Lewis homers, goes 3-for-6 in walk-off win

SEATTLE -- There’ll be hits and misses for young Mariners prospects as they play out the final weeks of the season, but Kyle Lewis seems intent on making the most of his hits.

The 24-year-old rookie right fielder launched his fourth homer in his first six Major League games in Sunday’s 11-10 walk-off win over the White Sox, unloading a three-run blast to dead center in the eighth inning off reliever Kelvin Herrera.

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The Mariners, who overcame a 10-5 deficit by scoring six times in the final two innings, earned their second straight walk-off win over the White Sox when Austin Nola singled in the bottom of the ninth, advanced to third on a base hit by Lewis and was forced home on a bases-loaded walk of Tom Murphy by reliever Jose Ruiz.

It was the Mariners’ first walk-off walk since June 6, 2004, also against the White Sox, when Jolbert Cabrera was forced home by Billy Koch in a 5-4 win. The five-run comeback was the Mariners’ largest of the season. But the focus of the day, again, was the red-hot rookie who led the charge.

“Huge home run by Kyle Lewis,” said manager Scott Servais. “That was the big hit we needed to get us back in the ballgame.”

Lewis’ 420-foot shot in the eighth capped a 3-for-6 day that also included a double in the fourth inning. Seattle’s No. 10 prospect has four homers and two doubles while batting .360 (9-for-25) with nine RBIs since being promoted from Double-A Arkansas on Tuesday.

“It’s been cool,” Lewis said. “Just trying to see how things go, get in the flow of it and give it my best shot every day. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Lewis is the first Mariner with four homers in his first six career games. Alvin Davis, Bucky Jacobsen and Jose Cruz each homered three times in their first six contests. His nine RBIs are also the most in the first six games, breaking the mark of seven by Wladimir Balentien in 2007-08.

Not a bad first week for the franchise’s 2016 first-round Draft choice out of Mercer University.

“I’d say it was a pretty good way to start your Mariners career,” Servais said with a smile. “It’s been awesome. Even today, you’re starting to think he’s missing some pitches he had been on, but it doesn’t faze him. He stays with his approach. He just stays in the game, stays in the moment. He doesn’t get too caught up in anything, which is really nice to see from a young player.”

While the focus is quickly turning to Lewis as one who can help carry the torch for the young nucleus of newcomers coming up in the organization, he’s careful to avoid any such notions.

“I don’t think you can put a torch on somebody after a week of games,” he said. “It takes a little while to develop that kind of character. I’m just going to keep working. It’s hard to live back and forth in that roller-coaster ride. There’s ups and downs, and you just have to live with it and be who you are.”

Lewis was one of six rookie starters for Seattle in the series finale. Nola went 4-for-5 with a walk and two RBIs and Shed Long Jr. added two more hits in his leadoff role as first-year players accounted for 11 of Seattle’s 17 hits and seven of their 11 RBIs.

Things looked equally promising early for starter Justus Sheffield as he went after his first Major League win, allowing just two hits in four scoreless innings with eight strikeouts before getting knocked out in the fifth.

But Sheffield, 23, gave up six runs (five earned) while getting just one out in the ill-fated fifth, leaving him at 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA after five starts.

The Mariners closed out a 4-2 homestand and head out on the season’s final road trip, their record sitting at 62-88 with 12 games remaining