It took nearly four hours for the Mariners to navigate through nine innings on Wednesday, but that wasn’t enough. No, the team that thrives on making things interesting late dished out another dose of the dramatic when
The Mariners advanced to 9-1 in extra-innings games and are back to three games above .500 (42-39).\n\n“I've often said, you know, there's nothing more gratifying than seeing young players feel like they belong,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “They belong in this spot.”
In that sequence, Moore was cognizant that Murphy had high-90s sinking heat that he relied on more at the bottom of the zone. With two on and one out -- and with the meat of Toronto’s order looming in the bottom of the 10th -- Moore waited out a pitch more elevated in the zone that he could drive.\n\nHe also benefited from a minor mechanical adjustment that he installed pregame that helped his cause, opting for less leg kick in order to help his timing.
“I felt like maybe it was getting a little out of control, so I kind of just trimmed it down,” Moore said. “And I was able to see the ball up better tonight and make adjustments easier.”\n\nThat type of thinking in the 10th-inning sequence and Moore’s mental commitment to a mid-season swing tweak are reflective of a widespread approach that has pushed the Mariners to a winning record as they wrap their third month of play.\n\nWith contributions from Moore,
“It had to get better,” Servais said. “We got off to such a horrific start offensively with so many guys struggling. We weren't gonna hit .200 all year. It was going to turn, but it takes a collective effort. It’s an adjustment to approach. It's young guys slowing it down, working through at-bats and having quality at-bats at big points in the game, and the experience that we're learning -- that this group is learning -- it's so important.”\n\nMoore’s heroics came on a night where neither pitching staff had its sharpest stuff. Haniger hit a two-run shot in the fifth inning that broke a 4-4 tie, but that lead never felt too secure, even with Paul Sewald throwing a 1-2-3 sixth inning and Kendall Graveman throwing a hitless 1 2/3 innings.
Anthony Misiewicz gave up a towering solo homer to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the eighth that wiped away the lead Haniger had helped create. And starter