Hernández's go-ahead HR flips mood from frustration to elation

SEATTLE -- After emphatically stomping on home plate on Friday, Teoscar Hernández grabbed the Mariners’ trident from J.P. Crawford and boisterously bellowed toward the home dugout.

This was Hernández's ninth celebration with Seattle’s celebratory home run prop, tied for the team lead since it was introduced on April 19, but his emotion in this moment was far more euphoric.

Hernández had just crushed a solo homer a Statcast-projected 432 feet to center field that put the Mariners ahead for the first time in a 3-2 win over the White Sox -- a victory that, with 11 stranded baserunners and some tough luck for starting pitcher Bryan Woo on an otherwise dominant night, looked excruciatingly elusive.

Perhaps it was relief given the lineup’s shortcomings to that point, or maybe it was the totality of breaking through big time in what’s been an up-and-down first year with Seattle -- but regardless, Hernández absorbed the weight of the moment masterfully.

“I get excited, especially when we do something to put the team on top late in the game,” Hernández said. “It gave us a chance to win the ballgame, and that's what we did.”

Also doubling in the fifth to drive in Julio Rodríguez from second base, Hernández finished 2-for-4 and shouldered Seattle’s up-and-down offense on a night where, at times, they seemed to be on pace for a frustrating defeat. The Mariners had traffic in every inning thanks to nine hits and six walks, but they twice stranded the bases loaded and went 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

“We left a lot of guys on base, including myself,” Hernández said. “I think I left one in the first inning. Every time you get a runner in scoring position, you try to get him in, or at least do something positive for the guy behind you, and we didn't do it today. But at the end of the night, I got a good pitch and put the team on top.”

Despite lacking the big hit before Hernández broke through, the Mariners' stingy formula of grinding out opposing pitchers once again prevailed.

Chicago’s Michael Kopech, who was responsible for loading the bases with no outs in the second and one out in the fifth, needed 102 pitches to complete 4 1/3 innings. Against a taxed White Sox bullpen that used six relievers the night prior at Dodger Stadium, Hernández crushed his solo homer in the seventh after Crawford doubled and Ty France got an RBI knock in the sixth to tie the game at 2-2.

The Mariners are now 22-14 when the opposing starter pitches five innings after going 58-34 in such games last year. That approach was instrumental in helping them overcome a .230 batting average that was MLB’s third-lowest, because they supplemented it with a .315 on-base percentage and .390 slugging percentage for a .704 OPS that ranked 14th. Comparatively, Seattle is 12-20 this year if opposing arms pitch into the sixth.

“It's easier said than done,” manager Scott Servais said. “We did so many good things up and down the lineup tonight until we got the guys on third base and couldn't get them in. But that'll come. You keep creating those opportunities and grinding away like that."

It was the Mariners' starter who was the best pitcher of the night, as Woo carved through the White Sox for nine strikeouts while coming one out shy of completing the sixth. Two of his three hits allowed, however, were solo homers -- including the first of the year for a struggling Andrew Benintendi, which ended Woo’s night and created some sting.

But the positives from the 23-year-old righty were palpable. Woo, the Mariners’ No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has shown improvement in each of his past two outings after a rough debut in Arlington two weeks ago. Servais even lingered on the mound during the pitching change to reiterate as much.

“He's been awesome about giving me good perspective in terms of looking at the positives of the outing and building off the stuff that I may not be as happy about,” Woo said. “But all things considered, just being able to take away that I did my job tonight and put us in a position to win the game.”

It may have fallen into the “just enough” category, but Friday’s victory pushed the Mariners back to .500 and has the club on the cusp of a winning homestand.