Mitch Haniger hit a game-ending three-run double, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night.
Luke Raley, who hit a home run in the bottom of the sixth to put Seattle on the scoreboard after Detroit led 3-0, started the ninth inning with a single against Tyler Holton. Will Vest (2-4) then took the mound, gave up a single to Randy Arozarena, and struck out the next two batters.
After Jorge Polanco walked to load the bases, Haniger hit a fly ball that got past Tigers right fielder Ryan Vilade, giving the Mariners the win.
It was Haniger’s franchise-leading eighth walk-off hit, including a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning to beat the Phillies last Saturday. “Anytime you’re on an all-time list is awesome,” Haniger said.
“Really blessed and grateful to play this game and to be on the list, and honestly in these situations, (I’m) just trying to keep it simple and stay in the moment. For me, it’s like just breathe and relax and try to take it as any other at-bat.”
Reliever J.T. Chargois (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the win and help Seattle end a three-game losing streak.
With Houston off on Thursday, Seattle moved into a tie with the Astros at the top of the AL West.
“We caught a break tonight,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “They weren’t able to make that play, and we’ll take it. We needed it. There are certain points in the year where you need to win a game, and I thought coming into this we needed to win this game today. It wasn’t looking great, but our pitching gave us a chance.”
Both teams had trouble getting hits early on, as Mariners starter Bryan Woo retired the first 12 batters he faced. Cal Raleigh got the Mariners’ first hit with a single in the fourth inning against Tigers lefty Bryan Sammons.
However, Woo’s perfect game ended in the top of the fifth when he allowed back-to-back singles to start the inning, and Meadows hit an RBI double down the right-field line to make it 1-0.
