Randy Arozarena kept pushing all night, and the Seattle Mariners finally got the break they needed in the ninth.
Arozarena scored the winning run on Cal Raleigh’s groundout to first base, lifting Seattle to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday and ending a three-game skid. The play started with Arozarena’s double off Andrew Morris (4-3), then moved along when Dominic Canzone sent a flyout to deep left field that advanced him to third.
Minnesota then intentionally walked Julio Rodríguez, setting up Raleigh’s sharp grounder to Royce Lewis at first. Lewis took the out at the bag, but his throw home arrived too late, and Arozarena slid in safely.
It was a big night for Arozarena across the board. He reached base three times and scored three of Seattle’s four runs.
Seattle had opened with some early punch, grabbing a two-run lead in the first. Rodríguez brought in a run with a bases-loaded infield single, and Mitch Garver followed by drawing a bases-loaded walk from Connor Prielipp to finish an 11-pitch battle.
Logan Gilbert gave the Mariners a strong start on the mound, allowing only one baserunner through the first four innings. Minnesota started to chip away in the middle frames, though, as Luke Keaschall launched a solo homer in the fifth and Trevor Larnach added another in the sixth to make it 3-2.
The Twins pulled even in the seventh when Brooks Lee scored from third on Victor Caratini’s groundout.
Seattle’s bullpen did just enough to hold it there. Gabe Speier worked two-thirds of an inning before Andrés Muñoz entered with two outs in the eighth and earned the win for Seattle, improving to 4-4. Morris took the loss for Minnesota.
Gilbert finished with three earned runs allowed on five hits over seven innings, striking out six.
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The price was real, though, and it went beyond a simple cash consideration. Minnesota parted with Dasan Hill, John Klein, Dameury Pena and international cap space to get the deal done, a reminder that bullpen fixes often come with long-term costs attached. Hoffman is expected to be part of the picture through 2028, but the Twins gave up multiple pieces in a move that says plenty about how aggressive they plan to be in the months ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Are Sending A Clear Deadline Message With This Pitching Move
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Anderson has already bounced between the majors and minors several times this season, and this latest trip back to St. Paul is expected to be temporary. Still, the transaction says plenty about how Minnesota is approaching this moment: the Twins want pitching depth in place now, and they are keeping enough room open to adjust again as the trade deadline pressure builds. [Read more 🡒]