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Randy Arozarena sends Mariners to another walk-off win vs. Twins

Shane Lantz, The Seattle Times on

Published in Baseball

SEATTLE — It was the spark the Mariners needed, at the moment they needed it most.

One inning after losing their grasp on a seemingly sure-bet victory when lockdown closer Andrés Muñoz blew the save on a sacrifice fly from Twins center fielder Harrison Bader, Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena combined to bring some magic to the 39,003 fans gathered at T-Mobile Park.

With the crowd recovering from the disappointment of the Twins tying things up as Muñoz blew his second consecutive save, Rodríguez led things off with a single against Twins reliever Griffin Jax.

He then stole second and took third on a wild throw down to second by Minnesota catcher Ryan Jeffers. Arozarena then singled to center to drive Rodríguez home for a 2-1 victory that clinched the series win, and set off a celebration in the infield.

Muñoz, who walked Kody Clemens and gave up a single to Ty France in the ninth inning before Bader’s sacrifice fly gave up the run in the ninth, got the win for Seattle.

Prior to Arozarena’s game-winning hit, the Mariners offensive output came from its usual suspect, catcher Cal Raleigh.

Six and a half innings into a dreary offensive performance from the Mariners, who had just one hit and one walk against Twins starter Chris Paddack, Raleigh gave Seattle fans what they’ve come to expect in a season that puts him on pace for one of the best seasons from a catcher in MLB history with a homer to right field.

Raleigh’s latest knock gives him the most homers in baseball this season, ahead of Shohei Ohtani’s 22 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Raleigh, who hit 12 homers in May and 10 in March/April, was the first catcher in MLB history with 20 homers before the end of May, and started the new month off with a bang.

It also gave Seattle some much-needed offense on a day when starter Luis Castillo threw six shutout innings, with four hits and two walks allowed on 97 pitches. After a bullpen-taxing stretch of three extra-inning games in three days, it was imperative on the Mariners to not waste Castillo’s solid outing.

 

Raleigh’s homer gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead heading into the ninth inning, before Bader’s sacrifice fly tied things up at 1-1.

Raleigh now has 116 homers in his MLB career, the second-most in franchise history through a player’s first five seasons behind only Ken Griffey Jr.’s 132, and ahead of both Alvin Davis (110) and Alex Rodriguez (106).

Aside from Raleigh, there wasn’t much else to speak of on offense for the Mariners for most of the game. Paddack retired the first nine Mariners hitters in order, until J.P. Crawford led off the fourth inning with a single. Julio Rodríguez walked two batters later to put two aboard, but Seattle was unable to take advantage, as Paddack responded by retiring each of Seattle’s next nine hitters.

Paddack went eight spectacular innings, allowing four hits and striking out 10. His only mistake was the curveball over the middle of the plate in the seventh, which Raleigh hit 362 feet to right field.

Rowdy Tellez also had a seventh inning single, and Crawford had a double in the eighth.

Eduard Bazardo pitched a scoreless sixth inning for the Mariners, while Matt Brash escaped trouble in a harrowing eighth inning, which featured a leadoff single from pinch-hitter Brooks Lee and a two-out walk from Wallner.

But an inning-ending strikeout from much-booed former Astro Carlos Correa ended the inning and brought the crowd to its feet.


©2025 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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