There aren’t many hitters who rank T-Mobile Park as their favorite.
But Josh Naylor is the exception.
Naylor went 3-for-4 with a tie-breaking home run and Randy Arozarena also went deep and drove in four runs as the Seattle Mariners rallied to beat the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 Tuesday night.
The Mariners will attempt to sweep the three-game interleague series Wednesday night.
“Every time I was an opponent, this was just the first place I couldn’t wait to come to. I really enjoy playing here,” said Naylor, who is batting .379 with five homers and 13 RBIs in 17 home games since being acquired from Arizona before the trade deadline. “It’s a super cool stadium and the fans are always electric.”
The Mariners (77-68) have won four in a row to pull within a game of American League West-leading Houston in the American League West race. Seattle maintained its 1 1/2-game lead over Texas for the AL’s third and final wild-card berth.
“Big-time games right now,” Naylor said. “We’re in a really awesome push for the playoffs and also a push for the division. It’s time to go. … It’s super fun, everything you dream of as a baseball player and obviously the World Series is the end goal.”
Naylor, who grew up in Canada, brings a hockey-like mentality to the ballpark. When asked if he noticed the Astros had lost on a walk-off hit to Toronto, he said he hadn’t and asked who Houston was playing.
“I don’t really care for any other team,” Naylor said. “As long as we win, we’ll be in good position.”
Mariners manager Dan Wilson, who also played hockey growing up in Illinois, said he appreciates Naylor’s approach.
“He is as intense as they come. The emotion and drive that he has … he’s a leader and an exceptional player,” Wilson said. “He finds barrels and in big moments is able to slow things down. This is the time of year, it brings out the best. He’s been swinging the bat. To see that, it gets all of us going.”
The Cardinals (72-74), who entered the series having won four of five games, remained 4 1/2 games behind the New York Mets in the National League’s wild-card chase.
Left-hander Matthew Liberatore took the loss Tuesday, allowing five runs on six hits over four innings.
“Three walks and two mistake pitches is really what it boils down to,” Liberatore said.
The Cardinals played without shortstop Masyn Winn, who was a late scratch due to soreness in his right knee.
The series finale is scheduled to feature a pair of former first-round picks in right-handers Michael McGreevy (6-3, 4.68 ERA) of the Cardinals and the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (4-6, 3.61).
McGreevy had a streak of four consecutive wins snapped with an 8-2 defeat to visiting San Francisco in which he allowed six runs on nine hits over four innings. McGreevy will be facing the Mariners for the first time.
Gilbert didn’t get a decision last Friday in Atlanta despite allowing just one run on five hits over six innings with seven strikeouts in a game the Mariners lost 4-1. He is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in one previous start against St. Louis, a 2-0 Cardinals win on Sept. 7, 2024 in which Gilbert gave up two runs on two hits in eight innings.
-Field Level Media