Sunday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and the Seattle Mariners was an instant classic.
Seattle was up 6-2, then Diego Castillo and Paul Sewald had a monumental meltdown and relinquished the lead: the Braves headed to the bottom of the ninth up 7-6.
But the game was far from over: Julio Rodriguez hit a game-tying homer, and Eugenio Suarez ended the game with a walk-off blast of his own.
Sewald has been one of the best and most consistent relievers in the American League in the last two seasons.
This year, he has a 2.67 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP even after allowing two runs in just 0.1 frames yesterday.
Sewald Had A Rare Off Night, But His Teammates Had His Back
He was bound for an off-night.
He was very ashamed of his performance, but happy that his teammates had his back and the last word.
“An emotional Paul Sewald on the Mariners’ bats backing him: ‘Every single guy said the same thing: ‘You’ve saved us 25 times this year. Every once in a while, it’s OK for us to save you.’ So I’m very appreciative of the fact that they hit those two homers in the 9th,'” Daniel Kramer, who covers the team for MLB.com, tweeted after a chat with Sewald.
An emotional Paul Sewald on the Mariners' bats backing him:
"Every single guy said the same thing: 'You've saved us 25 times this year. Every once in a while, it's OK for us to save you.' So I'm very appreciative of the fact that they hit those two homers in the 9th."
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) September 12, 2022
The 2022 Mariners are not like past iterations of the team.
They are 79-61 and look poised to be players in the postseason.
Seattle hasn’t advanced to the playoffs since 2001, but are ready to leave the past behind and end the drought in October.
They look like a rock-solid team top to bottom: all their units are competent or better.
Let’s see how far they can get, led by Rodriguez and a rock-solid pitching staff.
