Mariners remain confident, walk it off in 9th

SEATTLE -- The Mariners' bullpen was one of the main reasons the team was in postseason contention last year, but relief pitching can be a volatile business. Much of this early season has been a scramble to get the right mix back in place.

Seattle has gotten creative with its 'pen-manship, and things are solidifying as summer approaches. Despite a small hiccup on Saturday night, the relief corps and two clutch game-tying hits by Abraham Toro set the team up for a dramatic 7-6 win that came on Dylan Moore’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth.

“The young guys are getting the experience,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “They're getting a ton of confidence. So are the guys who have been around a little bit. And that's what it takes to win these close games. You've got to keep it right there, and everybody's got to chip in in the bullpen.

“And they're all going to get a chance to pitch.”

The final ninth-inning push came after the Red Sox had taken a 6-5 lead in the ninth when a slider from closer Paul Sewald caught too much of the plate and a bit too much of Bobby Dalbec’s bat. The Boston slugger put it about a foot over the outstretched glove of Seattle left fielder Jesse Winker and over the wall.

But overall, the Mariners sent out four relievers after five innings by rookie starter George Kirby, with Penn Murfee, Ryan Borucki, Diego Castillo and Sewald pitching an inning apiece. The final tally for the 'pen was four innings, two hits, one run and five strikeouts.

In other words, that will work.

“I think the bullpen ‘struggles,’ quote unquote, were exaggerated, magnified because they were just the first month of the season,” Sewald said. “Everything looks magnified. And, you know, it’s ‘man overboard’ when it's the first month of the season.

“No one down there really had any concerns that we weren't going to lock it back in, and guys have just done a great job.”

Meanwhile, Toro did a great job in making the most of his late-inning opportunities at the plate.

Toro brought a .173 batting average into the game, but his two-out RBI double in the seventh tied the game at 5, and his two-out fly ball to center in the ninth found grass for a game-tying RBI single, setting up Moore for the game-winner -- a line drive to left-center in the next at-bat.

“It just shows the character of this team,” Toro said. “Even though we're down, we're confident. We've got to come back, and then, when we won, it was a big moment.”

As for Kirby, it was -- as expected these days -- a learning moment. The righty came out pumping 99 mph with his fastball in his seventh Major League start, but he needed 27 pitches to escape a draining first inning in which the second batter of the game, Rafael Devers, hit a two-run home run to right-center field and the Red Sox tacked on another run after a single and stolen base by Xander Bogaerts and an RBI single by Christian Vázquez.

After Vázquez's hit, Kirby retired 13 of the next 14 batters, four via strikeout. Then, his rookie-ness and the heart of the Red Sox's order caught up to him when he walked Devers with two outs in the fifth and J.D. Martinez followed with a homer.

Still, Servais said he loved what he saw from the 24-year-old, who continues to learn every time out.

“All the credit to George,” Servais said. “He righted the ship. He just stays consistent. He keeps filling up the strike zone, and he's got really good stuff. I thought that was the best fastball he had early in the game that we've seen at any point since he's been in the big leagues.”

Four innings later, with Moore being mobbed in shallow right field after his big moment, it was easy to see how the bullpen’s brilliance, Toro’s theatrics, Kirby’s resilience and more added up to a much-needed victory -- Seattle's first in its six games against Boston this season.

“It doesn't get to me without everyone else,” Moore said. “Especially Toro and everybody before him. So that’s the definition of a team win, when everyone's doing their part.”