SEATTLE -- The cutters from Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase were coming in at over 100 mph in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday night. Yet for a Mariners lineup that had virtually nothing going since the opening frame, it was seemingly unfazed by the overpowering velocity from the reigning American League Reliever of the Year.
Jorge Polanco put the finishing touches on an instant stunner at T-Mobile Park, ripping one of those heaters back up the middle in a 1-1 count with the bases loaded to send Seattle to a 4-3 walk-off win that clinched its first winning series in two weeks.
Polanco was the hero of the night, but there was so much to else to unpack in that wild final frame -- from Dominic Canzone delivering again less than a week after returning from Triple-A Tacoma, rookie Cole Young laying down a perfect bunt against one of those triple-digits cutters and Dylan Moore having the wherewithal to race home on a wild pitch, tie the game and set up Seattle’s fifth walk-off of 2025.
Here’s a breakdown of the big breakthrough, which began with the Mariners holding 80.6% odds to lose, per Baseball Savant.
Canzone’s leadoff single: 32.8% odds to win
Outside of J.P. Crawford’s three-hit night, the Mariners had just two other knocks on Saturday before the ninth -- and both were in the first inning. But rallies, even the unlikely, must all start somewhere.
Canzone ripped a 1-0 cutter over the plate into right field before being lifted for Moore as the pinch-runner -- who, as the potential tying run, boldly stole second base in an eventual walk from pinch-hitter Miles Mastrobuoni.
Canzone has been back and in right field for just five games after the Mariners moved on from Leody Taveras, but he’s made a strong impression after spending 45 games at Tacoma.
"This guy is tough, and when you see that kind of stuff, it makes for a very difficult at-bat,” manager Dan Wilson said of Clase, “which makes this comeback tonight all that more special.”
Young’s sacrifice bunt: 53.7% odds to win
The rookie got the signal with runners on first and second base and no outs, and remarkably, he was able to lay down the bunt along the third-base line against a 100 mph cutter after fouling off his first attempt.
In the process, Young advanced the runners to scoring position and nearly beat out the throw, with a 29.4 feet-per-second sprint speed (league average is 27.0).
"Bro,” Polanco said, raising his eyebrows while pointing to Young’s empty locker -- a gesture that signaled the veteran’s awe for his teammate of all of two weeks since his debut.
"Yes, it's a tough situation for a rookie,” Wilson added. “We talk about a lot, sometimes being able to do what the game calls for. And that was what it called for at the moment, and he delivered.”
Moore races home on wild pitch: 63.0% odds to win
With Clase’s command teetering, the right-hander spiked a slider past catcher Bo Naylor when facing Julio Rodríguez in a 2-2 count. Though Naylor kept the ball from reaching the backstop, Moore took off immediately and was halfway down the line on the bounce, with an 11.6-foot primary lead and a 14.7-foot secondary lead.
That tied the game, and in a worst-case scenario by that point, would’ve sent it to extras.
"An incredible read from third base,” Wilson said. “That's a really heads-up play. That's a really big play, because not only does it score the run to tie it, but it allows that guy from second to get to third as well.”
Polanco’s walk-off: 100% odds to win
As the inning’s seventh batter, Polanco only stepped to the plate after the Guardians intentionally walked Crawford (before Rodríguez eventually struck out in an eight-pitch battle) and Cal Raleigh (with first base open after Crawford advanced on the wild pitch).
Polanco spit on the first cutter (at 100.9 mph and above the strike zone), swung through the second (at 99.2 mph and over the plate), then timed up the third perfectly (at 100.1 mph and just a little higher).
"We all know he throws really hard, so just trying to be short to the ball,” Polanco said.
After a scorching start in March/April and a brutal stretch in May, Polanco has shown more life in June, as he’s now on a nine-game hit streak, over which he’s hitting .324 with an .825 OPS.