Canzone's epic blast leaves Mariners with what-ifs

SEATTLE -- Dominic Canzone has only been with the Mariners for two weeks following a Trade Deadline deal with the D-backs, but his heroics on Sunday afternoon were at the center of one of their biggest highlights of the season.

Canzone crushed a Statcast-projected 402-foot, game-tying homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday immediately after Ty France had a would-be solo shot robbed by Cedric Mullins in center field that itself was one of baseball’s most impressive web gems this year.

The stakes of Canzone’s moment made his blast epic, for sure, but the bat flip he unleashed was perhaps just as spectacular.

Unfortunately for the Mariners, Mullins extended his highlight streak in the 10th with a decisive, two-run homer off reliever Trent Thornton that sunk Seattle in a 5-3 loss at T-Mobile Park. It took some wind out of the team’s sails knowing that had France’s ball cleared the fence, Canzone’s instead would have been a walk-off that extended their series win streak to seven.

“Obviously, I wish we could have come out with a win today, but it's definitely something I'll never forget,” Canzone said. “These fans are so passionate. I just appreciate it so much.”

Canzone said he was hunting a heater against reliever Mike Baumann in a 1-0 count and that the flip was a byproduct of adrenaline.

“I don't think your mindset ever changes,” Canzone said. “Obviously, I’m trying to tie the game with two outs, and [I] just got a pitch I could handle and did the best I could with it.”

More stinging than Mullins’ takeover, however, was what occurred in the ninth, when reliever Andrés Muñoz was called for a critical balk that advanced runners to second and third base and led to an ejection of Mariners manager Scott Servais.

It appeared that Muñoz was sanctioned for not pausing and coming set before striding to the plate, which led to the call from third-base umpire Adam Beck, well after Muñoz unleashed the pitch and with home-plate umpire Dan Iassogna firmly dug in behind the dish.

The balk advanced Orioles speedster Jorge Mateo to third and positioned him to score on an attempted 1-2 putout from Muñoz to catcher Cal Raleigh on a swinging bunt by Adley Rutschman towards first base with the infield in. Acting manager Manny Acta challenged the call, but replay review upheld that Mateo barely slid around Raleigh’s tag.

Had Mateo been on second base, the best he could have done would have been to reach third on Rutschman’s dribbler, and Muñoz likely would have easily nabbed Rutschman at first for the second out. Then, when Muñoz induced a double-play ball from Gunnar Henderson, Mateo likely would have been held at third, the score would have remained tied at 2 and, even with France being robbed in the ninth, Canzone’s homer would have been a walk-off.

Servais said that he wasn’t given a clear explanation for the balk -- largely because he was ejected from the dugout before he even approached Beck at third -- and Muñoz preferred not to discuss it postgame.

“Every 90 feet really matters in those tight games -- eighth, ninth, extra innings,” Servais said. “That 90 feet is a big deal, and it changes the course of the inning for sure.”

Despite Sunday’s sour finish, coming on the heels of being shut out on Saturday even though George Kirby twirled nine scoreless innings, this weekend’s wildly entertaining series against the American League East-leading Orioles underscored that the Mariners have turned things around after a shaky first half.

The O’s have the AL’s best record, with a league-best 36 comeback wins and an MLB-best 37-18 record in games decided by two runs or fewer. If Baltimore holds on to the top seed and Seattle secures the final AL Wild Card spot and advances in the Wild Card Series, the two teams would meet in the AL Division Series. The Mariners fell to 1 1/2 games back of that third spot with their loss and the Blue Jays’ win on Sunday.

"That team is first in ERA out of 30 teams, and they have, for me, … probably the best rotation with some of the best bullpen arms in the game,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said of the Mariners.

Before Sunday, Seattle had won or split seven straight series, a streak that lasted nearly one month dating back to when the club dropped two of three to Detroit from July 14-16 to begin the second half. The Mariners hadn’t lost consecutive games since July 23-24, against the Twins and the Blue Jays.