT3nWT2ZSn

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 18, 2021

Randy Arozarena hit his 10th home run off Mariners reliever JT Chargois after Ji-Man Choi’s leadoff single in the fourth. Brett Phillips drew a walk, stole second and scored on Brandon Lowe’s single to make it 3-1 in the fifth.

Joey Wendle and Kevin Kiermaier added RBI singles in the sixth to help build a 5-2 lead.

It was the second loss in two days for Fairbanks, who gave up the winning hit Wednesday night in the 10th inning of an 8-7 defeat to the Chicago White Sox. The Rays have dropped three in a row, shaving their AL East lead to a half-game over Boston.

“We’ve got a good team,” an angry Fairbanks said. “As long as I don’t blow it when we take leads into the ninth, when I’ve got that opportunity, we’ll be fine.”

DUNN UPDATE

Dunn said after the game that he started experiencing discomfort in his pitching shoulder during warmups. The right-hander looked strong through two innings, with a strikeout against one hit, but experienced increased discomfort and felt he couldn’t return for the third. Dunn spent time on the 10-day injured list earlier this month, returning to the team on June 10.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: RHP Tyler Glasnow (right elbow strain) has been moved to the 60-day injured list and left the team following Wednesday’s game at the Chicago White Sox to see a specialist in Dallas on Friday. Glasnow blamed the injury on the coming crackdown on illegal foreign substances, forcing him to grip the ball differently than he normally would.

Mariners: Evan White reinjured his strained right hip flexor in a rehab game at Triple-A Tacoma and has returned to Seattle. Manager Scott Servais hopes the setback won’t cost the Gold Glove first baseman more than four or five days. White reinjured himself while running to first.

UP NEXT

Rays: RHP Michael Wacha (1-1, 4.54 ERA) has not pitched more than three innings since returning from the injured list on May 23.

Mariners: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (3-3, 3.67) returns to the mound after pitching seven shutout innings in his last start.

Dipoto: J.P. Crawford evolving into more than Mariners were hoping for