*Photo from the Yakima Herald*
On a special night for Seattle Mariners SS JP Crawford, he made sure to help his team win. Although the final blow came from Mitch Haniger, Crawford played a big role in their win. Crawford hit a grand slam, Haniger delivered the walkoff hit, and the Mariners defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 6-5 on Saturday night, in 10 innings.
The Mariners wore throwback jerseys to celebrate the new federal holiday Juneteenth, with the Mariners wearing the Negro League Seattle Steelheads jerseys to commemorate the night.
Crawford said "We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for those guys who passed down before us, and if they didn’t take all that criticism and hate, we wouldn’t be here. We've got to salute them all the time, and not just one day, I think. We've got to do something way more every week to represent and really know where we come from."
Jake Bauers got the scoring started for the Mariners in the second inning, scoring Kyle Seager on an RBI single to left field. Crawford then hit a grand slam a few batters later, giving the Mariners a 5 run second inning. In the 10th inning, Haniger singled to left field, bringing home Crawford and giving Seattle the walkoff win.
Haniger said of Crawford's performance that "He’s been awesome. Every night brings energy and you know what you’re going to get out of him. You’re going to get Gold Glove-caliber defense. He’s been swinging the bat really well, swinging at good pitches, hitting the ball hard. From at-bat to at-bat, every time he goes up there, you’re just expecting something loud off his bat. It’s been fun to watch."
For the Rays, Joey Wendle hit an RBI double, and then scored on a sac fly from Mike Zunino in the second inning, giving the Rays a 2-0 lead. After Seattle took a 5-2 lead, the Rays started to get back in the game. First, it was Zunino hitting a solo homer in the 5th to make it a 5-3 game. In the 6th, Manuel Margot hit a solo homer to make it 5-4. In the 9th, Brandon Lowe tied the game with a solo homer.
Rays pitcher Josh Fleming said of the loss that "Losing is never fun. And especially the way we've been losing in close games, those aren't fun. But we're a great team still, and we're going to get through this. We’re going to get out of this little funk that we're in, and we're going to be rolling soon."
The Rays and Mariners end their series today, with Shane McClanahan starting for the Rays, and Marco Gonzales getting the nod for Seattle.
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