Former first-round pick slugs first career HR in Mariners debut

It didn’t take Will Wilson long to make an impact in his Seattle Mariners debut.

In fact, it took only one swing.

Seattle Mariners’ Bryce Miller has strong 2nd rehab start in minors

In his first at-bat in a Mariners uniform, the 27-year-old Wilson sent the first pitch he swung at over the fence in left field for a two-run homer and a 4-2 Mariners lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the top of the second inning on Saturday at Busch Stadium.

It wasn’t just the first home run as a Mariner for Wilson. It was also the first career home run in 35 big league games for the 2019 first-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels.

Wilson, who was hitting ninth while getting the start at third base, turned on a four-seam fastball near the top of the zone from Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore, sending it 383 feet with an exit velocity of 106.3 mph.

Wilson had just four extra-base hits in 78 career at-bats entering Saturday’s contest. He also had just eight home runs in 539 career minor league games.

Wilson, a minor league free agent signing by Seattle in January, also became the third Mariner this season to have his first hit with the team be a homer, joining Brendan Donovan and Rob Refsnyder.

The homer was the fourth of the game hit by the Mariners and Cardinals. Julio Rodríguez hit a two-run shot into the upper deck in left field during the top of the first inning, and JJ Wetherholt and Iván Herrera slugged back-to-back solo blasts for the Cardinals off Bryan Woo to leadoff the bottom half of the first. St. Louis’ Nathan Church added another solo home run in the second inning to bring the total to five homers in the first two innings of the game.

Listen to Saturday’s Mariners-Cardinals game on Seattle Sports 710 AM or the Seattle Sports app. 

Seattle Mariners coverage

• Mariners trade Casey Legumina to Rays, re-acquire pitcher in return
• There’s a very good sign from Seattle Mariners’ recent stretch
• Cal seeing ‘a lot of good things’ as Mariners hit the road
• Mariners’ Logan Gilbert catches ball in jersey — and it’s not an out
• Insider says Seattle Mariners have least to fix of teams starting slow

Related

New Mariners prospect hits first HR with organizationMariners’ Wilson, Speier suspended after benches clear vs TigersSalk: Could benches-clearing scuffle wake up the Mariners?Yankees star Aaron Judge: ‘I’ll be back’ from injury this seasonRecap: Woo, Julio lead Mariners in 4-2 win over TigersBenches clear, Speier and Wilson ejected in Mariners’ win over Tigers