Servais teary over 'ultimate gut-check game'

ARLINGTON -- The weight of the stakes wore down on Scott Servais and literally brought him to tears. Happy tears.

After a four-hour, two-minute marathon that needed 11 innings to complete and in which Seattle blew a five-run lead but bounced back to a 9-8 victory over the Rangers on Thursday afternoon at Globe Life Field, the Mariners’ manager called a postgame team meeting. There have been a few such instances this season, but mostly when Seattle has been in a rut. This one, despite a game that outsiders might deem an “ugly win,” was to commend his club on its resolve.

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“For me, that is the ultimate gut-check game,” Servais said. “When it's, like, falling apart, it gets away from you, and it’s so easy just to pack it in, but our guys didn't do it.”

Thanks to two-way heroics from Ty France, who made a remarkable heads-up defensive play in the 10th that kept the game within reach and then crushed a go-ahead two-run homer in the 11th, the Mariners advanced to a season-high 10 games above .500 (66-56), a mark that the Mariners haven’t reached since April 12, 2019, one day after they finished an MLB-best 13-2 start (to an eventual last-place finish).

This benchmark has far more legitimacy than the fun-yet-flukey start two years ago, given how deep Seattle is into this season, with just 40 games remaining -- and how far it has come since general manager Jerry Dipoto’s self-professed “step-back” season.

Servais’ meeting in the pristine visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field was to illustrate just that.

“He's done it a few times this year, where he's pulled us aside and just let us know he appreciates our work, all the work we put in and how proud he is of how far we've come,” France said. “A lot of people weren't expecting us to be where we are right now, so it's just a testament to how hard the guys have worked in there and gone about their business.”

“It was just me personally letting them know how proud I am of this group,” Servais said. “It's a special group. It really is. That's a long day. So pardon me for getting a little emotional, but I really love this team. I really do.”

The Mariners knew the make-or-break stakes of this three-city weave through the American League West, which now heads to Houston for three games, then Oakland for two. While Servais justifiably noted that completing a sweep of any team in the Majors is challenging, this leg in Arlington certainly necessitated a “take care of business” approach in order to stay in the postseason hunt. Though the events of Thursday’s emotional affair might not indicate as much, the box score and standings say that Seattle had one.

The Mariners also wrapped their 2021 series with last-place Texas with a 13-6 record, and they completed their first series sweep since their epic four-gamer against Tampa Bay at the end of June.

But it took every last pitch.

Paul Sewald surrendered a 410-foot flyout to Andy Ibáñez that would’ve cleared the wall in 17 ballparks, including T-Mobile Park. He was pitching for the third day in a row, his longest stretch of the season.

And Sewald was only called upon due to a combined collapse by Anthony Misiewicz and Diego Castillo in the ninth. Misiewicz, working with a five-run lead, gave up hits to each of his first three batters before Castillo came on and eventually surrendered a game-tying two-out homer to Jason Martin. The three-run blast seemingly took the wind out of Seattle’s sails.

Until France stepped in.

In the 10th, France fielded a high throw from Abraham Toro on a would-be 6-4-3 double play. His jump pulled him off the bag, yet he had the wherewithal to spot automatic runner Yonny Hernandez rounding third and fired a strike to J.P. Crawford, who was covering and made the quick tag. The passed ball and flyout that followed would’ve loomed much larger had France not had his head on a swivel.

Minutes later, France turned on an inside fastball and sent it 400 feet into the left-field seats for the decisive dagger.

“It was a big spot,” France said. “I'm not really trying to hit homers, but he left a fastball up and I put a good swing on it, and it worked out for us in the end.”

Now, it’s on to Houston, where the first-place Astros await for what will be -- objectively -- the Mariners’ biggest series in at least three years. Emotions were already high on Thursday; they could be reaching an even higher peak this weekend.