Haniger 'starting to feel it' as Mariners walk off Phils

SEATTLE -- Mitch Haniger approached Scott Servais shortly after the All-Star break and sparked a conversation that centered on conviction.

In the midst of a season in which he’d cooled mightily since a strong Spring Training to the point where his playing time diminished, the veteran outfielder told the Mariners’ manager that he believed he’d unlocked a new frontier with his swing.

"I'm about to get hot,” Haniger told Servais.

Slowly but surely, Haniger appears to have turned a corner -- and no game more encapsulated his turnaround than when he bookended the Mariners’ 6-5 walk-off win over the Phillies on Saturday night, drawing a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning after putting Seattle on the board with a solo homer in the fifth.

In that game-winning sequence, which came after falling behind in the count 0-2 against Carlos Estévez -- the Phils’ prized Trade Deadline acquisition from the Angels -- Haniger spit on a pair of incredibly close pitches, fouled off one more and nearly swung at the penultimate offering before watching ball four go by, thrusting his bat toward the home dugout at T-Mobile Park in excitement.

It was Haniger’s seventh career walk-off as a Mariner, tying him with Jim Presley for the most in franchise history. Even though it came in less dramatic fashion than some that preceded it, “a win is a win,” in Haniger’s eyes.

"It's kind of one of those things where you just really commit to the fastball,” Haniger said. “And if you see the spin and it's in the zone, you've obviously got to try to make contact. But just staying on his fastball, because that's his best pitch.”

Haniger’s homer earlier in the game came when the Mariners were scoreless and trailing by five runs to the Phillies, and it wound up sparking their largest comeback of the season.

In that sequence, Haniger ambushed a first-pitch 89.4 mph fastball at the bottom of the zone from lefty Kolby Allard, one night after he crushed a middle-in cutter from reliever José Alvarado in an 0-1 count for a solo shot in Seattle’s runaway win on Friday. Both homers were carbon copies of each other -- big blasts to the pull side, a trademark for Haniger when he’s at his best.

"My posture has been like messed up the whole first half,” Haniger said. “I feel like after the second half, I kind of honed in on that and it's been improving a lot.

"I had a great spring and instant success, and then it kind of didn't help me. Everything I had worked on, I kind of had to throw it to the side and go back to what I've done in the past, get back to swinging like I can and just keep my head still and stay more upright.”

Haniger also drew a two-out walk in the sixth that set up pinch-hitter Luke Raley for a double off the right-field wall that plated two, followed by Josh Rojas' game-tying RBI single after his liner nicked Bryce Harper’s mitt at first base.

Since the All-Star break, Haniger is slashing .257/.422/.543 (.965 OPS), compared to a line of .208/.282/.336 (.618 OPS) in the first half.

It’s only a 12-game sample of 45 plate appearances. But given how Haniger's playing time diminished in May and June largely due to a lack of production, the veteran getting back on track could potentially be a boon to an offense that’s needed him.

"He's had great years here where he's hit the long ball. He's been really consistent at the plate,” Servais said. “It's been a little frustrating for him -- like a lot of our guys early in the season -- to get it going. But players that have played as long as he has in the league, they feel it. He's starting to feel it and we need it."

Beyond his bat, Haniger has also looked much better in right field during this same stretch, with a few impressive catches into the right-center gap or near the foul line during Seattle’s road trip through Chicago and Boston.

Haniger is the Mariners’ most expensive position player this season, earning $20 million, and he carries a $15.5 million player option for next year -- a clause he’ll almost certainly exercise based on his numbers to this point, and a lofty enough price tag for the Mariners that will almost certainly ensure he’ll be back.

Both sides are banking on him exhibiting production closer to what he’s shown of late.