DETROIT — For just over a month last season, right after he came to the Mariners in the somewhat infamous trade with the Astros that sent Kendall Graveman to their American League West Rivals, Abraham Toro was hitting machine with a knack for producing with runners on base or in late-inning leverage situations.
For a 39-game stretch, he racked up a .315/.391/.463 slash line with 47 hits in 169 plate appearances, including 19 runs scored, 10 doubles, four homers, 23 RBIs, 15 walks and just 20 strikeouts. Of course, that was followed by a frustrating fade at the end of the season that seemed to carry over into a disappointing 2022 season.
But if Toro could even replicate a portion of that stellar production in the final month of this season it would be a major boost to their postseason push.
In his second game since being recalled from Class AAA Tacoma to replace the injured Dylan Moore, Toro crushed a first-pitch hanging breaking ball from Detroit reliever Alex Lange for a two-run homer in the seventh inning to save the Mariners from a frustrating defeat and help lead them to a 5-3 victory.
The Mariners improved to 72-58 and remained a half game back of the Rays, who kept their lead for the first wild-card spot with a 2-1 victory over the Marlins to improve to 72-57.
Down 3-2 going into the seventh inning, the Mariners were trending toward another loss where the offense failed to score at least four runs — the magic number for success.
But with one out in the seventh, Adam Frazier tripled to into the right-center gap off Lange to put the tying run on third base.
Toro stepped to the plate knowing he needed just a fly ball of average depth to the outfield to score Frazier and tie the game. He took advantage of a breaking ball he could handle, sending a 430-foot drive deep into the right-field seats. It was his ninth of the season.
The Mariners added a big insurance run in the ninth inning against Tigers All-Star closer Gregory Soto. They loaded the bases with one out and Ty France worked a walk, refusing to swing at a pair of 2-2 fastballs just out of the zone, to force in a run.
Paul Sewald worked around a pair of walks for a scoreless ninth inning to secure the win and notch his 17th save.
The Mariners jumped on Tigers starter Taylor Alexander, picked up two runs in the first inning. Julio Rodriguez worked a leadoff walk and Eugenio Suarez lifted a flyball to right field that just got over the wall for his 25th homer and a 2-0 lead.
Would it be another run-scoring party similar to the nine runs scored on Tuesday?
Nope.
The Mariners wouldn’t score again until Toro’s homer in the seventh. Seattle mustered just two base runners from the second through the sixth inning.
Marco Gonzales provided the Mariners with a solid if not spectacular outing in his 26th start of the season. Gonzales provided a “quality start,” pitching six innings and allowing three runs on seven hits with a walk and a strikeout.
He benefited greatly from the glove of third baseman Suarez and the rest of his team’s defense.
Gonzales found immediate trouble in the first inning, allowing the first two runners to reach on a walk and a single. With two outs, Suarez snagged the hard line drive off the bat of Harold Castor to end the inning.
Gonzales couldn’t completely escape trouble in the second inning. He allowed a leadoff single to Eric Haase and hit Kerry Carpenter with a pitch. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. An RBI single from Jeimer Candelario and a fielder’s choice tied the game. With runner on second and third and two outs, Javier Baez scalded a line drive to the left side that Suarez grabbed on a diving lunge to end the inning.
Gonzales worked the next three innings scoreless, getting additional help from his defense, but gave up a run in the sixth on three straight singles from the Tigers.
Andres Munoz and Erik Swanson provided their usual scoreless innings of work in the seventh and eighth inning.
