Julio delivers in 4-run 9th as Mariners beat Giants 6-5
Jul 3, 2023, 9:49 PM | Updated: 11:15 pm
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Julio Rodríguez hit a two-run double in a four-run ninth inning against All-Star closer Camilo Doval, and the Seattle Mariners held on to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5 on Monday night.
Seattle Mariners 6, San Francisco Giants 5: Box score
J.P. Crawford broke a 2-all tie with a sacrifice fly against Doval. Rodríguez’s double made it 5-2, and Teoscar Hernández added an RBI single with two outs as the Mariners handed Doval his worst outing in the majors.
Coming up clutch. #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/qKov1HAU7A
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 4, 2023
The right-hander had never allowed more than three earned runs in a game and had given up a total of eight in 38 prior appearances this season.
Rookie catcher Blake Sabol homered twice and drove in all five runs for the Giants. He launched a three-run shot with two outs in the ninth to bring San Francisco within one. Pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores singled before Paul Sewald struck out Brandon Crawford to end it.
Coming off a series win at home against Tampa Bay, the Mariners won their third game in a row.
“We’re playing much more competitive, much more focused baseball, just up and down the line,” manager Scott Servais said. “We figured it would be a tight game. We were just able to get it done against their closer at the end. It’s a great sign.”
The Giants have dropped three straight and five of seven. They are 4-7 since winning 10 straight from June 11-21.
Mike Ford opened the ninth with a single and Doval plunked pinch-hitter Ty France with a pitch, a call that withstood a Giants replay challenge. As Kolten Wong squared to bunt and third baseman J.D. Davis moved toward the plate, pinch-runner Jose Caballero, who already had stolen second base, swiped third.
Wong reached on a fielder’s choice that loaded the bases with nobody out before J.P. Crawford hit a deep fly to right-center, allowing Caballero to score easily. Rodríguez hit his two-run double into the left-field corner, and Hernández capped the outburst with a single to right.
“I think Seattle just gave me a big birthday present,” joked Doval, who turns 26 on Tuesday. “What can I say? It wasn’t my day.”
Servais said Ford’s leadoff single was key because it allowed him to unleash Caballero’s speed against a closer who has struggled to hold runners.
“Stealing second, stealing third, just being in (Doval’s) head the whole time,” Wong said. “When you have somebody like that running around, it’s tough to focus.”
cabby the menace 😏 pic.twitter.com/T119rJq76q
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 4, 2023
Mariners rookie Bryan Woo, who grew up a Giants fan 8 miles across the bay in Alameda, held San Francisco to two runs in six innings, both scoring on Sabol’s fourth-inning homer.
Woo made his sixth big league start in front of dozens of friends, relatives and former high school teammates from his hometown. He held the Giants to three hits.
Woo admitted to some nerves pitching in front of a sellout crowd in a park he visited as a kid, saying, “I try not to look around the stadiums too much, but it was kind of hard not to do that tonight. I tried to take it in as much as I can.”
Giants starter Logan Webb, coming off his worst start of the season in Toronto, struck out 11 in 6 2/3 innings, one off his career best. Webb lost his shot at a win when he allowed the Mariners to tie it 2-all in the seventh on singles by Wong and J.P. Crawford, and Rodríguez’s grounder.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: RHP Bryce Miller went on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 1, with a blister on his right middle finger. Miller (5-3, 3.97 ERA) is expected to rejoin the rotation shortly after the All-Star break. Seattle recalled right-handed relievers Matt Festa and Darren McCaughan from Triple-A Tacoma to replace Miller and reliever Trevor Gott, who was traded to the Mets on Monday.
Giants: OF Mike Yastrzemski came off the injured list after rehabbing a hamstring strain. … 2B Thairo Estrada went on the 10-day IL with a broken left hand after he was hit by a fastball Sunday night from Mets reliever Adam Ottavino. … San Francisco placed right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the 15-day injured list with shoulder fatigue.
Seattle Mariners trade Trevor Gott and Chris Flexen to New York Mets
