In what felt like an eternity in today’s pitch-clock era, Dominic Canzone waited over a minute-and-a-half before being allowed to step to the plate in the fourth inning Tuesday.
Following J.P. Crawford’s four-pitch walk, the bases loaded were with nobody out, with a reeling pitcher on the mound struggling to find the strike zone. Astros pitching coach Josh Miller made a mound visit to starter Tatsuya Imai, likely to buy time for the bullpen to warm. Once the visit ended, a back-and-forth between Imai and home plate umpire Jim Wolf ensued, which appeared to be regarding Imai’s ability, or inability, to pitch from the stretch with the bases loaded. In the end, though, the delay didn’t matter.
The first pitch Canzone saw was a hanging cement-mixer of a slider, 87 mph and right over the heart of the plate. He didn’t miss it, launching the ball 105.5 mph off the bat into the right field seats for a grand slam—putting the projectiles that NASA controls from another part of town to shame. It was the first grand slam of Canzone’s career.
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The grand slam broke the game wide open, giving the Mariners a 6-2 lead. They wouldn’t look back.
Up until the fateful pitch, Imai’s night had gone much better than his last matchup against the Mariners, which was also his most recent major league start—though that doesn’t say a whole lot. On April 10 at T-Mobile Park, he retired only one batter and walked four before being pulled after allowing three runs over only 37 pitches. He’d go on to spend the next month on the injured list with arm fatigue before being activated for his start today.
Prior to Canzone’s Spicy Meatball, the only damage allowed by Imai came on a two-run homer into the Crawford Boxes by Randy Arozarena. Speaking of which, Arozarena had an incredible night in his own right, going 4-for-4 and coming up a triple shy of the cycle. He also reached base to begin the rally in the fourth, being hit by a pitch immediately following a successful ABS challenge of a would-be strikeout.
Bryan Woo wasn’t quite as sharp as he’s shown he’s capable of, though the line he produced ended up being more than enough given the context. As Woo said postgame, “it wasn’t six-shutty, but it’ll do.”
Woo worked six innings and gave up two runs, the second of which came across after back-to-back walks of Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez to begin the third inning and tied the game at two. After receiving ample run support, though, he cruised, striking out nine hitters over a career-high 104 pitches. He featured his sinker and sweeper more heavily than his season average tonight, but still generated 14 whiffs, half of which came from the four-seam fastball.
In relief, Alex Hoppe worked two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, setting down all six hitters he faced in order. The Mariners were able to secure some much-needed rest for a bullpen that is missing several key arms like Gabe Speier, Matt Brash and José Ferrer.
Just when you thought the night couldn’t get much better for the Mariners, Cal Raleigh finally ended his 0-for-38 slump, lining a single to right-center in the seventh. His excitement was palpable.
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Raleigh would tack on another single in the ninth inning for good measure, topping off 2-for-4 night in which he came across to score twice. He was aboard via a walk in the second, and was driven in on Arozarena’s homer.
As a cherry on top, a low-leverage ninth inning allowed for right-hander Domingo González to make his major league debut while Ferrer remains on paternity leave. He got through the frame unscathed despite allowing two Astros to reach base, closing out an emphatic 10-2 win. It’s the Mariners’ ninth-consecutive victory over the ‘Stros dating back to last September.
The M’s will be back at Daikin Park in Houston tomorrow night, looking to secure a series win in the third game of the four-game set.
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