SEATTLE — The Mariners thrust themselves back into a tie for first place atop the American League West with a thrilling, 7-6 walk-off victory over the Angels in the 12th inning on Thursday night, marking their sixth win in a row.
Rookie Harry Ford punched a sacrifice fly on the first pitch he saw to right field, then Jorge Polanco aggressively raced home to beat the throw, after beginning the frame with a game-tying double into the left-field corner that scored automatic runner Josh Naylor.
Coupled with Houston’s loss earlier in the day at Toronto, the Mariners and Astros have pulled even in the AL West standings at 79-68. Both teams are also accounting for the third and final AL Wild Card spot, with hard-charging Texas just two games back.
Seattle has now won 17 of its past 20 games at T-Mobile Park, dating back to the Trade Deadline.
Ford’s heroics came well after a pair of two-run doubles in the second inning, from J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez, that sparked Seattle to an early lead. But the Angels slowly crept back, with four unanswered runs vs. Bryce Miller, who was dominant early and finished with a season-high 11 strikeouts but also experienced diminished velocity and command as the outing progressed.
Halos slugger and Mariners tormentor Mike Trout tied the game at 4-4 in the fifth with a solo homer, the 399th of his career and 34th in Seattle, where he has more homers than any other ballpark than Angel Stadium. But the Mariners got the last laugh against the three-time AL MVP, when Andrés Muñoz struck him out in the 10th to strand the go-ahead run on third base.
Each team then scored in the 11th and 12th to set up the walk-off.
