Game Three
Felix Hernandezmade his long awaited return to the mound on the rubber match of this three-game set and greeted us with a strikeout to lead off manAdam Eaton. Unfortunately for him, Andy Fletcher was the home plate umpire. Fletcher gaveJustin Morneauball four on what should have been strike three and the third out of the inning. The very next pitch, Todd Frazier hit his third home run of the series and Seattle was in a 3-0 hole. Melky Cabrera added an RBI single in the 2nd to make it a 4-0 ballgame and the game was starting to feel a lot like the previous night.
Thankfully,Leonys Martinhammered the first pitch he saw off ofMiguel Gonzalezfor a two-run blast and cut the lead to two runs.
Justin Morneau got an RBI single off of The King in the 5th to give Chicago a 5-2 lead and that was the end of their scoring.
Mike Zuninomade his return from AAA to catch Felix and to also hit his third bomb of the year. He hit a two-run blast into the left field bullpen and suddenly the Mariners were in striking distance.
Adam Lind was clutch late in the game once again by hitting a game-tying solo shot with two outs in the 8th to tie it at five-all. Even more surprising was that it went to left field and he didn’t try to pull the outside fastball.
Steve CishekplunkedJose Abreuand threw a wild pitch to get him to scoring position, but he survived and pitched a clean 9th inning. The game would go to extras and he’d throw a clean 10th inning as well.
Vidal Nunogot the ball for the 11th and struck out two and only needed 9 pitches to get through the inning.
Dae-Ho Lee pinch hit for Adam Lind in the bottom of the 11th against the leftyDan Jenningsand struck out to start the frame. Leonys Martin got four straight sliders from Jennings and hit the last one to right-center field for his second bomb of the game, a walk-off home run for a 6-5 Seattle victory.
Game 3 Notes:
Andy Fletcher was an absolute joke in the 1st. He really screwed Felix on a number of pitches.
What was nice to see with Felix was his velocity. He was 90-91 with his fastball earlier this year and today he was 92-93 with his fastball.
Edwin Diaz struck out the side AGAIN. The kid is a stud.
The Mariners sent David Rollins,Jesus Sucreand Daniel Robertson to AAA to make room for Zunino, Felix, andNori Aokiwho started the game in left field and led off.
Martin looking to the dugout after he made contact with the walk-off is such a great sight. He loves the game and loves his teammates.
Next: More Notes
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