Mariners’ hitters work together to finally solve mystery of Neftali Feliz

The Mariners have finally found their dragon slayer – or slayers, to be exact.

The dragon: Rangers closer Neftali Feliz, who had held the Mariners scoreless in his first 27 career innings against Seattle.

The slayers: A chorus line of mostly veteran hitters who wore the right-hander out for four hits, two walks and two runs over 1 1/3 innings, marking the first time the Mariners had ever scored on him, let alone handed him a blown save.

In a game that had seemed lost both in the third and sixth innings, the Mariners scratched and clawed their way back to an 11-10 walkoff victory over the Rangers on Sunday afternoon, giving them a much needed series win over their A.L. West Division rivals.

It took a Herculean effort to do so, as well, because it certainly wasn’t just one big hit that took care of it. For the Mariners to even set up Nelson Cruz’s walkoff RBI single with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth, they needed big at-bats all throughout the lineup – and that’s exactly what they got.

Seattle wouldn’t have been in that spot if Kyle Seager hadn’t greeted Feliz with a two-run single after he inherited a bases-loaded situation in the eighth. Nor would it have been there if late replacement Seth Smith hadn’t fouled off several pitches to earn a one-out walk in the ninth. That was followed by a similar plate appearance by Austin Jackson that resulted in a run-scoring single to right field that knotted the game at 10-all.

“We had very professional at-bats, and it takes a little luck as well,” manager Lloyd McClendon said after the game. “I’ve said it before, this team is a very gritty bunch.”

Added shortstop Brad Miller, who led off the ninth with a single: “At the end we put some really good at-bats together in the eighth and the ninth and we were able to get some good runs on the board.”

Nobody in Safeco Field had a better vantage point of Jackson’s battle with Feliz than Miller, who was standing on second base after Smith’s base-on-balls.

“I had a perfect view (of Jackson’s at-bat). Just fouling off fastball after fastball, fouling off a tough slider and then staying on that slider was awesome,” Miller said.

When Feliz got around to No. 3 hitter Robinson Cano, the Mariners had two outs and a pair of runners in scoring position. But rather than throwing to the left-handed swinging superstar, Texas opted to intentionally walk him, setting the stage for right-handed slugger Cruz. It was a risky proposition – Cruz already had two home runs and four RBIs from his first two at-bats, but he whiffed in his three ensuing trips to the plate. The result in trip No. 6 was somewhere in the middle, a single served into left field, but that was all the Mariners needed to get the victory.

“We just happened to have our hottest hitter coming up to the plate in that situation,” said McClendon, giving a nod to the luck he mentioned earlier. “I don’t think you can ask for anything better.”

When all was said and done, the Mariners’ 3-4-5 hitters – Cano, Cruz and Seager – combined to go 9 for 15 with nine RBIs, four runs scored and two walks. They needed every bit of that production, too, considering the pitching staff and some iffy infield defense dropped them into two separate five-run holes.

“When that happens you usually should win. This one we were lucky,” McClendon said. “We gotta pitch better, and I think our guys understand that.”

So even though the Mariners have plenty to be optimistic about after winning the series against the Rangers, they’ve still yet to put one complete game together on the mound and at the plate in 2015. But at 5-7, they’ve seen flashes of what is possible.

“This team is built for greatness,” McClendon said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen but I like where we are.”